About St. Mary · Mccrory, Arkansas
St. Mary Church is a small Catholic mission in McCrory, Arkansas — the only Catholic church in Woodruff County — and has served the area's small but deeply rooted Catholic community since 1942. It is a mission of St. Peter Church in nearby Wynne and is cared for by the same pastor, currently Fr. John C. Wakube. The parish grew out of immigrant farming families of German, Yugoslav, and Czech heritage who began gathering for Mass in one another's homes as early as 1916. Today it remains a close-knit 'big family' of roughly 20 households who gather for weekly Mass, Adoration, and traditional parish celebrations.
- Established
- 1942
- Patron
- The Blessed Virgin Mary
- Rector
- Fr. John C. Wakube
- Diocese
- Diocese of Little Rock (North Delta Deanery)
Why belong here
St. Mary is a small, multigenerational mission where 'everybody's family,' in the words of longtime parishioner Agnes Ball. Worshippers come together for a 5 p.m. Saturday Vigil Mass with Adoration and benediction, with confessions heard beforehand, in a parish hall that hosts Christmas parties, Easter egg hunts, and shared meals after funerals. Active ministries (Parish Council, Altar Society) keep the community close, and the faith formation of its children is shared with the sister parish at St. Peter in Wynne. It remains the only Catholic church in Woodruff County, so it is a rare and welcoming spiritual home in a primarily farming community.
Mass times at St. Mary
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Saturday 4:15 – 4:45 p.m.
Adoration times
- Saturday 4:00 – 4:45 p.m. (with Benediction)
Parish History
Catholic faith came to Woodruff County with the Starman family in 1914. For decades before any church existed, priests from Brinkley traveled 38 miles north once a month to celebrate Mass in local homes, alternating between the Ancel home and the Starman farmhouse. The community later met in Wherry Hall (with a grocery store downstairs and Mass upstairs, around 1930) and then in the Fraser building across from the bank (around 1939). In 1941, the Bank of McCrory president donated land, and with a Catholic Church Extension Society grant and donations from local businesses, parishioners built the first St. Mary Church for $1,500, dedicating it in 1942 with 13 families. The mission outgrew its 30-by-50-foot original building by the 1970s, and the present church on Highway 64 East was dedicated by Bishop Andrew J. McDonald on June 12, 1977.
- 1914 — Starman family arrives, only known Catholics in Woodruff County
- 1916 — Monthly Masses begin in local homes by Brinkley priests
- 1930 — Mass moves to Wherry Hall (grocery downstairs, Mass upstairs)
- 1939 — Mass moves to the Fraser building across from the bank
- 1941 — Bank of McCrory president donates land for a church
- 1942 — First St. Mary Church dedicated; 13 founding families
- 1973 — Parish buys land on Highway 64 East
- June 12, 1977 — Bishop Andrew J. McDonald dedicates the present church
Founding Immigrant Families
The original Catholic community in McCrory was small and rooted in farming families who had emigrated from Germany, Yugoslavia, and Czechoslovakia. The Starmans came from Germany, the Ancel family from Missouri (of Yugoslav descent), and the Smith family from Stuttgart (Czech heritage). Parishioners recall that 'in them days, a Catholic, they was trouble,' and that local attitudes toward Catholics softened noticeably by the late 1930s. The families bonded across language barriers and isolation through shared faith, picnics at one another's homes, and Sunday-evening card games, forming the close-knit community that still characterizes the parish today.
- Starman family (German origin, arrived 1914)
- Ancel family (Yugoslav origin, arrived 1918)
- Stuckey family (arrived from Illinois in 1918)
- Smith family (Czech origin, moved from Stuttgart in 1924)
Clergy & Staff
St. Mary Mission is shepherded by the pastor of St. Peter Church in Wynne, who also resides there. The current pastor is Fr. John C. Wakube, appointed in 2023 and incardinated into the Diocese of Little Rock in 2019. Parishioners are served by an administrative assistant who handles both St. Mary and St. Peter, since the two share an office in Wynne. Day-to-day communication runs through the Wynne parish office and the shared email contacts.
- Pastor: Fr. John C. Wakube ([email protected])
- Administrative Assistant: Jill Hamrick ([email protected])
- Parish office phone: (870) 238-2613
Parish Ministries & Community Life
The parish's two main lay organizations are the Parish Council and the Altar Society, which together support the mission's spiritual and material needs. Because the parish is small, ministry roles are hands-on: the Altar Society cares for the altar linens, flowers, and church supplies, and the Parish Council plans the parish's liturgical and social life. The community's social life is anchored in longstanding traditions including a Christmas party, an Easter egg hunt, and shared meals after funerals — a reflection of the parish's character as an extended family.
- Parish Council
- Altar Society
- Christmas party (annual)
- Easter egg hunt (annual)
- Meals after funerals
Sacraments & Faith Formation
St. Mary offers the Sacrament of Reconciliation every Saturday from 4:15 to 4:45 p.m., immediately before the Vigil Mass and Adoration. Until 2007, the mission ran its own parish religious education program; today, children from St. Mary attend faith formation classes at the sister parish, St. Peter Church in Wynne, where shared C/DREs (Judy and Mike Locke) and a Youth Director (Lana Ampueda) serve the combined community. Weddings, baptisms, and other sacramental needs are arranged through the Wynne parish office.
- Confession: Saturdays 4:15 – 4:45 p.m.
- Faith formation: shared with St. Peter Church, Wynne
- C/DREs (shared): Judy and Mike Locke ([email protected])
- Youth Director (shared): Lana Ampueda ([email protected])
Architecture & Notable Interior Features
The present church is a 3,870-square-foot building dedicated in 1977, comprising a sanctuary, kitchen, bathrooms, cry room, and parish hall. Several elements of the interior were donated by parishioners or rescued from older churches, giving the modest mission church a distinctive character: the altar and the Stations of the Cross were given by parishioners, and the stained glass windows came from a 125-year-old church in Fort Smith that was about to be demolished. According to a parish account, those windows were originally one of three sets made by a craftsman in St. Louis in the mid-19th century.
- Sanctuary, kitchen, bathrooms, cry room, and parish hall
- Altar donated by parishioners
- Stations of the Cross donated by parishioners
- Stained glass windows from a 125-year-old church in Fort Smith
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Fr. Edwin Gravesapprox. 2001–2010s
Served as pastor of both St. Mary Mission in McCrory and St. Peter Church in Wynne, where he resided; spoke with Arkansas Catholic in Dec. 2008 about parish history.
- Fr. Alfhones Perikalaapprox. 2010s–2023
Served as pastor of St. Peter Church in Wynne and St. Mary Mission in McCrory; relieved of these duties per April 14, 2023 diocesan appointments.
- Fr. John C. Wakube2023–present
Appointed pastor of St. Peter Church in Wynne and St. Mary Church in McCrory effective July 2023; incardinated into the Diocese of Little Rock on Feb. 27, 2019; ordained June 29, 2002.