St. Mary

St. Mary Parish — Peru, Illinois

St. Mary of the Assumption was a Roman Catholic parish in the Diocese of Peoria that served Peru and the surrounding Illinois Valley from 1867 until its final Mass on August 15, 2024. Its brick church — completed in 1917 with marble altars and stained glass — stood at 1319 Sixth Street, at the corner of 6th and Plum Streets, and was known for its intimate scale and exceptional acoustics. The parish now lives on as part of St. Rose of Lima Parish in Peru, formed in December 2024 by the merger of St. Mary, St. Valentine, and St. Joseph.

History & Founding (1867)

In August 1867 a delegation of Peru Catholics traveled to Chicago to ask the bishop for permission to build a church; the blessing was granted and an A-frame church was erected in time for founder Father Andrew J. Pettit to celebrate the first Mass at St. Mary of the Assumption on Christmas Day, December 25, 1867. A school was added in 1882, with brick buildings for the school and rectory following in 1894 and 1910. The parish marked its 150th anniversary in 2017 with a Mass celebrated by Msgr. J. Brian Rejsek on August 6, followed by a dinner at the Eagle Lodge Clubrooms.

• First Mass: December 25, 1867, celebrated by Father Andrew J. Pettit
• School added: 1882
• Brick school building: 1894
• Brick rectory: 1910
• 150th anniversary Mass: August 6, 2017, with Msgr. J. Brian Rejsek as celebrant

The 1917 Brick Church

The current brick church was completed in 1917 and remained in continuous use for 107 years. Parishioners described it as 'smaller and friendly' yet possessing a stateliness that 'harks back to the days when craftsmen knew how to make a house of worship feel like a good place to come and worship.' Its marble altars and stained glass were repeatedly cited by longtime members as the building's most beloved features.

• Construction completed: 1917
• Notable features: marble altars, stained-glass windows, superb acoustics

Parish School

St. Mary's parish school was founded in 1882 and grew through the decades with brick school and rectory buildings in 1894 and 1910. A new school was begun in 1966 and dedicated by Bishop John B. Franz on October 14, 1967. In 1969 the school merged with neighboring Catholic schools to form Peru Catholic School. Approximately twenty years before the parish's 2024 closure, the school and adjacent parish properties were sold to Illinois Valley Community Hospital.

• Parish school founded: 1882
• New school building begun: 1966
• Dedicated by Bishop John B. Franz: October 14, 1967
• Merged into Peru Catholic School: 1969
• School property sold to Illinois Valley Community Hospital: ~2004

Clergy

Diocesan priests served St. Mary for most of its history, with Benedictine monks from St. Bede Abbey also providing pastoral care at various times. The parish was typically clustered with neighboring Peru parishes — St. Valentine and St. Joseph — sharing pastors and parochial vicars.

• Father Andrew J. Pettit — Founder and first pastor (1867)
• Father William M. Gardner — Pastor 2008–2014
• Msgr. J. Brian Rejsek — Pastor at the 150th anniversary in 2017
• Father John Baptist Uwigaba — Parochial Vicar, 2018
• Very Rev. Gary Blake — Pastor from 2021; celebrated the final Mass on August 15, 2024
• Father Mark Miller — Parochial Vicar, 2024
• Deacon Dan O'Connor

Music & Liturgical Life

St. Mary was widely known for its musical tradition, built up by a succession of talented music directors who capitalized on the church's 'superb' acoustics to elevate the liturgies. The parish choir and organ program, including longtime organist Paula Atkinson, formed a tight-knit family within the parish community. At the final Mass on August 15, 2024, the choir sang 'The Bells of St. Mary's' as the recessional hymn — a deliberate farewell to a beloved liturgical heritage.

• Long-running choir and music-director tradition
• Longtime organist Paula Atkinson
• Recessional at final Mass: 'The Bells of St. Mary's'

The 2024 Closure & Growing Disciples

On May 18, 2024, Bishop Louis Tylka of the Diocese of Peoria announced the 'Growing Disciples' pastoral plan, which will reduce the diocese from 156 parishes to 75 parishes and 127 worship sites by 2026 in response to declining Mass attendance (down 22% from 2019–2022), falling baptisms and marriages, and an aging clergy (70% of diocesan priests over age 50). St. Mary, along with St. Valentine and St. Joseph in Peru, was designated for merger; St. Mary's final Mass was celebrated on August 15, 2024 — the Solemnity of the Assumption — and the parish was formally suppressed later that year. The three Peru parishes were unified as St. Rose of Lima Parish in December 2024, with Very Rev. Gary Blake continuing as pastor.

• Bishop Louis Tylka — Diocesan announcement: May 18, 2024
• Final Sunday Mass: August 11, 2024
• Final Mass: August 15, 2024 (Solemnity of the Assumption), celebrated by Very Rev. Gary Blake
• Parish formally suppressed: 2024
• Merged into St. Rose of Lima Parish, Peru: December 2024

Diocese of Peoria

St. Mary belonged to the Catholic Diocese of Peoria, which covers roughly 17,000 square miles across 26 counties in central and north-central Illinois and is led by Bishop Louis Tylka. The diocese's 'Growing Disciples' initiative, launched in August 2022, is reshaping parish life across the region — including the closure of St. Mary and the consolidation of Peru-area parishes into St. Rose of Lima Parish.

• Diocese: Catholic Diocese of Peoria
• Diocesan bishop at closure: Louis Tylka
• Diocesan initiative: 'Growing Disciples' (2022–2026)