About St. Mary · Tampico, Illinois
St. Mary of Tampico is a small Roman Catholic parish in the village of Tampico, Illinois, established in 1879 and rooted in the Irish Catholic pioneers who settled this stretch of Whiteside County in the 1840s and 1850s. It belongs to the Diocese of Rockford (Sterling Deanery) and today counts roughly 50 registered families, with about 25–30 people at the weekly Sunday Mass at 11:00 a.m. The current church, dedicated in 1904 by the future first Bishop of Rockford, is a Gothic pressed-brick building with a 125-foot spire, Italian-marble altars, and a working pipe organ still played every Sunday. The parish is pastored since 2023 by Rev. Slawomir Zimodro (who also serves St. Mary in Morrison) and is assisted by Deacon Bill Lemmer, the parish's first permanent deacon (ordained 1998).
- Established
- 1879
- Patron
- Blessed Virgin Mary
- Rector
- Rev. Slawomir Zimodro
- Diocese
- Diocese of Rockford (Sterling Deanery)
Why belong here
St. Mary of Tampico is a tight-knit parish where many families can trace their roots back to the Irish Catholic founders of the 1870s, and that continuity shows up in the way the community worshipes together. Visitors are warmly welcomed to a single weekly Sunday Mass at 11:00 a.m., celebrated with a working pipe organ in a remarkably preserved 1904 Gothic church whose interior — Italian marble altars, hand-painted Stations of the Cross, stained glass, and a baldachino topped with the pelican symbol — has changed little in more than a century. Monthly Eucharistic Adoration on the first Friday at 6 p.m. and ongoing Diocesan and parish announcements offer additional ways to deepen faith alongside a small, generous congregation whose stewardship has carried the parish for nearly 150 years.
Mass times at St. Mary
Weekly Mass schedule
Adoration times
- Eucharistic Adoration — 1st Friday of every month at 6:00 p.m.
About St. Mary of Tampico
St. Mary of Tampico is a Roman Catholic parish in the village of Tampico, Illinois, part of the Diocese of Rockford's Sterling Deanery. Established in 1879, it is one of the older Catholic communities in Whiteside County and counts roughly 50 registered families today, with about 25–30 people gathering for the weekly Sunday Mass. The parish is anchored by its 1904 Gothic church, and parishioners note that 'many of the families trace their roots back to the beginning.' Visitors are always welcome.
- Part of the Diocese of Rockford, Sterling Deanery
- Approximately 50 registered families
- Parish established 1879
- Sunday Mass at 11:00 a.m.
Clergy and Staff
The parish has been led since 2023 by Rev. Slawomir Zimodro, who also serves as Pastor of St. Mary Morrison. He is assisted by Deacon Bill Lemmer, the parish's first permanent deacon, ordained in May 1998. Day-to-day parish business is handled by office contact Joan Cooney.
- Rev. Slawomir Zimodro — Pastor (also Pastor of St. Mary Morrison); pastor line 815-772-4890
- Deacon Bill Lemmer — Deacon (ordained May 1998); phone 815-438-2248
- Joan Cooney — Parish Office contact
History of the Parish
The parish grew from the Irish Catholic settlement of the 1840s and 1850s. Mission priests visited the scattered faithful from Sterling and Sheffield for decades before Father P.J. Gormley oversaw the building of a frame church in 1875. Father R.V. McGuire became the first resident pastor in 1879, and by then the parish already had 963 members. Father Peter Weber's 1902 construction of the present Gothic church — dedicated September 8, 1904 by Bishop Peter J. Muldoon — gave the community the building it still worships in today. Successive pastors built the rectory, decorated the interior with Italian altars and murals, led the parish through the Depression and World War II, and carried out the reforms of Vatican II. In 1998 the parish received its first permanent deacon, and in 2023 a new pastor was assigned to lead both St. Mary Tampico and St. Mary Morrison.
- First mission priest: Father John Daley (early 1860s, on horseback from Sterling)
- First Catholic church in Tampico built 1875 under Father P.J. Gormley (40×90×30 frame, 112-foot spire)
- First resident pastor: Father R.V. McGuire, appointed September 1879
- Present Gothic church built 1902–1904 under Father Weber; dedicated by Bishop Muldoon
- First permanent deacon: William Lemmer, ordained May 1998
- Current pastor (2023–): Rev. Slawomir Zimodro
Irish Roots and Pioneer Settlement
The first Catholic settlers came to the Tampico area in the 1840s and 1850s, the majority from Ireland. The parish history describes the hardship of the Penal Laws era, the collapse of Irish Catholic landownership between 1650 and the 1820s, and the catastrophe of the Great Famine in the mid-1840s. Many of these immigrants arrived with nothing, worked on the railroads or the Erie Canal, and saved to buy land in northwestern Illinois. A missionary priest might visit only once a year; in the early 1860s Father John Daley rode in on horseback three times a year from Sterling, and Mass was offered in the Hutton Schoolhouse or in a settler's home.
- Settlers from the 1840s–1850s, mostly Irish
- Father John Daley visited from Sterling three times a year (1860s)
- Mass said at Hutton Schoolhouse or in private homes
- Chicago Archdiocese then extended from Indiana to the Mississippi
Building the First Church and the Present Church
In 1875 the Tampico mission was joined to the parish at Ohio, Illinois, from where Father P. J. Gormley supervised construction of the village's first Catholic church — a 40×90×30-foot frame building with a 112-foot spire. Financing was raised by subscription and by a parish fair that brought in $2,520 (the prize, a tea set, was won by Miss Burden). Father Peter Weber built the first rectory in 1895 and began the present Gothic church in 1902. The new building, 150×50 feet with a 125-foot spire, was dedicated on September 8, 1904 at a cost of $30,000; the debt was fully retired by 1920.
- First church (1875): frame, 40×90×30 feet, 112-foot spire
- First rectory (1895): two-story frame house
- Present church begun 1902, dedicated September 8, 1904; cost $30,000
- Cornerstone: Nenagh, County Tipperary, Ireland (first in Illinois imported from Ireland)
- Construction debt retired by 1920
The Interior: Altars, Baldachino, Stations, and Stained Glass
The interior of St. Mary's has changed little over the years. Father DuFour and the Burden family imported Italian marble side altars (St. Joseph's given by Father DuFour; Blessed Virgin's given by Mrs. Peter McGuire) and an Italian baldachino over the rear altar, which the Burden children gave in memory of their parents Thomas and Eleanor Burden. Atop the baldachino stands a pelican feeding her young with her own blood — an ancient symbol of Christ's sacrifice. The three-dimensional, hand-painted Stations of the Cross and unusually beautiful stained-glass windows date to the same era, and the parish notes that 'the interior is beautiful with a marble altar'.
- Italian-marble St. Joseph altar (gift of Father DuFour)
- Italian-marble Blessed Virgin altar (gift of Mrs. Peter McGuire)
- Italian baldachino over rear altar (gift of the Burden children)
- Pelican-feeding-young symbol of Christ's sacrifice
- Three-dimensional hand-painted Stations of the Cross
- Unusually beautiful stained-glass windows
Parish Hall and Parish Grounds
Father Thomas Maguire dreamed of a parish hall during the Depression and WWII years, and his successor Father Ambrose Weitekamp fulfilled that vision. In May 1954 the present hall was completed on the block north of the church — a 50×73-foot building that continues to host parish events. The 1906 Sacred Heart Memorial in the cemetery, donated by the women of the parish, was blessed and dedicated on June 23, 1906.
- Parish hall completed May 1954 (50×73 feet, north of the church)
- Cemetery: four acres purchased 1881, Sacred Heart Memorial blessed 1906
Diocese of Rockford
St. Mary of Tampico belongs to the Diocese of Rockford, in the Sterling Deanery. The parish office uses a Rockford-Diocese email address, and the parish has been served by Rockford diocesan priests and administrators throughout its history. The diocese itself was erected in 1908 with the Most Reverend Peter J. Muldoon — the same bishop who had dedicated the Tampico church in 1904 — as its first ordinary.
- Diocese of Rockford
- Sterling Deanery
- Diocese erected 1908 with Bishop Peter J. Muldoon as first bishop
- Parish email uses @Rockforddiocese.org domain
Visiting and Contact
The parish office is at 105 N Benton Street, Tampico, Illinois 61283, with a mailing address of PO Box 159. Visitors and parishioners can reach the office by phone or fax at 815-438-5425 (also the answering machine), reach the pastor at 815-772-4890, or reach Deacon Lemmer at 815-438-2248. Office inquiries can be directed to Joan Cooney by email at [email protected]. Holy Day and special Mass times are posted on the website at stmarytampico.org.
- Address: 105 N Benton Street, PO Box 159, Tampico, IL 61283
- Parish phone/fax/answering machine: 815-438-5425
- Pastor phone: 815-772-4890
- Deacon phone: 815-438-2248
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: http://stmarytampico.org/
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Father R.V. McGuire1879–
First resident pastor; oversaw parish of 963 members across Tampico, Hume, Prophetstown, Hahnaman, and Montmorency townships; purchased the four-acre cemetery in 1881.
- Father J.A. Fanning
Successor to Father McGuire.
- Father J. Sullivan
- Father A. Goulet
- Father F.J. Kearney
- Father P.J. Weberthrough 1902
Built the first rectory in 1895 (two-story frame) and began construction of the present Gothic church in 1902.
- Father Leon DuFour1906–~1928
Long pastorate of nearly 24 years; commissioned Italian marble altars, baldachino, hand-painted Stations of the Cross, ceiling murals by a French artist; retired in 1928 due to failing eyesight.
- Father Lynch1928–~1930
Replaced the rectory for $12,000 and retired the debt by 1929.
- Father Thomas Maguire1930–1946
Guided the parish through the Great Depression and World War II; died of pneumonia in 1946 and is buried in the parish cemetery.
- Father Ambrose Weitekamp1946–1966
Returned as pastor after serving as Father DuFour's assistant; oversaw further church decoration and completion of the parish hall in May 1954; died 1966 and is buried in the parish cemetery.
- Father Robert Donovan1966–1970
- Father Eugene Parker1970–1983
Implemented the reforms of Vatican II; founded the first Parish Council and a volunteer religious-instruction program in 1971.
- Father Robert BalogSept. 1983–Dec. 1983
- Father Leo AmbreDec. 1983–Jan. 1987
Established a team ministry; traveled from Rockford on weekends for Mass and sacraments.
- Father Jim TranelJan. 1987–July 1990
- Father Paul LipinskiJuly 1990–July 1991
- Father Vincent ShindelarJuly 1991–June 1997
- Father F. James LarsonJune 1997–Aug. 1999
- Father Thomas BalesSept. 1999–June 2000
- Father Anthony PantyraJune 2000–Dec. 2002
- Father Thomas BrantmanJuly 2002–March 2004
- Father Donald Ahlesafter 2004
Parish administrator from St. Mary's of Sterling.
- Father Jesus Dominguezafter 2004
Assistant administrator alongside Father Ahles.
- Monsignor Dzielak
Administered the parish until his retirement.
- Father Russo
Administered the parish from Rock Falls.
- Rev. Slawomir Zimodro2023–present
Current pastor; also serves as Pastor of St. Mary Morrison.