About St. Mary · Vinton, Iowa
St. Mary Catholic Church is a Roman Catholic parish in Vinton, Iowa, the county seat of Benton County, and is part of the Heart of Mary Cluster — a partnership of three nearby rural Catholic parishes that also includes St. Mary in Urbana and Sacred Heart in Walker. The parish belongs to the Archdiocese of Dubuque and worships at 2200 South Second Avenue in Vinton. It offers a Sunday morning Mass at 10:30 AM, weekly Eucharistic Adoration on Tuesdays, and Sunday confessions. The parish is led by a Parish Life Coordinator, Marcia Reilly ([email protected]), who handles registration and pastoral needs for new parishioners. As of mid-2025 the parish had 639 parishioners across 263 families.
- Established
- 1911
- Patron
- The Blessed Virgin Mary (parish name 'St. Mary')
- Diocese
- Archdiocese of Dubuque
Why belong here
St. Mary Vinton offers a close-knit rural Catholic community in the county seat of Benton County, with a Sunday morning Mass, weekly all-day Tuesday Eucharistic Adoration, and Sunday-morning Confessions — the rhythm of an intimate parish where members know each other by name. As part of the three-parish Heart of Mary Cluster it shares ministry with neighboring Urbana and Walker parishes while still serving as a recognizable worship home for Vinton and the surrounding countryside. New parishioners are warmly welcomed and can register by contacting Parish Life Coordinator Marcia Reilly.
Mass times at St. Mary
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Sunday: 10:00 AM – 10:20 AM (before Mass)
Adoration times
- Tuesday: 9:00 AM – 8:00 PM (St. Mary, Vinton)
- Tuesday: 6:30 PM – 7:30 PM (Sacred Heart, Walker)
Heart of Mary Cluster
St. Mary Vinton worships as part of the Heart of Mary Cluster, a partnership of three Catholic parishes in Benton County, Iowa: St. Mary, Urbana; St. Mary, Vinton; and Sacred Heart, Walker. The cluster's mission statement reads: 'The Heart of Mary Cluster, inspired by the Holy Spirit, provides a welcoming faith community in which we proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ by the way we live, by our worship together and in serving others.' Resources, ministries, and weekend Masses are shared across the three sites.
- St. Mary, Urbana — Sunday Mass at 8:30 AM
- St. Mary, Vinton — Sunday Mass at 10:30 AM
- Sacred Heart, Walker — Saturday Vigil Mass at 5:15 PM
Parish Staff & Contacts
Pastoral care and day-to-day parish operations at St. Mary Vinton are coordinated through Marcia Reilly, the cluster's Parish Life Coordinator. Newcomers wishing to register in the parish are encouraged to contact her directly by email to set up an appointment. Cluster Mass and Adoration schedules are published on the shared Heart of Mary website.
- Parish Life Coordinator: Marcia Reilly
- Email: [email protected]
- Phone (parish): (319) 472-3368
History & Identity
The St. Mary Church, Vinton, Iowa corporation has been on file with the Iowa Secretary of State since December 21, 1911, marking it as a parish entity with more than a century of continuous Catholic presence in the Vinton area. The parish long served as the principal Catholic worship site for the Benton County seat. It is identified in diocesan records and in local press coverage as a multigenerational 'parish family' where members have celebrated baptisms, weddings, and funerals together for decades.
- Incorporated in Iowa: December 21, 1911
- Legal form: Revised Domestic Non-Profit
- Registered agents of record have included Brian Harris and Rick Runde (Archdiocese of Dubuque, 1229 Mount Loretta Ave., Dubuque, IA 52003)
Archdiocese of Dubuque Reorganization ('Journey in Faith')
In 2025–2026 the Archdiocese of Dubuque, led by Archbishop Thomas Zinkula, conducted a 'Journey in Faith' discernment process that reorganized 160 parishes across northeast Iowa into 24 pastorates. In April 2026 the Archdiocese announced that St. Mary Vinton would lose its weekend Sunday Mass beginning July 14, 2026, with members directed to St. Mary, Urbana (~11.9 miles away) as a transitional arrangement until fuller consolidation in January 2027. Father Neil Manternach of St. Joseph's, Marion, was named as the incoming pastor for the new regional pastorate. The decision prompted letters to the editor and community petitions in Vinton, with longtime parishioners describing more than 80 years of continuous worship at the site.
- Reorganization announced by Archbishop Thomas Zinkula, Archdiocese of Dubuque
- Effective date for loss of Sunday Mass at St. Mary Vinton: July 14, 2026
- Transitional Mass location: St. Mary, Urbana (~11.9 miles from Vinton)
- Incoming pastor for the regional pastorate: Father Neil Manternach (St. Joseph's, Marion, ~39 miles from Vinton)
Parish Life & Demographics
As of mid-2025 diocesan reporting, St. Mary Vinton listed approximately 639 parishioners across 263 families — a stable rural Catholic community in the heart of Benton County. Even after the 2026 reorganization, the parish continues to be identified as a worship site within the Heart of Mary Cluster and remains a focal point of community identity for Vinton-area Catholics.
- Reported parishioners: ~639
- Reported families: ~263
- Community type: rural / county-seat Catholic parish
Visit, Register & Contact
Visitors and newcomers are warmly welcomed. To register as a parishioner at St. Mary Vinton, contact Parish Life Coordinator Marcia Reilly by email to set up an appointment. The Heart of Mary Cluster website is the official source for current Mass, Confession, and Adoration schedules across all three cluster parishes.
- Parish address: 2200 South Second Avenue, Vinton, IA 52349
- Parish phone: (319) 472-3368
- Email: [email protected]
- Official website: https://heartofmary.org/
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Father Neil Manternachdesignated incoming pastor (announced 2026) of St. Joseph's, Marion-led pastorate
Identified in 2026 Archdiocese of Dubuque 'Journey in Faith' announcements as the new pastor for the regional pastorate that includes Vinton-area parishes; based at St. Joseph's in Marion, about 39 miles from Vinton.