About St. Mary's Catholic Church · Anita, Iowa
St. Mary's Catholic Church is a small Roman Catholic parish located in the rural community of Anita, Iowa, in Cass County. It is one of four historic congregations in southwest Iowa that are now served together as a single pastoral cluster under the umbrella website 'Ss. Peter & Paul – St. Mary's' (sspeterpaulandmary.org), sharing clergy and staff with Ss. Peter and Paul in Atlantic, St. Timothy in Reno/Cumberland, and Our Lady of Grace in Griswold. The parish belongs to the Diocese of Des Moines and currently offers Sunday Mass and one weekday Mass, with the Eucharist also celebrated on Holy Days by arrangement. Worship is held in English in the traditional Roman (Latin) Rite.
- Patron
- Blessed Virgin Mary (parish name: St. Mary's)
- Rector
- Rev. Bradley Robey (Parochial Administrator, cluster of Ss. Peter & Paul – St. Mary's)
- Diocese
- Diocese of Des Moines (Bishop William Joensen)
Why belong here
St. Mary's is a faithful Catholic presence in a small southwest Iowa town, offering the Sunday Eucharist, a weekday Mass, and the Sacrament of Reconciliation every week. Parishioners are part of a tight-knit rural cluster that shares clergy, faith-formation programs, and a Catholic Women's Organization (CCW) with the neighboring churches in Atlantic, Cumberland/Reno, Griswold, and Audubon. For families with children, religious formation is coordinated through the cluster at Ss. Peter and Paul in Atlantic, so no family has to 'go it alone' for sacramental preparation.
Mass times at St. Mary's Catholic Church
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Sunday: 7:30 AM – 8:00 AM (at St. Mary, Anita, before the 8:30 AM Mass)
About St. Mary's, Anita
St. Mary's Catholic Church is a small Roman Catholic parish in Anita, Iowa, in the Diocese of Des Moines. It is one of several historic rural congregations in Cass and surrounding counties that are now organized as a single pastoral cluster under the shared website sspeterpaulandmary.org. The parish shares its priests, office staff, bookkeeper, faith-formation director, and Catholic women's organization with Ss. Peter and Paul in Atlantic and the other cluster churches, so Anita's small congregation remains part of a wider Catholic family in southwest Iowa.
- Parish name: St. Mary's Catholic Church, Anita
- Diocese: Des Moines
- Rite: Roman (Latin)
- Languages: English
- Cluster: Ss. Peter & Paul – St. Mary's
Cluster of Parishes (Ss. Peter & Paul – St. Mary's)
St. Mary's is officially grouped with Ss. Peter and Paul in Atlantic and is 'served from Atlantic.' The same shared website, sspeterpaulandmary.org, also lists St. Timothy (Reno/Cumberland) and Our Lady of Grace (Griswold) within the same pastoral care arrangement, and the Diocese of Des Moines directory further notes that the administrator of Ss. Peter & Paul in Atlantic also serves Anita and Reno/Cumberland. This cluster model allows a small rural parish like St. Mary's to keep regular Mass and sacramental ministry while sharing limited clergy and administrative resources.
- Ss. Peter and Paul, Atlantic — primary cluster parish and mailing address
- St. Mary, Anita — Sunday 8:30 AM; Thursday 9:00 AM
- St. Timothy, Reno/Cumberland
- Our Lady of Grace, Griswold
Clergy and Parish Staff
St. Mary's is currently led by Parochial Administrator Rev. Bradley Robey, who serves the entire Ss. Peter & Paul – St. Mary's cluster. He succeeded Fr. Trevor Chicoine, who pastored the cluster from 2019 until he was named Administrator of the Basilica of St. John in Des Moines. Day-to-day parish administration and bookkeeping are handled centrally from the Atlantic office, and the Catholic Women's Organization in Anita has its own local contact.
- Rev. Bradley Robey — Parochial Administrator ([email protected])
- Rev. Trevor Chicoine — predecessor pastor (2019–2025); now Administrator, Basilica of St. John, Des Moines, and Vicar for Divine Worship, Diocese of Des Moines
- Kris Wernimont — Office Manager, cluster (from Atlantic)
- Maureen Doherty — Bookkeeper, cluster ([email protected])
- Julie Williamson — Catechetical Leader, cluster ([email protected])
- Jacquie Aupperle — CWO President, St. Mary, Anita (712-254-0428, [email protected])
Faith Formation and Religious Education
Children's and teen religious formation for St. Mary's parishioners is coordinated cluster-wide and held at Ss. Peter and Paul in Atlantic, with Julie Williamson serving as the cluster's catechetical leader. Sacramental preparation for First Communion, Confirmation, and RCIA is likewise organized at the cluster level through the Atlantic parish office, with Rev. Bradley Robey as the cluster's RCIA contact.
- Children's & teen faith formation — held at Ss. Peter & Paul, Atlantic
- Catechetical Leader (cluster): Julie Williamson, [email protected]
- RCIA contact: Rev. Bradley Robey, [email protected]
Parish Organizations
The parish's lay organization is the Catholic Women's Organization (CWO) of St. Mary, Anita, which supports the spiritual, social, and fundraising life of the parish. Other cluster-wide lay groups and ministries operate under the umbrella of Ss. Peter and Paul in Atlantic.
- CWO (Catholic Women's Organization), St. Mary — Jacquie Aupperle, 712-254-0428, [email protected]
- Cluster-wide CCW and parish organizations — coordinated through Ss. Peter & Paul, Atlantic
Sacraments
The sacraments are celebrated at St. Mary according to the published weekly schedule. In addition to the regular Sunday and Thursday Masses and Sunday confessions, Holy Day Masses and the cluster's sacramental preparation programs (Baptism, First Communion, Confirmation, Marriage, Anointing of the Sick) are coordinated through the Atlantic office.
- Eucharist: Sunday 8:30 AM; Thursday 9:00 AM; Holy Days as announced
- Reconciliation: Sunday 7:30–8:00 AM
- Baptism, First Communion, Confirmation, Marriage, Anointing of the Sick — coordinated through the cluster office, (712) 243-4721
Contact and Visiting
St. Mary's physical church is at 302 Chestnut Street in Anita, but the parish office and all administrative mail are handled from 600 Locust St., Atlantic, IA 50022. The single phone number and email serve the entire cluster, so Anita parishioners and visitors can call the same line for sacraments, funerals, and parish business.
- Church address: 302 Chestnut Street, Anita, IA 50020
- Mailing address: 600 Locust St., Atlantic, IA 50022
- Phone: (712) 243-4721
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: https://www.sspeterpaulandmary.org/
History and Identity
St. Mary's has been a Catholic presence in Anita for generations, rooted in the farming and small-town families of southwest Iowa. It was formally incorporated in the State of Iowa as a non-profit religious corporation in February 1959 and has, for many years, been 'served from Atlantic' — meaning its priests have been based at the larger Ss. Peter and Paul parish in Atlantic while traveling to Anita for Mass and the sacraments. The current cluster model is simply the latest chapter in that long history of cooperation between the rural parishes of Cass County.
- Iowa non-profit corporation: St. Mary's Catholic Church of Anita, entity #81142, incorporated 9 February 1959
- Served from Ss. Peter & Paul, Atlantic
- Part of the Diocese of Des Moines (Bishop William Joensen)
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Rev. Trevor Chicoine2019 – early 2025
Pastor of the Ss. Peter & Paul – St. Mary's cluster from 2019 until he was named Administrator of the Basilica of St. John in Des Moines; also Vicar for Divine Worship for the Diocese of Des Moines.
- Rev. Bradley RobeyJanuary 2025 – present
Succeeded Fr. Chicoine as Parochial Administrator of the cluster, which includes St. Mary, Anita.