About St. Patrick · Grafton, Illinois
St. Patrick's Catholic Church is a small historic parish in the river town of Grafton, Illinois, at the confluence of the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers. One of four Jersey County Catholic parishes clustered under the Diocese of Springfield in Illinois, St. Patrick's has worshipped continuously since the first Mass celebrated on December 8, 1871, the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. The current building is the original 1871 native-stone church, and the parish marked its 150-year Sesquicentennial Jubilee on December 8, 2021 under Pastor Father Martin Smith. Despite repeated Mississippi River floods — most damagingly in 1993 — the parish has endured and continues as a tight-knit faith community along the Great River Road.
- Established
- 1871
- Patron
- St. Patrick
- Rector
- Rev. Martin Smith
- Diocese
- Diocese of Springfield in Illinois
Why belong here
St. Patrick's is a small but remarkably resilient river-town Catholic community in Grafton, IL, gathering every Sunday at 8:00 AM in the same native-stone church first blessed on December 8, 1871. Worship is supported by a full team — Pastor Father Martin Smith, Parochial Vicar Father Ramesh Babu Matta, a parish secretary, music director, and the broader Jersey County Catholic Parishes staff for faith formation, liturgy and advancement. Joining means becoming part of a parish that has survived multiple Mississippi River floods (most devastatingly in 1993), built a parish hall for its centennial in 1971, and just celebrated its 150-year Sesquicentennial Jubilee — a place where every Mass still feels like a family gathering in a building nearly 155 years old.
Mass times at St. Patrick
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- By appointment (call the parish office)
Parish History & Heritage
St. Patrick's Catholic Church in Grafton, Illinois traces its origins to the Irish immigrant quarry workers who settled along the Mississippi River around 1856. The parish's own historical sketch honors Father Louis Marquette, S.J., whose 1673 expedition with Jolliet first brought Europeans to the Grafton area at the confluence of the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers. The current church — built of native stone in 1871 — has been in continuous use for more than 150 years, surviving major Mississippi floods and the slow decline of the quarry industry that founded it.
- December 8, 1871: First Mass celebrated on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception
- 1872: Rectory built at a cost of $2,000
- December 1971: Parish hall dedicated under Fr. Patrick Morrow, exactly 100 years after the church
- 1993: Great Flood badly damaged the interior
- March 19, 1996: Bishop Daniel Ryan rededicated the restored church
- December 8, 2021: 150-year Sesquicentennial Jubilee celebrated under Fr. Martin Smith
The Irish-German Compromise
Before the church was built, the Irish (in lower Grafton) and Germans (in upper Grafton) disagreed about where the new Catholic church should stand. They reached a famous compromise: the church would be built in Upper Grafton where most Germans lived, but would be named St. Patrick in honor of the Irish families. That decision still defines the parish's identity today.
Architecture & Building
St. Patrick's is a small single-story church built of native quarry stone in 1871 at a cost of $5,000, largely through donated labor. The building is nearly identical to St. James 'Sag Bridge' Church in Lamont, Illinois — both products of the Irish stone-mason families who moved between the Lemont and Grafton quarries. The rectory was added in 1872 and a parish hall in 1971. The interior was damaged by the Great Flood of 1993 and fully restored before being rededicated by Bishop Daniel Ryan on March 19, 1996.
Clergy & Staff
St. Patrick's is led by Pastor Father Martin Smith, who first served the parish as Parochial Vicar from 2017 to 2019 before being appointed Pastor in August 2019. He is assisted by Parochial Vicar Father Ramesh Babu Matta and supported by the broader Jersey County Catholic Parishes staff, including the Office Manager, Secretaries, Director of Religious Education / Sacred Liturgy, and Director of Advancement. The diocesan directory also lists a parish Secretary (Suzie Hedger) and Director of Music (Alex Foster) for St. Patrick's specifically.
- Pastor: Rev. Martin Smith
- Parochial Vicar: Rev. Ramesh Babu Matta
- Parochial Vicar (Jersey County): Fr. Hilary Obor
- Office Manager: Bradley Wise — [email protected]
- Secretary: Kelli Travers — [email protected]
- Director of Religious Education / Sacred Liturgy: Keaten Mansfield — [email protected]
- Director of Advancement: Dennis Cramsey — [email protected]
- Parish Secretary (per diocesan directory): Suzie Hedger
- Director of Music (per diocesan directory): Alex Foster
Sacraments & Faith Formation
As a member of the Jersey County Catholic Parishes, St. Patrick's shares faith formation and sacramental preparation across the four-parish cluster. Children prepare for First Reconciliation (age 7 and older) and other sacraments through the shared Parish School of Religion (PSR) program or St. Francis/Holy Ghost School, coordinated by Director of Religious Education Keaten Mansfield. Adult parishioners interested in joining the parish are invited to call the Jersey County Catholic Parishes Office at (618) 498-3518.
- First Confession preparation begins in PSR or at St. Francis/Holy Ghost School
- Sacramental preparation coordinated through the Jersey County Catholic Parishes office
- New parishioner inquiries: (618) 498-3518 (Bradley Wise)
Jersey County Catholic Parishes Cluster
St. Patrick's is one of four parishes that share clergy and staff under the Jersey County Catholic Parishes umbrella, alongside Holy Ghost and St. Francis Xavier in Jerseyville and St. Mary's. The combined office — staffed Monday through Friday from 8:00 AM to 3:00 PM — coordinates faith formation, liturgy, music, advancement and sacramental preparation across all four parishes.
- Holy Ghost, Jerseyville
- St. Francis Xavier, Jerseyville
- St. Mary's, Jerseyville
- St. Patrick's, Grafton
- Shared Office: Monday – Friday, 8:00 AM – 3:00 PM
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Fr. P. M. Burke1871 – 1872
First pastor; served as the church opened
- Fr. Edward McGowan1872 – 1875
- Fr. Thomas Cusack1875 – 1876
- Fr. D. J. Ryan1876 – 1877
- Fr. A. Diekman1877
- Fr. B. Winterhalter1877
- Fr. B. Rossmoller1878 – 1884
- Fr. F. A. Marks1885
- Fr. Thomas Masterson1885 – 1892
- Fr. Terrence O'Brien1892 – 1894
- Fr. Joseph Finnegan1894 – 1898
- Fr. Christopher Bell1898 – 1903
- Fr. Francis Hussey1903
- Fr. C. A. Snyder1904 – 1908
- Fr. A. Shockaert1909 – 1912
- Fr. D. Doyle1913
- Fr. Charles Fanning1913 – 1919
- Fr. M. J. Davis1919 – 1924
- Fr. Joseph Jordan1924 – 1927
- Fr. M. J. Cummings1927 – 1930
- Fr. Lawrence Villing1930 – 1934
- Fr. Frederick Neveling1934 – 1938
- Fr. George Link1938 – 1942
with assistant Fr. James Holmes 1938–1939 and Fr. Raymond Franzen in 1940
- Fr. Michael Sheehy1942 – 1961
Long-tenured pastor after WWII
- Fr. Leonard Rathgeb (Administrator)1961 – 1962
- Fr. Anthony Schmidt1962 – 1969
- Fr. P. A. Morrow1969 – 1977
Built and dedicated the parish hall in December 1971, 100 years after the church
- Fr. John Brahler1977 – 1979
- Fr. Richard Niebruegge1979 – 1980
- Fr. Terrence Shea1980 – 1981
- Fr. Joseph Dineen1981 – 1985
- Fr. Patrick Carroll, OMI1985 – 1991
Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate; served through the 1993 flood
- Fr. Eugene Glaub, OMI1991 – 1994
Oblate; oversaw early flood restoration
- Fr. Charles Hurkes, OMI1994 – 2000
Oblate
- Fr. Robert Meyers2000 – 2005
- Fr. D. Patrick Gibbons2005 – 2017
- Fr. Stephen Pohlman2017 – 2019
- Fr. Martin Smith2019 – present
Served as Parochial Vicar 2017–2019, then appointed Pastor August 2019; led 150-year Sesquicentennial Jubilee on December 8, 2021