About St. Peter Chapel · Preston, Idaho
St. Peter Chapel (San Pedro) is a Catholic mission chapel in Preston, Idaho, serving Catholics in Franklin County as part of the Good Shepherd Catholic Community headquartered at St. Mary's in Soda Springs. Located at 302 E. Oneida Street, the chapel hosts a weekly Sunday Mass in Spanish and is one of five worship sites in the rural Good Shepherd cluster, which also includes Our Lady of Lourdes (Lava Hot Springs), Blessed Sacrament (Montpelier) and St. Paul's Mission (Malad City). Despite sitting in a heavily LDS (Mormon) community along the Utah–Idaho border, the small chapel has historically drawn more than 100 Catholics to Mass, and is currently shepherded by Father Anthony Nnodim with deacon Tilio Pérez serving primarily in Preston.
- Patron
- St. Peter (San Pedro)
- Rector
- Father Anthony Nnodim
- Diocese
- Diocese of Boise City (Roman Catholic Diocese of Boise)
Why belong here
St. Peter's Chapel offers Catholics in Preston and Franklin County a dedicated, Spanish-language Sunday liturgy in an area where Catholics are a small minority. Worshippers are welcomed into a tight-knit, multi-site Good Shepherd Catholic Community that shares priests, deacons, and faith-formation support across Soda Springs, Lava Hot Springs, Montpelier, Preston, and Malad. The chapel is known for active lay leadership — especially from its Hispanic parishioners — and for the personal availability of its priests, who can be reached by text or call before any Mass.
Mass times at St. Peter Chapel
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Before any Masses (Father is always available by text or call — per parish website)
St. Peter's Chapel at a Glance
St. Peter's Chapel — known in Spanish as San Pedro — is the Catholic mission chapel serving Preston and Franklin County in southeast Idaho. It is part of the Good Shepherd Catholic Community, a five-site parish cluster headquartered at St. Mary's in Soda Springs. The community also includes Our Lady of Lourdes (Lava Hot Springs), Blessed Sacrament (Montpelier) and St. Paul's Mission (Malad City), all under the Roman Catholic Diocese of Boise.
- Address: 302 E. Oneida St., Preston, ID 83263
- Parish office phone: (208) 547-3200
- Website: goodshepherdidaho.com
- Type: Mission chapel (a mission of St. Mary's, Soda Springs)
- Diocese: Roman Catholic Diocese of Boise
Parish History & Community
St. Peter's Chapel has long served as the Catholic outpost in Preston, a city in Franklin County, Idaho that sits in the Logan, Utah metropolitan area and is historically dominated by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. According to the Diocese of Boise, the small chapel has regularly hosted more than 100 Catholics at Mass even within that overwhelmingly LDS cultural context. Over the years the chapel has been served by pastors commuting from St. Mary's in Soda Springs — a roughly 30-mile drive that can be difficult in heavy winter weather.
- More than 100 Catholics typically attend Mass at St. Peter's (pre-pandemic figure cited by Diocese of Boise).
- Located in a heavily LDS (Mormon) community along the Idaho–Utah border.
- Sustained by a cluster-priest model: pastor travels from St. Mary's in Soda Springs.
Hispanic Ministry & the Story of Deacon Tilio Pérez
The Hispanic Catholic community has been the heart of St. Peter's life. Tilio Pérez and his family began attending Mass without getting heavily involved, until a day when lectors failed to show up and he stepped in to read. That moment launched years of service: in 2011, then-pastor Father Robert Irwin invited Pérez to represent the Hispanic community on the parish council. Pérez went on to serve as a lector, Extraordinary Minister of the Eucharist (instituted by Father Sipho Mathabela), and the lay point person for parish improvements — including helping secure materials for a new parking lot, with financial support from the Diocese.
- 2011 — Father Robert Irwin invites Pérez to the parish council.
- Father Germán Osorio begins Pérez's diaconate formation.
- Father Sipho Mathabela institutes Pérez as an Extraordinary Minister of the Eucharist.
- Pérez scheduled for ordination to the permanent diaconate in 2022.
Clergy and Pastoral Staff
Good Shepherd Catholic Community — which includes St. Peter's Chapel — is currently pastored by Father Anthony Nnodim, a Nigerian priest ordained in 2002 for the Archdiocese of Owerri who came to Idaho in 2022. The Diocese of Boise's official directory lists him at 99 W. Center St., Soda Springs. Deacon Tilio Pérez was ordained to serve primarily at St. Peter's in Preston, joining Deacon David McCarthy (serving the cluster since 2012) and deacon Art Martinez (serving primarily St. Paul's, Malad).
- Father Anthony Nnodim — Pastor, Good Shepherd Catholic Community
- Deacon Tilio Pérez — serves primarily at St. Peter's, Preston
- Parish office: (208) 547-3200
Wider Good Shepherd Catholic Community
St. Peter's does not stand alone: it is one of five Catholic worship sites served by Good Shepherd Parish. Together they cover a vast, rural swath of southeast Idaho — from Soda Springs south to the Idaho–Utah border and west toward Malad City — where priests often drive long distances and Catholics are a religious minority in nearly every town they serve.
- St. Mary's, Soda Springs — parish headquarters, 99 W. Center St.
- Our Lady of Lourdes, Lava Hot Springs — 132 S. 1st E. St.
- Blessed Sacrament, Montpelier — 270 N. 8th St.
- St. Peter's Chapel, Preston — 302 E. Oneida St.
- St. Paul's Mission, Malad City — 233 W. Samaria Ln.
Diocese of Boise
St. Peter's Chapel belongs to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Boise City, which covers the entire state of Idaho. Erected on August 23, 1893 by Pope Leo XIII with Bishop Alphonse Glorieux as its first bishop, the diocese today counts roughly 150,000 Catholics (about 11% of Idaho's population), organized into six deaneries with 51 parishes, 31 stations, and 25 chapels. The current bishop is Peter F. Christensen, appointed by Pope Francis in 2014.
- Diocese: Roman Catholic Diocese of Boise
- Established: 1893
- Cathedral: Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist, Boise
- Current bishop: Peter F. Christensen (since 2014)
Getting Involved / Contact
St. Peter's is a small chapel with a big lay footprint. Parishioners serve as lectors, Extraordinary Ministers of the Eucharist, parish council members, and building-and-grounds volunteers. The parish emphasizes that the priest is reachable directly by text or call before any Mass.
- Parish office: (208) 547-3200
- Online giving and Flocknote notifications: available via goodshepherdidaho.com
- Weekly bulletins: posted on the parish website
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Father Robert IrwinThrough ~2011+
Pastor of Good Shepherd Parish who invited Tilio Pérez to represent the Hispanic community on the parish council.
- Father Germán OsorioPrior to 2020
Helped begin Tilio Pérez's diaconate formation.
- Father Sipho Mathabela2020–2021
Pastor of Good Shepherd; previously administrator at St. Theresa's (Orofino) and St. Catherine of Siena (Kamiah). Later moved to Sacred Heart, Boise as parochial vicar.
- Father Joseph Lustig2021–(later)
Administrator at Good Shepherd Parish; subsequently granted sabbatical to study Canon Law in Ontario, Canada.
- Father Anthony NnodimCurrent
Appointed Pastor of Good Shepherd Catholic Community; previously chaplain of St. John Bosco Academy in Cottonwood and parochial vicar at St. Thomas the Apostle, Coeur d'Alene.