About St Peter · Lovilia, Iowa
St. Peter's Parish is a small Roman Catholic parish in the rural town of Lovilia, Iowa, in Monroe County. It is one of three parishes served together as a collaborative cluster with St. Mary Parish in Albia and St. Patrick Parish in Georgetown. Founded in 1906 and originally attended by Polish, Irish, and other Catholic mining and farming families of the region, the parish has been on the National Register of Historic Places and continues to celebrate Mass on the 2nd and 4th Sundays of each month. St. Peter's belongs to the Diocese of Davenport and is in the Roman (Latin) Rite.
- Established
- 1906
- Patron
- Saint Peter (the Apostle)
- Rector
- Father Mark Yates (C.PP.S.) — pastor of the Albia/Georgetown/Lovilia cluster; departed the parish on June 29, 2024 as part of the Missionaries of the Precious Blood's withdrawal from Iowa. Pastoral care transitioned to diocesan clergy after that date.
- Diocese
- Diocese of Davenport
Why belong here
St. Peter's is one of the most historic small Catholic parishes in southern Iowa, with a building that has welcomed worshippers continuously since the early 1900s and is on the National Register of Historic Places. The parish shares its life with two neighboring communities — St. Mary in Albia and St. Patrick in Georgetown — which means Mass, confession, adoration, faith formation, and the parish bulletin are offered as a single family across three small towns. For Catholics in Lovilia and the surrounding rural Monroe County area, it is a place of continuity, Irish and Polish Catholic heritage, and personal pastoral care.
Mass times at St Peter
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Saturday 4:00–4:45 PM at St. Mary, Albia (or by appointment)
Adoration times
- Friday 12:00–1:00 PM (First Fridays) at St. Mary, Albia
History of St. Peter's Parish, Lovilia
St. Peter's was organized in 1906 when the Diocese of Davenport appointed Rev. Thomas F. Smyth, Jr. to build a new Catholic congregation in the small coal-mining town of Lovilia, Iowa, with St. Mary's at Weller as an out-mission. Father Smyth first built a ten-room rectory that doubled as a worship space while Mass was also celebrated in parishioners' homes; the present 'beautiful cement veneered' church was completed around 1909 at a cost of about $12,000. A heating plant and other additions in 1911 brought total costs to nearly $15,000. The parish was incorporated as a non-profit on May 7, 1912, and the church building was later placed on the National Register of Historic Places.
- Founded: 1906 by Rev. Thomas F. Smyth, Jr.
- Original worship space: a room in the new rectory (completed pre-1909)
- Current church built c. 1909; cement veneered; cost ~$12,000
- Heating plant and additions installed in 1911 (total ~$15,000)
- Incorporated as Iowa non-profit on May 7, 1912 (entity #81490)
- Building listed on the National Register of Historic Places
Founding Catholic Families
The first Catholic families of Lovilia were largely of Irish descent, drawn to the area by the coal mines that dominated Monroe County's economy in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. These families organized, fundraised, and hosted Mass in their homes while the parish was being built. They are remembered by name in the 1914 history of Lovilia and Weller Catholic parishes.
- T. B. O'Bryan
- Ed Lahart
- Barney Martin
- James Drury
- Richard O'Brien
- Jas. Martin
- Jno. L. Sullivan
- T. H. Swane
- J. J. Carr
St. Mary's at Weller and Outlying Missions
From Lovilia, Father Smyth and his successors served a wide mission territory. St. Mary's at Weller was assigned as an out-mission and attended every Sunday; the priest also rode on to Buxton once a month to say Mass in private homes (no church existed there yet). Catholic families in Everest, Marysville, Hamilton, and Bussey were visited at intervals as mission stations — a typical pattern for rural Iowa Catholic life in the early 1900s.
- St. Mary's, Weller — attended every Sunday from Lovilia
- Buxton — monthly Mass in parishioners' homes (no church)
- Out-stations: Everest, Marysville, Hamilton, Bussey
Missionaries of the Precious Blood (1938–2024)
In 1938, Bishop Henry Rohlman invited the Missionaries of the Precious Blood (C.PP.S.) to assume pastoral care of St. Mary Parish–Centerville and its missions. Over the following decades the Precious Bloods extended their ministry across southeastern Iowa, eventually taking responsibility for St. Patrick–Melrose, St. Mary–Albia, St. Patrick–Georgetown, St. Peter–Lovilia, and Mary of the Visitation–Ottumwa. The community's charism shaped parish spirituality, hospitality, and discipleship for nearly 90 years. In 2024, faced with a diminishing number of priests, unexpected deaths, and several retirements, the Provincial Council of the Missionaries announced the conclusion of the collaboration; the Precious Blood priests said farewell to their Iowa parishes on the weekend of June 29–30, 2024 — coincidentally the Feast of the Precious Blood.
- Collaboration began: 1938, by invitation of Bishop Henry Rohlman
- Ended: June 29–30, 2024, weekend of the Feast of the Precious Blood
- Original assignment: St. Mary, Centerville + missions (Mystic, Rathbun, Jerome, Numa, Cincinnati)
- Extended to: St. Patrick–Melrose, St. Mary–Albia, St. Patrick–Georgetown, St. Peter–Lovilia, Mary of the Visitation–Ottumwa
- Last Lovilia-area pastor: Father Mark Yates, C.PP.S.
- Last Centerville-area pastor: Father Timothy Armbruster, C.PP.S.
- Provincial leadership: Father Jeffrey Kirch (provincial director) and Father Joe Nassal (vice provincial director)
- Precious Blood Companions — lay associates (30–35 in the Davenport diocese) continue to gather
Mass and Sacramental Schedule (Cluster)
St. Peter's shares its Mass schedule and sacraments with St. Mary Parish in Albia and St. Patrick Parish in Georgetown. At St. Peter's specifically, Mass is offered on Tuesday mornings at 9:00 AM and on the 2nd and 4th Sundays of each month at 8:30 AM. Weekend Masses at Albia and Georgetown round out the cluster's weekly worship, and confessions are heard Saturday afternoons at St. Mary, Albia.
- Tuesday 9:00 AM — Mass at St. Peter's, Lovilia
- Sunday (2nd & 4th) 8:30 AM — Mass at St. Peter's, Lovilia
- Saturday Vigil 5:10 PM — Mass at St. Mary, Albia
- Sunday 10:30 AM — Mass at St. Mary, Albia
- Wednesday & Friday 9:00 AM — Mass at St. Mary, Albia
- 1st & 3rd Sunday 8:30 AM — Mass at St. Patrick, Georgetown
- Thursday 5:15 PM — Mass at St. Patrick, Georgetown
- 5th Sundays 8:30 AM — TBA within the cluster
- Holy Days — TBA within the cluster
Confirmation and Sacramental Preparation
Sacramental preparation for Confirmation is done at the cluster level, with candidates from St. Peter–Lovilia, St. Mary–Albia, St. Patrick–Georgetown, St. Mary–Centerville, and St. Patrick–Melrose coming together annually for the diocesan Confirmation rite.
- Annual diocesan Confirmation celebrated together at St. Mary, Albia (typically 10:30 AM)
- Preparation includes cluster-wide faith formation and catechesis
Parish Staff, Cluster Contacts, and Getting Involved
St. Peter's Parish itself is staffed minimally — appropriate to its small-town rural character — and most cluster administration is handled through the St. Mary, Albia parish office. Worshippers and visitors are encouraged to call the Lovilia number for church-specific questions and the Albia office for general parish business.
- St. Peter's Lovilia: P.O. Box 8, Lovilia, IA 50150 — (641) 946-8298 — [email protected]
- St. Mary's Albia (cluster office): 730 Benton Ave W, P.O. Box 365, Albia, IA 52531 — (641) 932-5130 — [email protected]
- Pastoral Associate: Sharon Crall (St. Mary, Albia)
- Website for bulletins, calendar, daily readings, and the shared bulletin: stmarysalbia.org
- Precious Blood Companions — lay associate membership available through the cluster
Visiting Lovilia and the Church
Lovilia is a small rural community in Monroe County in southern Iowa, with deep roots in the coal-mining era of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The Catholic church stands at 601 West 6th Street and is on the National Register of Historic Places, reflecting the architectural and cultural significance of early-twentieth-century Catholic parish construction in Iowa's coal country.
- Address: 601 West 6th Street, Lovilia, IA 50150
- Diocese: Diocese of Davenport (Roman/Latin Rite)
- Architectural note: 'beautiful cement veneered building' (1914 description)
- Listed on the National Register of Historic Places
- Cluster parishes worth visiting: St. Mary, Albia and St. Patrick, Georgetown
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Rev. Thomas F. Smyth, Jr.1906 – c. early 1910s
Appointed by the Diocese of Davenport in 1906 to organize St. Peter's Lovilia and St. Mary's Weller as an out-mission; built the rectory (initially used as a church) and the present cement-veneered church building. Died of pneumonia on January 15 of the years shortly after founding the parish.
- Rev. John R. Purtillby 1914
Succeeded Father Smyth as pastor; described in the 1914 Lovilia/Weller history as 'filled with spiritual zeal' and a 'progressive public spirit.'
- Missionaries of the Precious Blood (C.PP.S.)1938 – June 29, 2024
Began serving southeastern Iowa in 1938 at Bishop Rohlman's invitation; their pastoral ministry extended to St. Peter–Lovilia as part of the cluster with St. Mary–Albia and St. Patrick–Georgetown. Ended after nearly 90 years.
- Father Mark Yates, C.PP.S.until June 29, 2024
Last Precious Blood pastor of the Albia/Georgetown/Lovilia cluster; departed for St. Francis Xavier Parish in St. Joseph, Missouri.