About St. Peter/St. Thomas Aquinas Pastorate · Cascade, Iowa
St. Thomas Aquinas Pastorate is a Catholic parish cluster in Cascade, Iowa, made up of four historic rural parishes: St. Matthias in Cascade, St. Peter at Temple Hill, St. Patrick in Garryowen, and Sacred Heart in Fillmore. It belongs to the Archdiocese of Dubuque and is closely tied to the Aquin Catholic School System, which provides parochial education from preschool through eighth grade. The pastorate publishes a rotating weekend Mass schedule so that every parish community has regular access to the Eucharist, along with daily Mass, confession, Eucharistic Adoration, and a livestream of Sunday Mass from St. Matthias.
- Established
- 1839 (earliest Catholic presence in Jones County at what became St. Peter, Temple Hill); pastorate cluster formed in the late 1990s/2000s
- Patron
- St. Peter (Apostle) and St. Thomas Aquinas (pastorate patron)
- Diocese
- Archdiocese of Dubuque
Why belong here
The St. Thomas Aquinas Pastorate offers the rhythms of a tight-knit rural Catholic community — rotating weekend Mass in four historic churches, weekday Mass and Eucharistic Adoration at St. Matthias in Cascade, regular confession times, and a livestream of Sunday Mass for the homebound. Catholic families are served from cradle to grave: the Behold Your Child ministry walks with parents experiencing miscarriage, stillbirth, or infant death; parish-based religious education (CCD) partners with the Aquin Catholic elementary school system; and parish councils, finance committees, and a youth representative keep the four parishes actively self-governed. For Catholics in the Cascade, Temple Hill, Garryowen, and Fillmore area, the pastorate is a place where neighbor still means fellow parishioner.
Mass times at St. Peter/St. Thomas Aquinas Pastorate
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Saturday 3:30 PM–4:00 PM (prior to the 4:00 PM Mass at that parish)
- Saturday 6:30 PM–7:00 PM (immediately following the 5:30 PM Mass)
- Wednesday 7:00 PM–7:30 PM every other week at St. Peter Parish, Temple Hill (see bulletin for dates)
- By appointment — call 563-852-3524
Adoration times
- Wednesday 7:00 PM–7:30 PM every other week at St. Peter Parish, Temple Hill (see bulletin)
- Wednesday & Friday 7:30 AM–12:00 PM at St. Matthias Parish, Cascade
About the St. Thomas Aquinas Pastorate
St. Thomas Aquinas Pastorate is a four-parish Catholic cluster in and around Cascade, Iowa, in the Archdiocese of Dubuque. It brings together St. Matthias in Cascade, St. Peter at Temple Hill, St. Patrick in Garryowen, and Sacred Heart in Fillmore under shared pastoral leadership, while each parish keeps its own parish council, finance committee, and identity. The pastorate office is at 408 3rd Ave NW, PO Box 699, Cascade, IA 52033-0699, phone 563-852-3524. The cluster is named for St. Thomas Aquinas, and its work is closely tied to the Aquin Catholic elementary school system.
- St. Matthias, Cascade — worship center with Sunday Mass and weekday services
- St. Peter, Temple Hill — historic parish at 20189 Temple Hill Rd
- St. Patrick, Garryowen — rotating Saturday evening Mass site
- Sacred Heart, Fillmore — rotating Saturday evening Mass site
- Archdiocese of Dubuque (jurisdiction)
History of the Cluster
The pastorate is rooted in the earliest Catholic settlements of Jones County. St. Peter, Temple Hill traces Catholic presence in the area to 1839, when settlers in the northeastern tip of the county were served by pastors residing at St. Patrick, Garryowen. Within Cascade itself, the first Catholic church was St. Matthias (1848); it burned after four years. The two successor parishes, St. Mary (German-speaking, 1857) and St. Martin (1853), existed side-by-side for over a century; in 1995 they merged into a single parish that chose to honor the original 1848 name, St. Matthias.
- 1839 — earliest Catholic settlers near present-day Temple Hill
- 1848 — first St. Matthias church founded in Cascade; destroyed by fire
- 1853 — St. Martin Parish founded for Irish Catholics in Cascade
- 1857 — St. Mary Parish founded for German Catholics in Cascade
- 1967 — Franciscan Sisters leave St. Peter school; Aquin High School (1961–1976) closes
- 1991 — St. Mary and St. Martin linked under one pastor
- 1995 — Cascade parishes vote to merge and revive the name St. Matthias
- 2013 — major renovation and rededication of St. Matthias
St. Matthias Parish, Cascade
St. Matthias is the largest and most active parish in the cluster, hosting every Sunday Mass, weekday Mass, regular Eucharistic Adoration, and the pastorate livestream. The current building is the heir to the 1848 original that burned; its predecessor stone church saw its first Mass on Christmas 1859. After the 1995 merger of St. Mary and St. Martin, the unified community returned to the historic St. Matthias name.
- 410 3rd Ave NW, Cascade, IA 52033
- Sunday Mass: 8:00 AM and 10:00 AM in English
- Major renovation completed late fall 2013; rededication December 2013
St. Peter Parish, Temple Hill
St. Peter, Temple Hill is recorded as the first Catholic community in Jones County. After the original church structure was lost, the parish was rebuilt and served for 75 years by Franciscan Sisters from Dubuque who staffed the parish school. The school closed in 1967 with the sisters' departure for Mount St. Francis. A complete redecoration in May 1987 introduced church furnishings of native oak grown within the parish, a project led by parishioners Larry and Lois Manternach. Today about 134 families (~450 people) belong to the parish.
- 20189 Temple Hill Rd (also listed as 20121), Cascade, IA 52033
- Mass on the 2nd and 4th Saturdays at 6:00 PM
- Confession every other Wednesday 7:00–7:30 PM (see bulletin)
- Adoration every other Wednesday 7:00–7:30 PM
- School closed 1967 after 75 years of Franciscan Sisters' service
- Parish Council: Joe Trumm (President/Pastorate Council), Marie Britt (Secretary), Brett Schoenherr (President), with youth rep Annie Trumm
St. Patrick Parish, Garryowen
St. Patrick in Garryowen is one of the historic mother parishes of the area — during the 1840s, its pastors cared for Catholics spread across what is now the northeastern corner of Jones County. Today the parish maintains a biweekly Saturday evening Mass and continues as part of the Aquin School System.
- Mass on the 2nd and 4th Saturdays at 4:00 PM in English
Sacred Heart Parish, Fillmore
Sacred Heart, Fillmore rounds out the four-parish pastorate. It hosts a 6:00 PM Saturday evening Mass on the 1st and 3rd weekends of the month and is shared with the wider Aquin Catholic school community.
- Mass on the 1st and 3rd Saturdays at 6:00 PM in English
Sacraments & Pastoral Care
The pastorate prepares parents for their children's Baptism and for the reception of other sacraments in cooperation with the Aquin school system. Couples contact the parish office to begin marriage preparation, and the Behold Your Child ministry walks with families through miscarriage, stillbirth, or infant death.
- Baptism preparation for parents through the Aquin system
- First Eucharist, Confirmation (preparation in Aquin religious education)
- Marriage preparation (contact parish office)
- Anointing of the Sick and viaticum
- Behold Your Child Ministry for prenatal / infant loss
Faith Formation & Aquin Catholic School
Children in the cluster attend Aquin Catholic Elementary (preschool through 8th grade) or the parish-based religious education program that is part of the Aquin System. Aquin Catholic School serves about 263 students from 143 families across Jones, Delaware, and Dubuque counties; its latchkey, three-year-old preschool, and CCD-style release-time classes extend services to many more. A pastorate CCD calendar (groups A and B) runs through the school year.
- Aquin Catholic Elementary, Cascade (PK–8)
- Aquin latchkey and 3-year-old preschool
- Released-time religious education classes in Cascade
- Parish-based CCD (Group A / Group B rotation)
- Aquin Board of Education parish representatives
Behold Your Child Ministry
A signature pastoral ministry of the St. Thomas Aquinas Pastorate, Behold Your Child accompanies families experiencing a life-limiting prenatal diagnosis, miscarriage, stillbirth, or infant death. Team members have completed training through the Archdiocese of Dubuque and Catholic Charities, and printed resources are available at the back of each cluster church. The team can be reached through the parish office at 563-852-3524.
- Team members: Deb Redmond, Janice Kurt, Cathy Knuth, Hillary Leibold, Barb Otting, Patty Decker
- Archdiocese of Dubuque / Catholic Charities training
- Resources in each cluster church
- Contact via the parish office (563) 852-3524
Parish Leadership & Councils
Each parish in the cluster maintains its own Parish Council and Finance Council, with representatives also serving on the Pastorate Council. A youth representative position ensures young voices are heard at the pastorate-wide table. Two Pastorate Disability Advocates currently serve the cluster and gather feedback from parishioners with disabilities and their families.
- Pastorate Council — Karen Knepper, Joe Trumm (President), and others
- Finance Councils at each parish
- Youth representative on the Pastorate Council
- Pastorate Disability Advocates — Kathy Weber (563-542-1416, [email protected]) and Peggy Gaul (563-543-7931, [email protected])
Volunteer & Liturgical Service
Parish bulletins regularly call for lectors, Eucharistic ministers, servers, ushers, and sacristans at each of the four churches. Sign-up sheets are included in the weekly bulletin, or you can call the pastorate office.
- Lectors and Eucharistic Ministers
- Servers (especially at Sacred Heart, Fillmore)
- Ushers (especially at St. Patrick, Garryowen)
- Sacristans, choirs, and ad-hoc ministry teams
Links & Resources
The parish site links to the wider Archdiocese of Dubuque ecosystem of faith formation and lay-ministry resources, together with the Aquin Catholic School website.
- Archdiocesan Council of Catholic Women (ACCW)
- Archdiocese of Dubuque
- ArchdioceseOne
- Ascension Press
- Dynamic Catholic
- FORMED
- That Man Is You
- USCCB
- Aquin Catholic School (aquin.org)
Bulletin, Calendar & Livestream
The pastorate publishes a weekly joint bulletin with the Mass intentions, ministry sign-ups, CCD calendar, and announcements. The website hosts the pastorate calendar and a livestream link for Mass celebrated at St. Matthias, Cascade, on the 1st and 3rd Saturdays at 4:00 PM and the 2nd and 4th Sundays at 8:00 AM.
- Weekly joint bulletin (PDF, posted online)
- Pastorate calendar
- Livestream Mass from St. Matthias
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Rev. Thomas Toale
Identified in the Jones County/IAGenWeb history of St. Peter, Temple Hill, as the resident pastor at the time of that write-up, also serving as Superintendent of Schools and moderator of the Curia for the Archdiocese of Dubuque.