About St. Theresa · Alexis, Illinois
St. Theresa is a Catholic mission church in the small village of Alexis, Illinois, located at 131 N. Main Street. It is part of the Immaculate Conception Catholic Cluster in Monmouth, IL, which serves as the central parish within the Diocese of Peoria. Weekly Sunday Mass is celebrated at the St. Teresa Campus in Alexis, and the parish shares its confession, adoration, and sacramental schedule with Immaculate Conception in Monmouth. The mission traces its origins to the late 1870s when the first Catholic church in Alexis was constructed by a visiting pastor from Monmouth.
- Established
- 1876
- Patron
- St. Theresa (of Lisieux, traditionally associated with 'Little Flower')
- Diocese
- Diocese of Peoria
Why belong here
St. Theresa offers a small-town Catholic community in Alexis where the faithful can worship in an intimate mission setting while still being supported by the larger Immaculate Conception Catholic Cluster in Monmouth. The parish shares in a robust sacramental life including daily Mass, weekly Sunday Mass, weekly Confession opportunities, and Friday Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. As part of the cluster, St. Theresa parishioners also have access to a parish PK-8 school (Immaculate Conception School), live-streamed Masses, and Spanish-language liturgies celebrated at Immaculate Conception in Monmouth.
Mass times at St. Theresa
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Sunday: 9:30 AM - 9:50 AM (St. Theresa, Alexis)
- Saturday: 3:00 PM - 4:00 PM (Immaculate Conception, Monmouth)
- Wednesday: 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM (Immaculate Conception, Monmouth)
- Sunday: 11:30 AM - 12:00 PM (Immaculate Conception, Monmouth)
- By appointment: (309) 734-7533
Adoration times
- Friday: 9:00 AM - 3:00 PM (at Immaculate Conception Church, Monmouth)
About St. Theresa, Alexis
St. Theresa is a Catholic mission church at 131 N. Main Street in the village of Alexis, Illinois. It is one of the mission campuses of the Immaculate Conception Catholic Cluster based in nearby Monmouth, IL. As a small rural mission, St. Theresa retains its own dedicated Sunday Mass schedule while drawing on the priests and sacramental resources of the cluster.
Parish History
St. Theresa's roots go back to the late 1870s, when Catholic life in the Monmouth area was still young. The first Catholic settlers — a few Irish immigrants — had arrived near Monmouth around 1854–1855, and the parish of Immaculate Conception was organized in the 1860s with the arrival of its first resident pastor, Fr. Joseph D. Bowles, in 1869. Out-missions like St. Patrick's at Raritan and the church at Alexis were built in this era. According to the cluster's published parish history, Fr. Thomas O'Farrell, pastor at Immaculate Conception from September 1876 to November 1878, 'built the church in Alexis' during his brief tenure — making 1876–1878 the founding window for what would become St. Theresa.
- St. Theresa built by Fr. Thomas O'Farrell during his 1876–1878 pastorate of Immaculate Conception, Monmouth.
- Built as an out-mission of Monmouth, alongside St. Patrick's at Raritan.
- Continues today as a mission church of the Immaculate Conception Catholic Cluster.
Immaculate Conception Catholic Cluster
St. Theresa belongs to the Immaculate Conception Catholic Cluster, a grouping of parishes serving the Monmouth–Alexis area of Warren County. The cluster shares priests, sacramental ministries, and resources, allowing the small mission at Alexis to maintain a regular Mass schedule while benefiting from the broader parish life of Immaculate Conception in Monmouth. The cluster's primary website is iccmonmouth.org, where news, Mass intentions, and the parish bulletin are published.
- Cluster website: https://www.iccmonmouth.org/
- Cluster phone: (309) 734-7533
- Cluster email: [email protected]
Schools & Faith Formation
Within the Immaculate Conception Catholic Cluster, families have access to Immaculate Conception School, a PK-8 Catholic elementary school in Monmouth serving the children of Immaculate Conception and its mission parishes. Live-streamed Sunday Masses from Immaculate Conception are also available online for parishioners who cannot attend in person.
- Immaculate Conception School (PK-8), Monmouth — see cluster website.
Visit & Contact
St. Theresa is located at 131 N. Main Street in Alexis, Illinois, 61412. Mass and confession times, plus contact information for the cluster office in Monmouth, are kept up to date on the cluster website.
- Address: 131 N. Main St., Alexis, IL 61412
- Phone: (309) 734-7533 (Monmouth parish office) / (309) 482-3935
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: https://www.iccmonmouth.org/st-teresas
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Fr. Thomas O'Farrell1876-1878
Built the church in Alexis as pastor of Immaculate Conception, Monmouth