About St. Thomas · Philo, Illinois
St. Thomas Catholic Church is a Roman-Latin rite parish in the small village of Philo, Illinois (Champaign County), situated just south of Champaign-Urbana. It belongs to the Diocese of Peoria and is canonically linked with St. Mary Parish in Pesotum, sharing weekday and Sunday Mass schedules between the two church sites under a single pastor. The current pastor is Father Keith A. Walder, assisted by Deacon Don Koeberlein, and the parish is closely tied to St. Thomas Catholic School (K-8), a fixture of the community since 1905. Visitors are welcomed at Sunday Masses at 9:00 and 11:00 AM and Saturday Vigil at 4:00 PM, with weekday Masses rotating between the Philo and Pesotum churches.
- Established
- circa 1894
- Patron
- St. Thomas the Apostle
- Rector
- Father Keith A. Walder
- Diocese
- Diocese of Peoria
Why belong here
St. Thomas offers a tight-knit country parish where families know one another, a parish-run K-8 school (one of the oldest Catholic schools in the diocese), weekday and Sunday Masses shared with neighboring St. Mary, Pesotum, and a Friday Children's Mass that brings schoolchildren and their families into the liturgy. Generations of Champaign County families have been baptized, married, and buried from this church — its current sanctuary was dedicated in 1980, but its roots reach back to the founding of the Philo community in the 1890s.
Mass times at St. Thomas
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- First Saturday 7:30 AM
- Friday 7:00 AM
- Saturday 3:00 PM
- Anytime by appointment
Adoration times
- First Saturday 7:30 AM – 8:15 AM
Parish History
Catholics in rural Philo worshiped as an organized congregation by the mid-1890s, and Father McKinnery built the first St. Thomas Church — a small frame chapel at Garfield and Madison — in 1895. That chapel was brick-veneered and enlarged in 1908, with the bell-tower steeple removed in the 1950s to modernize its silhouette. After more than eight decades the old building was demolished in 1979, and the present St. Thomas Church on East Madison was dedicated in 1980. The parish is now the primary site of a linked parish with St. Mary in Pesotum, continuing a small-farm-country Catholic tradition that traces back to the original founding of the village of Philo.
- 1895 — first frame chapel built by Father McKinnery
- 1908 — chapel expanded and brick-veneered
- 1950s — bell-tower steeple removed
- 1979 — old church demolished
- 1980 — present church dedicated on East Madison Street
St. Thomas Catholic School
St. Thomas Catholic School opened in 1905 as St. Joseph Academy under the Dominican Sisters of Springfield. Renamed St. Thomas Grade School in 1937 after the academy-level classes closed, it remained under Dominican leadership for 95 years until the sisters withdrew in 2000. Today the school enrolls roughly 90 students in kindergarten through eighth grade plus about 30 preschoolers, with daily religion classes, weekly Mass, and a regular Friday Children's Mass as integral parts of the curriculum. Co-curriculars include IESA athletics (softball, baseball, golf, cross country, basketball, volleyball, speech, and track) and an extracurricular program (worship band, choir, cheer, art club, Spanish club) for grades 5-8.
- 1905 founded as St. Joseph Academy
- 1937 renamed St. Thomas Grade School
- 1905–2000 staffed by the Dominican Sisters of Springfield
- Principal: Jean Cothron (311 E. Madison Street, 217-684-2309)
- Preschool (ages 3-4 and 4-5) and Aftercare until 5:30 PM
Trost Family Endowment
In January 2015 the parish school received a transformational $1 million gift from alumnus Robert Trost (who attended St. Thomas from 1936 to 1944), establishing the Trost Family St. Thomas School Educational Endowment Fund. The endowment supports tuition assistance, teacher salaries, and facility improvements, and was recognized at the time as one of the largest single gifts ever given to a small rural Catholic elementary school in the Diocese of Peoria.
- Donor: Robert Trost (St. Thomas alumnus, 1936-1944; of Dallas, Texas)
- Fund: Trost Family St. Thomas School Educational Endowment
- Recognized by Bishop Daniel R. Jenky, CSC, and then-administrator Father Robert Lampitt
Clergy, Staff & Parish Office
The parish is led by Father Keith A. Walder, who serves as pastor of the linked parishes of St. Thomas (Philo) and St. Mary (Pesotum) and is incardinated in the Diocese of Peoria. He is assisted by Deacon Don Koeberlein, who can be reached at 217-369-8453 or [email protected]. The combined St. Thomas / St. Mary Parish Office can be reached at 217-684-5107 or 217-621-4648, and the parish mailing address is PO Box 266, Philo, IL 61864.
- Pastor: Father Keith A. Walder
- Deacon: Don Koeberlein ([email protected] · 217-369-8453)
- Parish Office: 217-684-5107 / 217-621-4648
- Mailing: PO Box 266, Philo, IL 61864
Linked Parish: St. Mary, Pesotum
St. Thomas is canonically linked with St. Mary Parish in Pesotum, a few miles to its south. Under the linked-parish model, both communities share one pastor, one parish office, and a combined Mass schedule that distributes Sunday and weekday Masses between the two church sites. Visitors looking for a Mass on Tuesdays, Thursdays, or the 7:30 AM Sunday slot will find the celebration at St. Mary's, Pesotum.
- Shared pastor: Father Keith A. Walder
- 7:30 AM Sunday Mass at St. Mary's, Pesotum
- Tuesday and Thursday 7:30 AM weekday Masses at St. Mary's
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Father Keith A. Waldercurrent pastor
Incardinated in the Diocese of Peoria; pastor of the linked parishes of St. Thomas (Philo) and St. Mary (Pesotum).
- Father Robert Lampittadministrator circa 2015
Served as parish administrator at the time of the 2015 Trost Family endowment gift; cited in diocesan coverage of St. Thomas School.