St. Mary's Church of Pecatonica

Welcome to the website for St. Mary's Church of Pecatonica, the Roman Catholic church located in Pecatonica, Illinois, and covering portions of Winnebago and Stephenson Counties, including the municipalities of Pecatonica, Ridott (partially), Seward, and Winnebago.

REMAINING SPECIAL LENTEN DEVOTIONS:  During the remainder of Lent we will offer these additional devotions: Mass on Mondays at 8:00 a.m.; confession Thursdays from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. (before Holy Week); adoration of the Blessed Sacrament Thursdays after the 8:00 a.m. Mass (before Holy Week); and Stations of the Cross Fridays after the 8:00 a.m. Mass (before Holy Week).  We will also have an extended confession schedule on Wednesday, March 29^th, as part of the diocesan “Be Reconciled Day” (see below).  Please avail yourself of some Lenten devotions or practices, whether here or elsewhere, to open yourself to God’s blessings.

GET READY FOR LENT: To kickstart our Lenten almsgiving, St. Mary’s Guild will hold a “reverse collection.” That means the Guild is providing a list of most needed items provided by our local food pantries. You take the list, purchase items from the list and bring them to church for donation. The list of items will be available in the church vestibule. Items can be donated all through Lent. Donations will be distributed to Pecatonica Food Pantry and St. Elizabeth Catholic Community Center. Cash donations are always welcome too and can be put in an envelope marked FOOD PANTRY and put in the collection box.  For more information call 815-979-4270.

BE RECONCILED DAY:  As has been done for a number of years in our diocese, the Wednesday before Holy Week (which falls on March 29^th this year) has been designated “Be Reconciled Day” with extended hours for the Sacrament of Reconciliation at all the parishes of the diocese.  So, if you work or travel somewhere in the diocese that day, it is easy for you to make a good confession.  Here at St. Mary’s the schedule for this sacrament is as follows: 8:30 – 10:30 a.m.; 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.; 2:30  – 4:30 p.m.; and 5:00 – 8:00 p.m.  Whether on that day or another, whether at our parish or another, a good Lenten confession is a great source of grace and a help to get closer to Jesus Christ and the Church.
 

We thank all who helped at or came to the 66th Annual Church Dinner that was held Sunday, October 16^th, with serving from 11:30-2:30. Preliminary results are that the parish earned about $6,000 from the event.  More important than that is the human intereaction and the service of others, both of which help us grow in love for God and one another.

We are starting to plan for next year's parish dinner.  If any parishioners are willing to assist in the planning and participating in some segment of putting on next year's dinner, please contact Inga Danko by leaving a message at our parish office which we will then relay to Inga.

Please also read the letter Inga and Maryjo Seger wrote updating us on the parish dinner found under "Parish Dinner" under "Events & News."

To help us keep our database up to date so that we can serve you better, if you are someone who comes to church here at least once in awhile and have not already done so, please print out the parish registration form from the link below, fill it out, and either drop it off in the box designated for such forms under the table in the vestibule when you come to church here, mail it to St. Mary's Church, P.O. Box 656, Pecatonica, IL  61063, or scan it and email it to [email protected]  You can also do this if you are already registered, but some information has changed.  God bless!

For some links on life matters, see the links below.