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.

Please pray and fast that minds and hearts be opened more and more to the immense dignity of every human life from conception to natural death, and that the U.S. Supreme Court be given the wisdom and courage to overturn the current legal framework that prevents the legal protection of human life before birth.

The Church will begin a Novena for Life on May 22, ending on May 31, the Feast of the Visitation.  You may sign up to pray the novena at www.respectlife.org.
 

Our recent Soup Supper and Auction hosted by the Women's Guild on March 27, 2022, was quite successful in raising funds for the charitable work of the Women's Guild and was an enjoyable social event for those present.  The Women's Guild thanks all who participated in that event.

One item that was donated to the auction was a restored statue of St. Anthony holding the baby Jesus, that had been in the old rectory that burned down in 1922, and perhaps in the old frame church on Reed Street.  Rather than simply auction that statue, the Women's Guild decided to have it installed somewhere in the current church, and accept donations to cover the value of the statue.  A substantial amount was raised at the auction for this purpose, but it was decided that other parishioners might wish to donate something towards this effort.  So, if anyone wishes to make a donation towards this, please put it in an envelope marked "St. Anthony" somewhere, and send it to the St. Mary Women's Guild in care of the parish.  Checks may be made out to the St. Mary's Women's Guild.  In this way you will be participating in preservation of this tangible piece of this parish's history.

Further information on this is found in the attached letter:

A mailing went out on December 2, 2021, to all the parishioners for whom we had an address.  If you received the mailing, please fill out the parish registration form that was included in that mailing, and return it to us in the envelope that was also included in that mailing, either in the box marked for that near the back of church or by mail.  This will help us keep our database up to date so that we can serve you better.  If someone in your household is Catholic and you live within the boundaries of this parish (which you can determine by going on the website for the diocese (www.rockforddiocese.org) and looking under "Parishes" and "Search by Boundary" and typing in your street address), and you did not receive this mailing, please print out the parish registration form from the link below, and fill it out and send it to us either when you come to church here or by mail to: St. Mary's Church, P.O. Box 656, Pecatonica, IL  61063.

Starting for calendar year 2022 we will send acknowledgement letters in January to all parishioners who donate to the parish at least $250 in the prior calendar year.  Such letters will also itemize any individual donations of $250 or more, to meet the IRS requirements of documentation of such donations. We will also send letters to those who have asked for them in the past.  (Other parishioners may request such acknowledgement letters.)  If you do not get a letter acknowledging your donations to the parish, and would like one, please contact us at the office (815-239-1271) or send us an email (stmary-pecatonica@rockforddiocese.org) and we will mail you such a letter.  Please note that the Diocese of Rockford sends its own letter acknowledging your donations to the Diocesan Appeal or any of the “combined” appeals (International, Mission, and National), as donations to those are not noted on any donation acknowledgement letter you will receive from the parish.  Thank you for your generosity to our parish, the diocese, and the causes supported by the "combined" appeals.

Based on new guidelines from the Diocese of Rockford and the State of Illinois, we are moving to a "mask-optional" policy at St. Mary's for Masses, other sacramental and liturgical events, religious education, and other events in our facilities.  We will still have certain pews in the church taped off to separate some open pews for those who wish to maintain social distancing.  We will also provide masks for those who wish to wear a mask and did not bring their own.  We will continue to provide hand sanitizer for those who would like to use that, which we recommend, especially for anyone receiving Holy Communion.

As we know from experience, this disease can come roaring back at any time, especially with new variant viruses constantly appearing.  Also, we know that some people have medical conditions that make them vulnerable to this disease, especially if they are unable to tolerate any of the vaccines currently available.  So, we ask for continued vigilance as well as consideration for other people as to their choice to wear a mask or not.

We still ask that if anyone is sick, coughing, sneezing, or has a fever, to stay home until he or she recovers.  The obligation to attend Mass on Sunday and on holy days of obligation is excused for those Catholics who are actually showing signs of illness (whether or not due to COVID-19).

Thank you for your patience in this pandemic, which has caused much suffering for over two years now.  May God give us lasting relief from the pandemic, so that we can thank God always.

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

We have reached our pledge target for the 2021 appeal year (May 2021 through April 2022) of $13,000. The funds raised in excess of the target come back to the parish.  We will soon be starting the 2022 Diocesan Annual Appeal, for which most of you will receive information from the diocese.  Thank you for your generosity, which helps the diocese and the parish.