St. Mary Church in Downs
St. Mary Church in Downs is a small country parish located in Downs, Illinois. Our parish is home to a warm, welcoming group of dedicated and faith-filled parishioners. We invite you to visit for Mass and see all that St. Mary’s has to offer!
Mass Times Survey
As we continue working through Growing Disciples and prepare for the upcoming merging of our parishes, we are looking at the Mass times and Confession offerings at St. Mary Church in Downs. Please take a few moments to complete the survey at the link below. It will take less than 5 minutes to complete. Thank you!
Religious Education Registration
Registration for Religious Education for St. Mary’s is now open. Please use the link below to register. Classes will start on September 29th from 10:15-11:15.
Knights of Columbus Tootsie Roll Drive
Saturday, September 21st, the St Mary’s Knights of Columbus once again conducted their annual “Tootsie Roll” fund drive. The Knights manned street corners in the LeRoy and Downs communities to accept donations and hand out Tootsie Rolls as a token of appreciation. However, donations were not quite as strong as in past years.
This year, we are able to also offer you an opportunity to make an online donation at https://4agc.com/fundraiser_pages/af462de4-3e41-4d54-9cf8-484e0f34bc37 Please consider generously donating online to The Intellectual Disabilities Fund Drive supporting local individuals in our area schools.
“Officially, this fundraiser is The Intellectual Disabilities Fund Drive”, said Jim Suiter, St Mary’s Knights of Columbus Deputy Grand Knight. “However, everyone knows it simply as the “Tootsie Roll” Drive. And traditionally, the LeRoy and Downs communities are very generous in their support of this fundraiser.” This is one of the most recognizable activities that the Knights of Columbus do. The funds generated from this drive are used to support local programs which help people with special learning and life needs. Specifically, the St Mary’s Knights of Columbus donate their collections to the LeRoy and Tri-Valley school programs.
Gail McCane, Tri-Valley Director of Special Services, shared, “The Tri-Valley school district is hoping to use these funds to purchase supports to help meet the unique academic, behavioral, functional, and social-emotional needs of students. These supports include research-based interventions/programs and hands-on materials and manipulatives.”
Nicole Gaddis, LeRoy Associate Principal, shared, “Any funds raised will support our special education department, most specifically our HERO classrooms. We have a vision to create a sensory cart that all special education teachers could check out and use. Additionally, funds would help support our community trips and small businesses run by our HERO students. We greatly appreciate your generosity. We are forever thankful!”
Thank you!