Saints Mary and Mathias
Church and School
Welcome to Saints Mary & Mathias Catholic School in Muscatine, Iowa. We proudly provide a faith-based state accredited education for preschool, elementary, and middle-school students as a ministry of Saints Mary and Mathias Catholic Parish and the Diocese of Davenport.
We believe that students should begin their formal education with a firm foundation in all the basic academic skill areas. Our school nurtures moral development, a zest for lifelong learning, and responsible stewardship through our faith formation and a virtue-centered way of life. We want each child's years at Saints Mary & Mathias Catholic School to be filled with the happiest and most successful experiences possible. Our faculty and staff are committed to providing each child with that experience.
History
Saints Mary and Mathias Catholic Parish has a history dating back to 1800's. Fr. Samual Mazzuchelli, Italian Missionary, and Mathias Loras came to Iowa in the 1830's. Fr. Mazzuchelli celebrated the first Mass in Bloomington (Now known as Muscatine) on January 25th 1841.
By 1842 a stout little church was floated down the Mississippi River from Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin to be Muscatine's first Catholic Church. The Church still stands today on the property of Saints Mary and Mathias.
"My friend, I send you to Muscatine for a month and afterwards, we'll see." Bishop Loras was speaking to a young man only recently ordained to the priesthood - The Reverand Philip Laurent. And the "month" lasted fifty-one years; from 1851 to 1902 Father Laurent was pastor of Saint Matthias.
The present St. Mathias Church was built in 1910-1911 on the site of the previous church which was demolished to make way for construction. The altar is from the previous church building and the stations of the Cross were brought to Muscatine by Fr. Laurent. The stained glass windows were imported from France.
The parish celebrated its 175th Anniversary in 2017. Throughout the many years of its existence our parish has touched the hearts of so many people. We look forward to continuing to be the Catholic Church of Muscatine and serving our community with FAITH, ALIVE and ACTIVE.
We are excited to welcome new members to our team! To check out our open positions, click on our Jobs.