Oktoberfest is not just a weekend event. It is a mission-driven effort to support Catholic faith, education, parish life, school families, and the broader community.
St. Mary’s Oktoberfest supports and celebrates Catholic faith, parish life, and education. The weekend helps raise essential funds that strengthen our church, school, and broader community.
That mission gives the event its purpose. It reminds guests, sponsors, volunteers, parish leaders, and school families that Oktoberfest is not just a festival. It is one way St. Mary’s continues to support the life of the parish and school.
St. Mary’s Oktoberfest is rooted in the life of St. Mary’s Parish in Alton. The church’s official title is The Church of the Immaculate Conception, but parishioners and guests know it simply as St. Mary’s. Founded in 1858 to serve Catholic, German-speaking immigrants, the parish has grown across generations while continuing to anchor faith, education, and community life in Alton.
The parish was founded in 1858, and the first church was begun at Third and Henry Streets in November 1858. Completed in May 1859, it was built for Alton’s German Catholic community under the patronage of Mary. Its official title is The Church of the Immaculate Conception.
A tornado destroyed the first two-story brick church in June 1860. A second church was begun in July 1861 and completed in December 1862. The current church, the third St. Mary’s, was begun in 1891 and completed in the summer of 1895. The four “Bells of St. Mary’s” were cast in St. Louis in the early 1880s.
Many parishioners still remember Monsignor James A. Suddes, who served as assistant pastor from 1938 to 1947 and pastor from 1954 to 1987. In 1987, St. Mary’s welcomed the Oblates of the Virgin Mary, who continue to serve the parish today.
Fr. Nathan Marzonie, O.M.V., currently serves as pastor of St. Mary’s Parish. His connection to St. Mary’s is especially meaningful because he was ordained to the priesthood at St. Mary’s in 2022 and became pastor in 2025.
Music has always been part of St. Mary’s history. The parish has maintained a choir throughout its life, including the long service of Professor Max Hiendlmayr, who arrived from Germany in 1923. His “Mass of the Immaculate Conception” drew from the theme of Schubert’s Ave Maria.
The old church was remodeled into a schoolhouse and later replaced by the current school in 1930. Suddes Hall was added in 2001, and the school expanded to the old St. Matthew’s School on Milton Road in 2006. The parish also remembers those who served through its Lourdes-style grotto dedicated to World War II veterans.
The strongest images are not just the steins, tents, or food. They are the families, clergy, volunteers, runners, musicians, and guests who keep returning.
