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St. Joseph Catholic Church & School

St. Joseph Catholic Church was established 1892. They are a very important part of Grant Beach Neighborhood.

Weekend Masses: Saturday 4:00 p.m. Sunday 8:00 a.m. and 10:30 a.m.

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Parish Mission Statement:

By the grace of God, St. Joseph Parish seeks to empower its parishioners to grow in holiness as we worship God more worthily and become an ever-more closely bound community of Catholics. Through the community we strive to know, love and serve God and one another and to spread God's Kingdom through prayer, evangelization, and service to the Catholic Church, the civil community, and all of God's children.

Contact Info:

The following three photos were borrowed from St. Joseph's website.

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Fr. Denis Dougherty OSB, Pastor of St. Joseph Parish

  • Rev. Mr. Norman Ridder, Deacon
  • Theresa Stocker, Pastoral Associate
  • Cyndi Love, Pastoral Associate
  • Pat Reynolds, Secretary
  • Al Wagner, Technical Engineer
  • Marilyn Batson, School Principal
  • Sr. Regina Bastarche SMP, Evangelization
  • Peggy Wissmueller, Adoration Coordinator

Staff E-mail:

A Brief History of St. Joseph Church (1906 - 2006)

(The information below was copy/pasted from the official website of St. Joseph Catholic Church)

At the invitation of Bishop Hogan of Kansas City, St. Joseph Parish was founded in 1892 by Benedictine Monks of Conception Abbey to care for the German-speaking Catholics of Springfield. Fr. Maurus Eckstein, O.S.B., was appointed first pastor of the new congregation of 30 families. He served the parish as pastor for 30 years. Charles H. Heer, Jr., was a special benefactor during the earliest days of the parish.

The parish was first located at Jefferson and Chestnut Streets, but in 1904 property was purchased at Campbell and Scott. In the fall of 1904, ground was broken for the present church, probably the first building in Springfield to be made of concrete blocks. These blocks were made right on the grounds. The Venerable Brother Adrian, O.F.M., of St. Louis, drew up the plans and specifications. Frank X. Baron was the contractor. Much of the work was done by Fr. Maurus and members of the parish working in the evenings after having worked during the day at their regular jobs.

On June 5, 1905, the cornerstone was laid by Bishop Thomas Lillis of Leavenworth, Kansas, and the church was dedicated on Thanksgiving Day, November 29, 1906, by Abbot Frowin Conrad, O.S.B., of Conception Abbey. The centenary of this date is being celebrated this year. The church seated 500 people and cost $22,000. The two bells from the original church on Jefferson were transfered to the present belfry. The beautiful original main altar and canopy and the side altars were donated by Herman, Henry, and John Meyer. The original art in the church was painted in about six weeks by Fr. Maurus' nephew, Fr. Alphonse Eberhard, O.S.B., assisted by Fr. Innocent Amhof, O.S.B., both of Conception Abbey. The stained glass windows were partly paid for by donations on the occasion, in 1905, of Fr. Maurus' Silver Jubilee of ordination.

In 1939 a complete new lighting system was installed, and in 1942, on the golden annivesary of the parish, a huge beautification program was undertaken. More recently, during the pastorship of Fr. John Sheley, O.S.B., (1990 - 1993), the exterior of the building was sealed and refinished, a new heating/air conditioning system was installed, and the stained glass windows were repaired and covered for protection form the weather and vandalism. Using the altar rail that was removed in 1973, Mel Witkins constructed a lectern and credence table in 1992. During the pastorship of Fr. Joel Derks, O.S.B., (1993 - 1999), much interior restoration was done. This included refinishing floors, repairing plaster, and extensive repainting. Attic insulation was added and a new roof was installed on the church steeple. Restoration of the baldachin, high altar, and side altar-shrines was begun by Fr. Joel and completed under Fr. Denis Dougherty, (1999 - present). Since that time, a new carpet was installed, the bells were resored, and rather extensive renovation of the interior of the church took place, including the addition of the Gathering Space, bathrooms, and the movement of pews to the front of church. New exterior church doors and a new roof were added. The hanging lights were also rewired and repaired. Rebecca Saylor, using the old altar rail, built the music stand and the ambry. More recently she crafted the new handrails.