About St. Joseph · Bonne Terre, Missouri
St. Joseph Church is a Roman Catholic parish in Bonne Terre, Missouri, belonging to the Metropolitan Archdiocese of St. Louis. The parish traces its roots to 1873, when the first Catholic church in Bonne Terre was built by Father Daly, and became an independent parish in 1879. St. Joseph is served by a pastor, a part-time senior associate pastor, and a permanent deacon, and gathers roughly 800 Catholic households in the lead-mining country of St. Francois County. Today it offers daily and Sunday Mass, Saturday confession, monthly Eucharistic Adoration, a Parish School of Religion, and a range of parish ministries, and it ministers to several outlying missions including St. Anne in French Village.
- Established
- 1873
- Patron
- St. Joseph
- Rector
- Rev. Rodger Fleming
- Diocese
- Metropolitan Archdiocese of St. Louis
Why belong here
St. Joseph is a small, multigenerational parish in the heart of old lead-mining country that takes seriously its role as a spiritual home for Bonne Terre and the surrounding missions. Parishioners can worship at a Saturday Vigil Mass, a Sunday Mass, and a daily morning Mass, pray in monthly Eucharistic Adoration, bring children to the Parish School of Religion, and serve through ministries that reach out across the community. The parish describes its mission as coordinating the life of the parish family in liturgy, education, finance, and administration, and helping members grow in love of God and one another.
Mass times at St. Joseph
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Saturday: 3:15 pm – 3:45 pm (before the 4:00 pm Vigil Mass)
Adoration times
- First Tuesday of the month: 8:30 am – 10:00 am
- Tuesday: 8:30 am – 9:00 am (Perpetual Help devotions)
About St. Joseph Parish
St. Joseph Parish is a Roman Catholic community in Bonne Terre, Missouri, in the St. Francois County lead-mining region. The Archdiocese of St. Louis describes the parish's mission as promoting continuity within the parish family by coordinating and setting goals for parish life in liturgy, education, finance, and administration, and as developing opportunities to help members grow in love of God and one another. The parish is small but multigenerational, and it also ministers to surrounding mission communities, including St. Anne in French Village.
- Diocese: Metropolitan Archdiocese of St. Louis
- Address: 15 St. Joseph Street, Bonne Terre, MO 63628
- Phone: 573-358-2112
- Rectory office hours: 8:00 am – 3:30 pm
Parish History
Catholic life in Bonne Terre predates the Civil War. A small wooden church north of town, on land donated by the Wheelehon family along what is now Highway 67, served early Catholic settlers. Father Daly built the first St. Joseph Church in 1873. That first church burned in 1879 — the same year St. Joseph was constituted as an independent parish — and a frame replacement was built on the north side of St. Joseph Street in 1881 by Father E. J. Dempsey, the parish's first resident priest, with support from the Desloge Lead Company.
- 1873 — first St. Joseph Church built by Father Daly
- 1879 — first church burns; St. Joseph becomes an independent parish
- 1881 — second (frame) church built; first resident priest: Rev. E. J. Dempsey
- 1885 — parish school built
- 1888 — priest's residence added
- 1906 — combination school and convent built; staffed by the Ursuline Sisters
- 1907 — basement of present church begun
- 1908 — construction of the present church begun
- 1916 — church completed; steeple added
- 1922 — current school building erected
- 1969 — Ursuline school closes
- December 2023 — 150th anniversary celebrated at the Knights of Columbus Council 1088 Hall
Buildings & Grounds
The parish campus centers on the 1916 brick church with its 1907 basement and 1916 steeple, noted for its stained-glass windows, bells, and stations of the cross. Adjacent to it are the 1922 school building (now housing the Parish School of Religion and parish offices) and the parish cemetery, where Rev. G. W. Brinkman is buried.
- Present church begun 1908, completed 1916
- Steeple added 1916
- School building 1922
People & Clergy
The parish is led by a pastor with the assistance of a part-time senior associate pastor and a permanent deacon. According to research shared at the 2023 anniversary celebration, the parish has had 23 pastors and five assistants in its 150-year history.
- Pastor: Rev. Rodger Fleming
- Part-Time Senior Associate Pastor: Rev. Vincent Nyman, M.Div.
- Permanent Deacon: Deacon Donald Kintz
- Total pastors since founding: 23
- Total assistants since founding: 5
Faith Formation & Religious Education
The Parish School of Religion (PSR) provides religious education for the parish's children and is listed as one of the main 'Learn more' links on the parish website, alongside parish bulletins and Catholic resources.
- Parish School of Religion (PSR)
- Sunday Bulletins
- Catholic Resources
Ministries & Outreach
The parish website lists a general 'Parish ministries' section as one of its main areas for parishioners. Historically, the parish has also ministered to surrounding missions, including St. Anne in French Village, which was once the parish that sent priests to Bonne Terre but is today itself a mission of St. Joseph.
- Parish ministries (general)
- St. Anne Mission, French Village
- Perpetual Help devotion
- Revive Documentary & Healing Service with Encounter Ministries prayer teams
Sacraments
St. Joseph celebrates the regular sacramental life of a Catholic parish through daily and Sunday Mass, Saturday Reconciliation, monthly Eucharistic Adoration, and ongoing religious education through the Parish School of Religion. The archdiocesan parish page notes Mass, Reconciliation, and Eucharistic Adoration as the principal sacrament times.
- Eucharist (daily, Sunday, Holy Days)
- Reconciliation (Saturdays)
- Eucharistic Adoration (First Tuesdays)
Visit & Contact
Parishioners and visitors can reach the rectory by phone during office hours, 8:00 am to 3:30 pm. The parish mailing address is 15 St. Joseph Street, Bonne Terre, MO 63628. The church is accessible via Highway 67 south, approximately 30 miles south of Highway 55, at the Bonne Terre exit.
- Office telephone: 573-358-2112
- Fax: 573-358-4233
- Rectory hours: 8:00 am – 3:30 pm
- Directions: Highway 67 south, exit Bonne Terre
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Rev. E. J. DempseyDec. 20, 1879 – Aug. 16, 1880
First resident priest of the independent parish; supervised construction of the 1881 frame church.
- Rev. G. W. Brinkman1911–1913; 1922–1951
Returned as pastor and served until his death in 1951; likely the longest-tenured priest in parish history. Buried in the parish cemetery.
- Rev. Glennon HermesOrdained 1948; died c. 1949–1950
Assigned to St. Joseph as his first and only parish as an assistant; died of virus pneumonia about a year and a half after ordination.