About St. Joseph · Bristow, Oklahoma
St. Joseph Catholic Church is a small mission parish of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tulsa serving Bristow, Oklahoma, and the surrounding Creek County area along historic Route 66. The parish worships at 302 North Elm Street and currently celebrates Sunday and Wednesday Mass in English. As a mission of the Western Vicariate, St. Joseph is administered jointly with St. Catherine of Alexandria in Tulsa by Fr. Robert Kimpu, with parish operations managed by Office Manager Marie Womack and supported by Deacon Tom Loney. The parish traces its origins to the early 20th century, when its first church was dedicated to the patronage of St. Joseph on May 3, 1909, by Bishop Theophile Meerschaert, Oklahoma's first Catholic bishop.
- Established
- 1909
- Patron
- St. Joseph
- Rector
- Rev. Robert Kimpu
- Diocese
- Roman Catholic Diocese of Tulsa (Western Vicariate)
Why belong here
St. Joseph is a small, personal mission parish in the heart of Creek County on Route 66, where the faith community is close-knit and easy to know. The parish offers the full rhythm of Catholic life — Sunday and weekday Mass, regular Confession before each Mass, and the daily pastoral reach of a priest who serves alongside St. Catherine in Tulsa — supported by an office manager and a permanent deacon. Families looking for a quiet, traditional parish with English-language liturgy and a direct line to the Diocese of Tulsa's sacramental and faith-formation resources will feel at home here.
Mass times at St. Joseph
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Sunday: 8:30 AM – 8:55 AM (before 9:00 AM Mass)
- Wednesday: 5:30 PM – 5:55 PM (before 6:00 PM Mass, per Discover Mass listing; Diocese of Tulsa lists 5:45 PM start)
About St. Joseph Parish, Bristow
St. Joseph is a mission parish of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tulsa located at 302 North Elm Street in Bristow, Creek County, Oklahoma. Situated along historic Route 66 in the old "Woodland Queen" townsite, the parish is administered from the diocese's Western Vicariate and shares its pastor with St. Catherine of Alexandria in Tulsa. The faithful gather for Sunday and Wednesday Mass in English and find a small, accessible community where the priest, deacon, and office manager are easy to reach.
History
The parish was dedicated to St. Joseph on May 3, 1909 by Bishop Theophile Meerschaert, Oklahoma's first Catholic bishop. By the Great Depression era, the mission in Bristow served roughly 125 Catholics and ran a school taught by three Sisters of Divine Providence, who lived in the original frame church that had been converted into a convent. The parish was also the mother church of St. Mary's Mission in Drumright, and together they covered a vast territory of oil-field camps and small towns.
- Dedicated May 3, 1909 by Bishop Theophile Meerschaert
- Parish school with Sisters of Divine Providence active by 1932
- Historically attached to St. Mary's Mission in Drumright
- Strong Lebanese-Catholic community heritage from the early 20th century
Clergy & Staff
St. Joseph is currently shepherded by Fr. Robert Kimpu, who was assigned by Bishop David Konderla on July 1, 2024. He simultaneously serves as Pastor of St. Catherine of Alexandria in Tulsa and Pastor of Immaculate Heart of Mary in Tulsa. Deacon Tom Loney assists at the parish, and Marie Womack serves as Office Manager handling day-to-day parish operations.
- Pastor — Rev. Robert Kimpu (since July 1, 2024)
- Deacon — Tom Loney
- Office Manager — Marie Womack
- Predecessor pastor — Rev. John L. Grant (reassigned July 1, 2024 to St. Pius X, Tulsa)
Diocese & Vicariate
St. Joseph is a mission parish of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tulsa, which covers eastern Oklahoma. Within the diocese it belongs to the Western Vicariate, a grouping of parishes stretching from Tulsa westward through Creek County and into the Stillwater area, sharing pastoral resources across the region.
- Diocese: Roman Catholic Diocese of Tulsa
- Vicariate: Western Vicariate
- Diocesan headquarters: Tulsa, Oklahoma
Visit, Contact & Directions
Visitors are warmly welcomed at St. Joseph. The parish sits in a quiet residential area of north Bristow just off Historic Route 66, easy to reach via 8th Street and North Elm Street. The mailing address, phone, and email are listed below for anyone needing to reach the office manager or schedule a sacrament.
- Address: 302 N. Elm St., Bristow, OK 74010
- Mailing: PO Box 603, Bristow, OK 74010-0603
- Phone: (918) 446-8124
- Email: [email protected]
- From OK-66: turn onto 8th Street, then onto North Elm Street
Online Presence
Parishioners and visitors can keep up with announcements and devotions through the parish's official website and Facebook page. These are the channels used by the parish office to communicate schedule changes, holy-day information, and pastoral updates.
- Official website: saintjosephbristow.org
- Facebook: facebook.com/SaintJosephBristow
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Rev. Robert Kimpu2024–present
Assigned July 1, 2024 as Pastor of St. Catherine of Alexandria in Tulsa and St. Joseph in Bristow, while remaining Pastor of Immaculate Heart of Mary in Tulsa.
- Rev. John L. Grantuntil July 1, 2024
Previous pastor; reassigned to St. Pius X in Tulsa as Pastor and Director of the Office of Divine Worship.
- Rev. Robert Kim
Listed by Diocese of Tulsa's priests page as pastor of St. Joseph–Bristow prior to Fr. Grant.
- Anonymous bishop (later memoirist)1932–c.1935
Appointed pastor in October 1932 at the height of the Great Depression; he arrived in Bristow to find a brick church, a frame-convent, a Sisters-of-Divine-Providence school, and an attached mission at Drumright.