About St. Joseph-Croatian · Saint Louis, Missouri
St. Joseph-Croatian Catholic Church (Crkva Svetog Josipa) is a small national Croatian parish in the historic Soulard neighborhood of south St. Louis, Missouri, serving the Croatian-American Catholic community in the Archdiocese of St. Louis. Founded in 1904 by working-class Croatian immigrants and originally built out of a former Jewish synagogue at 11th Street and Chouteau Avenue, the parish moved to its present campus in 1927 when it purchased the property from the Ursuline Sisters. Today it continues to celebrate Mass in both English and Croatian, is tended by the Croatian Franciscan Commissariat of the Order of Friars Minor (O.F.M.), and is recognized as one of the enduring ethnic-heritage parishes of the Archdiocese of St. Louis.
- Established
- 1904
- Patron
- St. Joseph
- Rector
- Rev. Stjepan Pandzic, O.F.M.
- Diocese
- Archdiocese of St. Louis
Why belong here
St. Joseph-Croatian is one of the few parishes in the Archdiocese of St. Louis that still celebrates the Sacred Liturgy in Croatian as well as English, making it a true home for Croatian-American Catholics and for anyone who wishes to worship in that language and inherit its devotional traditions. Tucked in the historic Soulard neighborhood, the parish is small and personal, served by Croatian Franciscan friars of the Order of Friars Minor (Croatian Franciscan Commissariat), with daily weekday Mass, Saturday Vigil, two Sunday Masses, weekly Eucharistic Adoration, and the Sacrament of Reconciliation. It is a welcoming community of missionary disciples endeavoring to live the Joy of the Gospel — a place where Croatian heritage and Catholic faith are preserved together across generations.
Mass times at St. Joseph-Croatian
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Thursday 6:30 pm (per Archdiocese of St. Louis parish listing — Sacrament of Reconciliation)
Adoration times
- Thursday 6:30 pm – 8:00 pm (Eucharistic Adoration)
Welcome & Parish Identity
St. Joseph-Croatian is a Catholic community in the Archdiocese of St. Louis that describes itself as 'endeavoring to live out the Joy of the Gospel, and to bring others closer to Our Lord, Jesus Christ, through our commitment to being missionary disciples who know and live the Faith.' As a national Croatian parish, it exists to serve the Croatian-American Catholic community and all who join it, preserving the Croatian language in the Sacred Liturgy alongside English and maintaining the spiritual traditions of the immigrants who built it more than a century ago.
- Pastoral mission: 'missionary disciples who know and live the Faith'
- National Croatian parish within the Archdiocese of St. Louis
- Tended by the Croatian Franciscan Commissariat (O.F.M.)
History of the Parish
The parish was organized in 1902 by Croatian immigrants in South St. Louis who wanted a national parish of their own. They found a spiritual home under the guidance of Msgr. Davorin Krmpotic of Kansas City and the pastoral care of Fr. Oscar Suster, who first celebrated Mass for them at St. Wenceslaus Parish. After Archbishop John J. Glennon granted permission to establish the parish, the immigrant community converted a former Jewish synagogue at 11th Street and Chouteau Avenue into their first church, which Archbishop Glennon dedicated on September 25, 1904. By 1927 the parish had grown enough to relocate to the present site: a former Ursuline Sisters property at 2112 S. Twelfth Street, whose chapel Cardinal Glennon formally consecrated as the new church by laying its cornerstone. The old convent and school buildings survived adjacent to the church for decades, though by the 1950s they were a century old and many surrounding Soulard buildings were demolished to the first floor during mid-century urban renewal. Through all of this, the Franciscan Friars of the Croatian Franciscan Commissariat have remained the parish's spiritual shepherds — a continuity that links 21st-century parishioners to the Croatian Catholic pioneers of 1902.
- 1902 — Croatian immigrants begin organizing a national parish, guided by Msgr. Davorin Krmpotic of Kansas City, KS
- First worship: St. Wenceslaus Parish, South St. Louis, under Fr. Oscar Suster
- 1904, September 25 — Archbishop John J. Glennon dedicates the first St. Joseph Croatian Catholic Church (converted former synagogue at 11th & Chouteau)
- 1927 — Parish purchases the former Ursuline Sisters property at 2112 S. 12th Street; Cardinal Glennon lays the cornerstone of the converted chapel
- 1950s — Adjacent convent and school buildings more than a century old; Soulard area undergoes mid-century clearance
- 20th–21st centuries — Continuously served by the Croatian Franciscan Commissariat (O.F.M.)
Architecture & Building
The current church is not the parish's original building. St. Joseph's first home (1904) was a former Jewish synagogue adapted into a Catholic church on the corner of 11th Street and Chouteau Avenue. When the parish outgrew it, it relocated to the former Ursuline Sisters' convent and chapel in 1927 at 2112 S. Twelfth Street, in the heart of historic Soulard; Cardinal Glennon laid the cornerstone for the adapted chapel, which still serves as the worship space of the parish. Many of the surrounding Soulard buildings — including some of the original complex — were demolished to the first floor in the 1950s during urban renewal.
- Original 1904 church: former synagogue at 11th St. & Chouteau Ave.
- Current church (since 1927): converted former Ursuline chapel at 2112 S. 12th Street
- Cornerstone laid by Cardinal Glennon
Croatian Franciscan Commissariat
St. Joseph-Croatian is one of the American parishes served by the Croatian Franciscan Commissariat (Croatian: Hrvatska franjevačka komisarijat), the Croatian branch of the Order of Friars Minor (O.F.M.) that ministers to Croatian-heritage communities throughout the United States and Canada. The Commissariat sustains the Franciscan spiritual tradition that Croatian lay faithful have cherished since the Middle Ages and provides the priests who pastor national parishes such as St. Joseph.
- Religious order: Order of Friars Minor (O.F.M.) — Croatian Franciscan Commissariat
- Pauses in standard surname: 'O.F.M.' appended to clergy names
- Commissariat's historic ministry to Croatian Catholic immigrants
Parish Staff & Pastor
St. Joseph-Croatian is led by its current pastor, Rev. Stjepan Pandzic, O.F.M., of the Croatian Franciscan Commissariat. The parish is recognized in the Archdiocesan directory under his name and serves as his pastoral assignment.
- Pastor: Rev. Stjepan Pandzic, O.F.M.
- Contact: 2112 S. Twelfth St., St. Louis, MO 63104; phone (314) 771-0958
Sacraments & Devotions
Beyond the regular Sunday and weekday Masses, St. Joseph-Croatian offers the Sacrament of Reconciliation (Confession) and Eucharistic Adoration on Thursday evenings. As a Croatian-heritage parish, the Holy Day schedule deliberately preserves a Croatian-language Mass in addition to the English Mass, sustaining the devotional and linguistic heritage of the parish's founders.
- Reconciliation (Confession): Thursday 6:30 pm
- Eucharistic Adoration: Thursday 6:30 pm – 8:00 pm
- Holy Days: Croatian liturgy at 7:30 pm
- Daily weekday Mass available before Adoration
Languages in the Liturgy
Mass is celebrated in both English and Croatian. The 10:00 am Sunday Mass and the 7:30 pm Holy Day Mass are celebrated in Croatian; other scheduled Masses are in English. This bilingual liturgical life is central to the parish's identity as a Croatian national parish.
- English: Saturday Vigil, Sunday 8:30 am, daily Mass, Holy Day 8:00 am, Holy Day Vigil
- Croatian: Sunday 10:00 am, Holy Day 7:30 pm
Croatian-American Catholic Heritage
St. Joseph is part of a wider network of Croatian national parishes in the United States and Canada served by the Croatian Franciscan Commissariat, linking American Croatians of the St. Louis area to fellow national parishes across the continent. Founded by immigrants who described themselves as 'descendents of one of the oldest Catholic nations in the world,' the parish continues that heritage today through bilingual liturgy, Croatian Franciscan pastoral leadership, and its enduring presence in the historic Soulard community.
- One of the Croatian national parishes coordinated through stjeromecroatian.org
- Listed among Croatian parishes of the United States and Canada by the Croatian Franciscan Commissariat
- Soulard home for Croatian-American Catholics in the St. Louis region
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Msgr. Davorin Krmpotic
Pastor of the Croatian parish in Kansas City, KS, who advised and guided the South St. Louis Croatian community to organize and seek permission from Archbishop Glennon to establish St. Joseph as a national parish in 1902.
- Fr. Oscar Suster
The first Croatian priest welcomed by the immigrant community; celebrated Mass with them at St. Wenceslaus parish in South St. Louis prior to the dedication of St. Joseph on Sept. 25, 1904.