About St. Joseph · Gluckstadt, Mississippi
St. Joseph Catholic Church is a Roman-Latin rite parish in Gluckstadt, Mississippi, belonging to the Diocese of Jackson. The parish grew out of the German Catholic immigrant community that founded Gluckstadt in 1905, and its life remains deeply shaped by that heritage — most visibly through its long-running GermanFest fundraiser. After serving as a mission parish for 101 years, St. Joseph was formally established as a parish in 2006, the current church building was dedicated in 2011, and a full-time pastor was appointed in 2022. The parish describes itself as 'a pilgrim people that, as a Eucharistic community, desire to proclaim God's Kingdom through worship, prayer, formation, service and fellowship.'
- Established
- 1905
- Patron
- St. Joseph
- Rector
- Father Matthew Simmons
- Diocese
- Diocese of Jackson (Catholic Diocese of Jackson, Mississippi)
Why belong here
St. Joseph is a small but rooted Catholic community where many pews are still filled by descendants of the original 1905 German founding families, and where newcomers are quickly woven into parish life. Worship is offered six days a week in English, including a Saturday Vigil and three Sunday Masses (8:15 a.m., 10:45 a.m., and 5:00 p.m.), with First Friday Mass and Adoration each month. The parish supports faith formation for all ages, a strong Knights of Columbus Council (#11934) with a Ladies Auxiliary, longtime youth ministry (Life Teen / Edge), parish retreats like SEARCH, and the famous annual GermanFest — making it an easy parish to plug into whether you are looking for daily Mass, sacraments, service opportunities, or just a tight-knit Catholic community in the Madison County / Gluckstadt area.
Mass times at St. Joseph
Weekly Mass schedule
Adoration times
- First Friday of the Month — following the 5:30 PM Mass
Parish Identity & Mission
St. Joseph Catholic Church is a Roman-Latin rite parish of the Diocese of Jackson, located in Gluckstadt, Mississippi — a small community north of Madison that was settled in 1905 by German Catholic immigrants. The parish's own mission statement reads: 'We are a pilgrim people that, as a Eucharistic community, desire to proclaim God's Kingdom through worship, prayer, formation, service and fellowship. We will endeavor to live in such a way that proclaims the Kingdom of God and the Good News of Jesus Christ by our conversion and by our living out of an authentically Christian Life.' Gluckstadt has deep roots in the area's German Catholic heritage and has long reflected the community's spirit of faith, family and hard work.
History
St. Joseph was founded in 1905 alongside the community of Gluckstadt itself, when immigrant families from the Treia region of Germany — who had first settled in the Chicago area — bought farmland in central Mississippi from the Highland Colony Company. The early church building doubled as the community's first schoolhouse. For 101 years St. Joseph functioned as a mission parish; in 2006 it was formally established as a parish by the Diocese of Jackson, and the current church building was dedicated in 2011. In 2022 the diocese appointed Father Matthew Simmons as the parish's first full-time pastor.
- 1905 — Gluckstadt founded by German Catholic families; St. Joseph mission parish established
- Original church also served as community schoolhouse
- 2006 — Elevated from mission to full parish status
- 2011 — Current church building dedicated
- 2022 — First full-time pastor (Father Matthew Simmons) appointed
German Heritage & GermanFest
The parish's most visible expression of its heritage is the annual GermanFest, held the last Sunday of September on the church grounds. It began in the mid-1980s as a red-beans-and-rice fundraiser and took on its German theme as a tribute to Gluckstadt's founding families; the 2018 edition was the 32nd annual, and the festival passed 30 years of continuous running before taking a year off in 2023 to re-evaluate. Volunteers spend days preparing homemade sauerkraut (more than 1,200 pounds, packed in old crocks with salt using Aunt Gertrude Endris's family recipe and fermented outside for two to three weeks), bratwurst, sausages, German desserts like apricot strudel, and a stein-holding competition — while a folk band plays and kids enjoy games.
- Annual GermanFest — last Sunday of September
- 1,200+ lbs of sauerkraut produced in family crocks each year
- 1,000+ jars of sauerkraut sold as fundraiser
- Drawing estimated 10,000–30,000 attendees at its peak
- Fundraiser on hiatus after 2023 amid Gluckstadt's rapid growth
Mass & Worship Schedule
All Masses at St. Joseph are celebrated in English in the Roman-Latin rite. The weekly schedule offers a Saturday Vigil plus three Sunday Masses to accommodate the growing Madison County community, weekday Masses on Tuesday through Friday, and a special First Friday Mass with Adoration each month.
- Saturday Vigil — 4:00 PM
- Sunday — 8:15 AM, 10:45 AM, 5:00 PM
- Tuesday & Thursday — 7:00 AM
- Wednesday & Friday — 5:30 PM
- First Friday — 5:30 PM with Adoration
Faith Formation & Religious Education
St. Joseph runs religious-education classes for parish children and supports a number of youth and adult formation programs. Among the longer-running ministries are a religious education program for elementary-age children and a youth ministry program (with leadership that goes back at least to 2013), complemented by diocesan retreat opportunities.
- Elementary religious education classes
- Youth Ministry (Life Teen program for high-schoolers)
- Edge junior-high program
- SEARCH retreat participation (volunteering & mentoring)
Parish Ministries & Organizations
St. Joseph has a robust lay-led ministry life centered on the parish's Knights of Columbus council. Council #11934 (chartered with the parish) and its Ladies Auxiliary support the parish through service projects, family-focused programs, and the monthly Family of the Month / Family of the Year recognitions. Other active ministries include the Altar Server program, parish youth and women's groups, and the volunteer committees that put on GermanFest each fall.
- Knights of Columbus Council #11934
- Knights of Columbus Ladies Auxiliary
- Altar Servers (including a regular 10:45 AM crew)
- Parish Youth Ministry leaders
- GermanFest volunteer committee
Clergy & Staff
St. Joseph is currently shepherded by Father Matthew Simmons, who was appointed by Bishop Joseph R. Kopacz of the Diocese of Jackson as the parish's first full-time pastor in 2022. Father Simmons also serves as a dean within the diocesan deanery structure and is chaplain of the parish's Knights of Columbus Council #11934. Full staff listings (deacons, parish office, faith formation, music, and operations) are maintained on the parish website.
- Father Matthew Simmons — Pastor (appointed 2022)
- Parish office & faith-formation staff — see website directory
Diocese & Jurisdiction
St. Joseph is one of the Metro Jackson parishes of the Catholic Diocese of Jackson, Mississippi. Within the diocese it is grouped into a deanery led by a dean appointed by the bishop, and it cooperates with neighboring parishes including Madison's St. Francis of Assisi, Jackson's Cathedral of St. Peter and other Metro-area parishes for regional events, diocesan retreats, and joint formation programs.
- Diocese of Jackson
- Member parish of the Metro Jackson deanery grouping