About St. Joseph (Hays) · Hays, Kansas
St. Joseph Catholic Church is a historic Volga German parish in Hays, Kansas, founded in November 1876 to serve the German-Russian Catholic families who settled in Ellis County. Now part of the Diocese of Salina, the parish has worshipped in its current Romanesque church since 1904. After 135 years of Capuchin Franciscan leadership (1878–2013), St. Joseph is led today by diocesan pastor Fr. Fred Gatschet and runs daily Mass, an active food pantry, faith formation for children and adults, and several parish commissions.
- Established
- 1876
- Patron
- St. Joseph
- Rector
- Fr. Fred Gatschet
- Diocese
- Diocese of Salina
Why belong here
St. Joseph is a welcoming parish rooted in nearly 150 years of Volga German Catholic heritage, where parishioners can attend daily Mass, pray before the Blessed Sacrament on the third Thursday of every month, and join parish-wide Rosary devotion before Mass. Members grow in faith through Fr. Fred's lunchtime Bible Basics class, year-round adult faith formation, K–8 religious education, and a full slate of liturgical ministries (sacristan, altar server, lector, extraordinary minister of Holy Communion, cantor, usher, homebound minister). Outreach is concrete and local — the parish Food Pantry and Diaper Closet, opened in 2001, serves anyone in need in Ellis County on the 1st and 3rd Saturdays of each month.
Mass times at St. Joseph (Hays)
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Saturday: 3:30 pm – 4:30 pm
- Sunday: 6:45 am – 7:15 am
- Sunday: 9:30 am – 10:15 am
- Monday – Friday: 7:00 am – 7:30 am
Adoration times
- Every 3rd Thursday of the month: 7:00 am – 7:00 pm (unless it falls on a Holy Day)
Parish History
St. Joseph Parish was founded in November 1876 to serve the Volga German Catholic immigrants — descendants of Germans recruited by Catherine the Great to settle the Volga region of Russia — who began arriving in Ellis County in February of that year. Fr. Valentine Sommereisen, an Alsatian missionary who had served the Sioux and accompanied Custer's 7th Cavalry, organized the parish and celebrated its first Mass on the First Sunday of Advent 1876 in a Fort Hays barracks. German-speaking Capuchin Franciscan friars from Pennsylvania took over in 1878; they built the first frame church (1879), the first Catholic school (1884), a friary (1898), and finally the present Romanesque church dedicated June 12, 1904. After 135 years of Capuchin leadership, the Province of Mid-America returned the parish to the Diocese of Salina on August 1, 2013, when Fr. Fred Gatschet and Fr. Charles Awotwi became its first diocesan pastors.
- First Mass: First Sunday of Advent, 1876 (Fort Hays barracks)
- First frame church: 1879
- Parish school opened: 1880 (Sisters of St. Agnes of Fond du Lac)
- Larger church: 1886 (dedicated March 6, 1887)
- Capuchin friary built: 1898
- Present church built: 1901–1904, dedicated June 12, 1904
- Eight-room brick school: 1914
- St. Joseph's College / Military Academy opened: 1908
- Returned to diocesan leadership: August 1, 2013
Worship & Liturgical Life
Daily and weekend Mass is offered in English, and the Rosary is prayed before each Mass. Confessions are heard every day of the week, with extended windows on Saturday and Sunday. Eucharistic Adoration is held every third Thursday from 7:00 am to 7:00 pm (except when it falls on a Holy Day), and the parish relies on a broad team of liturgical volunteers — sacristans, altar servers, cantors, extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion, homebound ministers, readers, gift bearers, and ushers — to support each Mass.
- Saturday Vigil Mass: 5:00 pm
- Sunday Masses: 7:30 am and 10:30 am
- Weekday Mass: Monday–Friday 6:30 am
- Confessions: Saturday 3:30–4:30 pm; Sunday 6:45–7:15 am and 9:30–10:15 am; Monday–Friday 7:00–7:30 am
- Adoration: 3rd Thursday of the month, 7:00 am – 7:00 pm
- Rosary before Mass
Faith Formation & Adult Education
Religious education for school-age children (K–8) runs from September through April. Adult faith formation is offered year-round: a Wednesday-evening class meets in the parish office from 6:30 to 7:30 pm, and Fr. Fred leads his popular Brown Bag Bible Basics class over the lunch hour on Thursdays during the school year, working through a different book of the Bible from September to May. Faith Formation classrooms are on the second floor of the parish school building, so volunteers should be able to climb a flight of stairs.
- K–8 Faith Formation (September–April)
- Adult Faith Formation — Wednesdays 6:30–7:30 pm
- Fr. Fred's Brown Bag Bible Basics — Thursdays at lunch, September–May
- Religious Education Coordinator: Allison Ochoa
Food Pantry & Diaper Closet
Founded in January 2001 at the suggestion of then-associate pastor Fr. Michael Suchnicki, OFM Cap., the St. Joseph Food Pantry provides food for anyone in Ellis County experiencing hunger, while the Diaper Closet supplies diapers and wipes to families with infants. Originally located on the second floor of the parish center, the pantry moved in July 2014 into the former Kennedy Middle School building across the street (use doors 25 & 26 into the cafeteria), and now distributes from 13 boxes a year in 2001 to a record 199 boxes on December 20, 2014. Renee Michaud coordinates volunteers and donations.
- Open the 1st and 3rd Saturday of each month, 9:00 am – noon
- Location: large red brick school building in the back parking lot; enter through doors 25 & 26
- Serving: any household in need in Ellis County
- Donations: nonperishable items accepted in drop-off barrels inside doors 25 & 26, 8 am–3 pm, Mon–Fri; checks payable to St. Joseph Food Pantry
- Coordinator: Renee Michaud ([email protected])
Councils & Commissions
Parishioners serve on five commissions that shape the life and mission of St. Joseph: the Pastoral Council (Canon 536 leadership group with the pastor), Finance Council (budget, capital improvements, financial planning), Stewardship Commission (Time-Talent-Treasure stewardship as a way of life), Vocation Commission (the Heartland Vocations effort promoting religious vocations through prayer, education, seminarian care, and PSAs), and the Parish Activities Commission (fellowship, special events, and social life of the community).
- Pastoral Council
- Finance Council
- Stewardship Commission
- Heartland Vocations Commission
- Parish Activities Commission
Clergy & Staff
The parish is led by pastor Fr. Fred Gatschet and supported by a lean staff and many volunteers. Together they manage parish administration, liturgy and music, religious education, food-pantry operations, and building maintenance.
- Fr. Fred Gatschet — Pastor ([email protected])
- Ann Pfeifer — Business Administrator ([email protected])
- Kevin Rupp — Administrative Assistant, Liturgy / Parish Organist ([email protected])
- Allison Ochoa — Religious Education Coordinator ([email protected])
- Renee Michaud — Food Pantry / Diaper Closet Coordinator ([email protected])
- Chris Weigel — Maintenance Director
- Curtis Wolfe — Maintenance
- John Renteria — Maintenance
Sacraments
The parish office at 785-625-7356 is the starting point for scheduling all sacraments. Parents seeking Baptism for the first time must complete a baptism class before a date can be set.
- Baptism — contact parish office; first-time parents required to take a baptism class
Support the Parish
Beyond the Sunday collection, St. Joseph sustains its mission through online giving, an endowment held at the Heartland Community Foundation (with matching funds available around GiveFest in early October), and the iGiveCatholic campaign each November–December on Give Tuesday. Parish operations are run with minimal staff and depend on volunteer time and monetary donations alike.
- Online giving through the parish website
- iGiveCatholic — Give Tuesday (Tuesday after Thanksgiving)
- Heartland Community Foundation endowment / GiveFest (early October)
- Yearend gifts
- Volunteer on a council or commission
- Volunteer at Mass (sacristan, altar server, cantor, EMHC, homebound minister, reader, gift bearer, usher)
- Volunteer with Faith Formation or the Food Pantry
Buildings & Facilities
The parish complex sits at 13th Street in Hays and includes the 1901–1904 Romanesque Revival church (designed by architect Joseph Marshall), the former Capuchin friary (built 1898; third story added 1915) that now serves as the Parish Service Center, an eight-room brick school (built 1914), and the Kennedy school building across the street, which since 2014 has housed the Food Pantry & Diaper Closet. The 1908 St. Joseph's College stone building across from the church is also part of the parish footprint.
- Present church (1901–1904, architect Joseph Marshall of Topeka)
- Former Capuchin friary / Parish Service Center (1898)
- Eight-room brick school (1914)
- Former Kennedy Middle School building — Food Pantry since July 2014
- St. Joseph's College stone building (1908)
Community Heritage: Volga Germans
St. Joseph is one of a constellation of Volga German Catholic parishes founded in Ellis County in the 1870s — alongside Victoria (Herzog), Catherine, Munjor, Schoenchen, Pfeifer, Liebenthal, and Ellis — when more than 150 German-Russian Catholic families immigrated from the Volga region of Russia. The parish has hosted Volga German heritage events including a 'Celebration of Faith & Community: Volga German 150th Anniversary' (marking 150 years since the 1876 arrival), and maintains an active Thanksgiving Dinner tradition. Today Thomas More Prep-Marian High School, the descendant of St. Joseph's College, is jointly governed by the three Hays parishes.
- One of eight Volga German Catholic parishes in Ellis County founded in the 1870s
- Annual St. Joseph's Thanksgiving Dinner
- Volga German 150th Anniversary celebration
- Thomas More Prep-Marian High School — jointly governed by the three Hays parishes
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Fr. Valentine Sommereisen1876–1878
Founder of St. Joseph Parish; Alsatian missionary who had served the Sioux and traveled with Custer's 7th Cavalry.
- Fr. Anastasius Mueller, O.M. Cap.1878–1885
First Capuchin pastor of Hays; completed the first frame church in 1879.
- Fr. Martin, O.M. Cap.1885 (brief)
Short tenure; succeeded Fr. Anastasius.
- Fr. Anastasius (returned), O.M. Cap.1885–1888
Returned for a second term.
- Fr. Anthony Berger, O.M. Cap.1888–1891
- Fr. Martin, O.M. Cap.returned
Returned again after Berger.
- Fr. Emmeram, O.M. Cap.1897–1899
- Fr. Mark Haas, O.M. Cap.1899–1903
Engaged architect Joseph Marshall and broke ground for the present church in 1901.
- Fr. Richard Dei, O.M. Cap.1903–1906
Completed and dedicated the current church on June 12, 1904.
- Fr. Cassian, O.M. Cap.1906–1909
- Fr. Charles, O.M. Cap.1909–1912
- Fr. Anthony Burghardt, O.M. Cap.1912–1913
- Fr. Paul, O.M. Cap.1913–1914
Began the larger eight-room school building in 1913.
- Fr. Jerome Mueller, O.M. Cap.1914–1915
- Fr. Dominic Schuster, O.M. Cap.1915–1917
- Fr. Anselm Mueller, O.M. Cap.1917–1919
- Fr. Ignatius Weisbruch, O.M. Cap.1919–1921
- Fr. Michael Suchnicki, OFM Cap.circa 2000
Associate pastor who in 2000 proposed founding the parish Food Pantry.
- Fr. Fred Gatschet2013–present
First diocesan pastor since Fr. Sommereisen; took office August 1, 2013 with Fr. Charles Awotwi.