About St. Joseph · Imperial, Missouri
St. Joseph Parish in Imperial, Missouri, is a Catholic community of the Archdiocese of St. Louis that traces its roots to a 1874 mission church in nearby Kimmswick and was formally established as a parish in 1905. After outgrowing its original Kimmswick site, the parish relocated in 1993 to its current campus on Old Antonia Road in Imperial, where a new church was blessed and dedicated by Archbishop Justin Rigali in February 1999. Today the parish serves roughly 1,400 registered families with five Sunday Masses, a daily Mass schedule, an attached Catholic school (Saint Joseph School), the Parish School of Religion (PSR), a robust sacramental life, and dozens of lay ministries spanning faith formation, family life, fellowship, service, and worship.
- Established
- 1905 (parish); 1874 (as a mission)
- Patron
- St. Joseph
- Rector
- Rev. Anthony Yates
- Diocese
- Archdiocese of St. Louis
Why belong here
St. Joseph Parish is a large, active Catholic community in southern Jefferson County with five Sunday Masses, daily Mass, livestreamed worship, and a perpetual adoration chapel — making it easy to find a time to pray. Families can hand off faith formation to the parish school or the Parish School of Religion, and adults can grow through OCIA (formerly RCIA), Bible study, ACTS retreats, and a strong choir program. The parish also runs Sr. Christine's Food Pantry, the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, the St. Joseph Athletic Association (CYC sports), scouting, a robust pro-life and family-life ministry, and dozens of small groups — giving every parishioner a clear way to belong.
Mass times at St. Joseph
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Monday: 5:30 PM – 7:00 PM
- Saturday: 3:30 PM – 4:30 PM
Adoration times
- Tuesday: 9:00 AM (Adoration Chapel)
- Wednesday: 9:00 AM (Adoration Chapel)
- Thursday: 9:00 AM (Adoration Chapel)
Parish History
St. Joseph Parish traces its roots to a mission church founded in March 1874 in Kimmswick, where the Franciscan Friars and later visiting priests celebrated Mass in private homes. The community built its first frame church on Sylvan Heights in 1876 (blessed by Vicar General Henry Muehlsaipen in May 1877) and was raised to parish status on October 3, 1905, when Archbishop Kain appointed Father Edmund Salland as the first resident pastor. Fr. Salland's 22-year tenure produced the convent, school, rectory and 1927 masonry Kimmswick church, while successive orders of sisters — Ursuline, Dominican, Christ the King, School Sisters of Notre Dame, and now the Apostles of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (ASCJ) — staffed the parish school. The parish relocated from flood-prone Kimmswick to a 15-acre site in Imperial in 1993, and Archbishop Justin Rigali dedicated the new church on February 7, 1999.
- Mission church founded: March 1874 (Kimmswick)
- Parish established: October 3, 1905 (first resident pastor: Fr. Edmund Salland)
- Parish school opened: 1909 (13 students)
- Relocation to Imperial campus: January 1993
- New church dedicated: February 7, 1999 by Archbishop Justin Rigali
- Current pastor since August 2024: Rev. Anthony Yates
Parish Staff & Clergy
The pastoral team is led by Father Anthony Yates, with Father Donald Morris serving as Associate Pastor and Monsignor Gregory R. Mikesch in residence as a retired priest. Deacon Brian Selsor assists, and seminarian Jacob Price is also on staff. Two Apostles of the Sacred Heart of Jesus sisters — Sr. Carol Sansone, ASCJ, and Sr. Rosemary Buttice, ASCJ — serve the school and faith formation programs. Lay staff direct religious education, sacred music, business, communications, facilities, and the Corpus Christi Center.
- Rev. Anthony Yates — Pastor
- Rev. Donald Morris — Associate Pastor
- Rev. Msgr. Gregory R. Mikesch — Priest in Residence (Retired)
- Deacon Brian Selsor — Permanent Deacon
- Jacob Price — Seminarian
- Sr. Carol Sansone, ASCJ — Principal / Faith Formation
- Sr. Rosemary Buttice, ASCJ — Faith Formation Assistant
- Emily Kopff — Director of Religious Education
- Nori Fahrig, M.M. — Director of Sacred Music
- Keith Newbury — Business Manager
- Julie Hepp — Pastoral Associate
- Heather Selsor — Communications Coordinator
- Kara Woldtvedt — Faith Formation Assistant
- Gina Beach — Parish Accountant
- Torri Halbert — Corpus Christi Center Manager
- Jeff Darr — Corpus Christi Center Assistant Manager
Faith Formation & Education
Faith formation at St. Joseph spans cradle-to-grave: an in-parish Catholic school, a Parish School of Religion (PSR) for children in kindergarten through eighth grade, sacramental preparation, OCIA for adults, ongoing adult formation, retreats, and Bible study.
- Saint Joseph School (Pre-K through 8th grade)
- Parish School of Religion (PSR): in-person Wednesdays 5:15–6:30 PM and Family Focused model
- First Reconciliation / First Eucharist typically in 2nd grade
- Confirmation preparation for 7th–8th graders
- OCIA (Order of Christian Initiation of Adults)
- Adult Faith Formation
- Bible Study: Tuesdays 10:00 AM–12:00 noon, Corpus Christi Center
- ACTS Retreats
Saint Joseph School
The parish's Catholic elementary school — originally founded in 1909 in Kimmswick — moved to the Imperial campus in 1999 and is currently administered by the Apostles of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (ASCJ). In addition to traditional academics, the school has integrated a robotics program (the Clavius Project) and a child-centered garden developed in partnership with the Missouri Botanical Garden.
- Originally opened in 1909 in Sylvan Heights / Kimmswick
- Dedicated at the new Imperial campus on August 30, 1999
- Eleven-classroom addition ready for the 2003–2004 school year
- Currently administered by the Apostles of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (ASCJ)
- Robotics / Clavius Project
- Missouri Botanical Garden child-centered garden partnership
- Pre-K 4 program offered
Worship & Music Ministries
Lay faithful serve the parish's liturgical life as lectors, altar servers, ushers and greeters, extraordinary ministers of Holy Communion, and ministers to the homebound. The music program — under Director of Sacred Music Nori Fahrig — includes an Adult Choir, a Contemporary Choir, and a Funeral Choir.
- Adult Choir
- Contemporary Choir
- Funeral Choir
- Children's Liturgy of the Word
- Extraordinary Ministers of the Eucharist
- Eucharistic Adoration
- Eucharist to the Homebound
- Altar Servers
- Ushers & Greeters
- Lectors
Service & Outreach Ministries
Parishioners feed the hungry, support those in need, and accompany families through the parish's outreach programs. Sr. Christine's Food Pantry and the Society of St. Vincent de Paul conference are the principal charitable arms, supported by an annual Christmas Giving Tree and other seasonal collections.
- Sr. Christine's Food Pantry
- Society of St. Vincent de Paul (meets 2nd Wed and 4th Mon, 6:30 PM, Corpus Christi Center)
- Christmas Outreach / Giving Tree
- Catholic Social Teachings
- Fish Frys (Lenten)
- SJP Crisis Care Line
Family Life & Fellowship
Family life ministries support mothers, marriage, and respect-life work, while a wide range of fellowship groups — from the Prime Timers senior group to scouting and a Prayer Shawl Ministry — give parishioners of every age a way to belong.
- Mary & Elizabeth Mothers' Ministry
- Natural Family Planning
- Pro-Life
- Shower of Roses
- Prayer Shawl Ministry
- Prayer Group (after 8 AM Mass Tue/Thu)
- Prime Timers (3rd Wednesday, 12:30 PM)
- Mothers in Christ
- Donut Sunday
- Little Flowers
- Boy Scouts / Cub Scouts / Girl Scouts
- Heavenly Dusters
Parish Life & Athletics
Beyond worship and formation, the parish hosts community-building events such as the Spring Family Fest and the annual Parish Auction, and fields youth athletic teams through the St. Joseph Athletic Association (SJAA) in partnership with the Catholic Youth Council (CYC).
- Parish Council (3rd Tuesday, 7:00 PM, Corpus Christi Center)
- Spring Family Fest
- Parish Auction
- St. Joseph Athletic Association (SJAA) — CYC youth sports
- Intramural instructional sports for younger athletes
Corpus Christi Center
The Corpus Christi Center is the community hub of the parish campus. At more than 16,000 square feet, it houses the parish offices, large event space, and the food pantry, and its 7,600+ square-foot main hall can seat over 400 guests. Moveable partitions allow the hall to be split into four smaller meeting rooms, and the facility also includes a full commercial kitchen, a state-of-the-art sound system, two projector systems, and an outdoor patio.
- 16,000+ square feet total
- Main hall: 7,600+ sq ft, seats 400+
- Moveable partitions create up to four smaller rooms
- Full commercial kitchen
- State-of-the-art sound system and two projector systems
- Outdoor patio
- Houses parish offices and the food pantry
Visit & Contact
St. Joseph Parish is located at 6020 Old Antonia Road in Imperial, Missouri 63052 (Jefferson County), just off Interstate 55. The parish office can be reached at 636-464-1013, and the official website at sjiparish.org provides the weekly bulletin, livestream links, ministry sign-ups, and online giving.
- Address: 6020 Old Antonia Road, Imperial, MO 63052
- Phone: 636-464-1013
- Website: sjiparish.org
- Diocese: Archdiocese of St. Louis (archstl.org)
- Livestreamed Mass on YouTube and BoxCast TV
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Fr. Edmund Salland1905–1927
First resident pastor; served 22 years and built the convent, school, rectory, and 1927 masonry church in Kimmswick.
- Fr. Eugene R. Sinz1985–1992
Appointed pastor with about 1,100 registered families and 250 students; began the drive to build a new church and school.
- Fr. Andrew Sigmund1992–c. 2000s
Led the move from Kimmswick to Imperial; celebrated first Mass in the new church (Dec. 17, 1998).
- Msgr. John Brennell2005–2012
Pastored during continued parish and school growth.
- Fr. Daniel Shaughnessy2015–August 2024
Championed Catholic education for all families; invited the Apostles of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (ASCJ) back to the school in 2016; oversaw robotics/Clavius project and Missouri Botanical Garden partnership.
- Rev. Anthony YatesAugust 2024–present
Current pastor.