About St. Joseph · Jefferson, Iowa
St. Joseph Catholic Church is a Roman Catholic parish in Jefferson, Iowa, the county seat of Greene County. It belongs to the Diocese of Sioux City and serves as the anchor worship site of 'Greene County Catholic Churches,' a clustered ministry that also once included St. Brigid in Grand Junction, St. Columbkille in Churdan, and the historic St. Patrick's chapel in Cedar Township. Following the Diocese of Sioux City's 'Ministry 2025' pastoral plan (finalized in 2017), it became the only parish with active weekend Masses remaining in Greene County. The parish is pastored (as of the most recent available data) by Fr. John Gerald and celebrates Mass in English on Sundays and on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
- Established
- 1873
- Patron
- St. Joseph
- Rector
- Rev. John Gerald
- Diocese
- Diocese of Sioux City
Why belong here
St. Joseph is the only parish in Greene County with regular weekend Masses after the 2018 Ministry 2025 restructuring, making it the spiritual home for Catholics across a wide rural area. Visitors will find a small, tight-knit congregation where the pastor personally celebrates weddings, funerals and Sunday Mass, with a generous tradition of lay involvement (lectors, Eucharistic ministers, cantors and accompanists named individually in parish funerals). The parish also preserves and partners with the historic St. Patrick's mission chapel in Cedar, keeping the Irish-Catholic pioneer heritage of the county alive.
Mass times at St. Joseph
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Sunday: 9:30 a.m. – 9:55 a.m.
- Tuesday: 7:30 a.m. – 7:55 a.m.
- Thursday: 7:30 a.m. – 7:55 a.m.
Parish Identity & Cluster
St. Joseph Catholic Church in Jefferson is the flagship worship site of 'Greene County Catholic Churches,' a single-parish cluster that until summer 2018 also held weekend Masses at St. Brigid in Grand Junction and St. Columbkille in Churdan and continues to steward the historic oratory of St. Patrick's in Cedar Township. The mailing address listed by the city and DiscoverMass is 501 N. Locust Street, with the parish rectory/office at 503 N. Chestnut Street.
- Diocese: Sioux City
- Cluster name: Greene County Catholic Churches
- Affiliated historic oratory: St. Patrick's, Cedar Township (NRHP-listed 1992)
History
Catholic life in Jefferson grew out of Irish Catholic settlement of Greene County in the 1850s–1860s. After Fr. Marsh from Fort Dodge said the first Mass at the Myles Fitzpatrick home in Cedar Township in June 1863, missionary priests fanned out across the county, including into Jefferson. St. Joseph's parish was formally established in 1873 — the same year as St. Bridget's of Grand Junction — with St. Columbkille's of Churdan soon after. Through the 20th century St. Joseph's served as the principal parish for Jefferson Catholics, with sacramental records preserved by FamilySearch from 1893 to 1953.
- 1850s–1860s: Irish Catholic settlement of Greene County
- 1873: St. Joseph's, Jefferson founded alongside St. Bridget's, Grand Junction
- 1893: Earliest parish sacramental records begin
- 1988: First cluster pairing in the Diocese of Sioux City
- 1995: Six parishes, three priests in Greene County
- 2016: Diocese of Sioux City's 'Ministry 2025' plan announced
- Summer 2018: St. Brigid and St. Columbkille move to oratory status; St. Joseph becomes the sole weekend-Mass parish in Greene County
Clergy & Pastoral Leadership
As of the most recent parish records and funeral notices, the parish is served by Fr. John Gerald as pastor of the Greene County Catholic Churches cluster. He celebrated the parish's 10:00 a.m. Sunday Mass and officiated the Mass of the Resurrection for numerous parishioner funerals from at least 2018 onward. Before him, Fr. Jeff Schleisman served as the cluster pastor during the contentious Ministry 2025 debate in 2016–2017. Earlier priests came from the pioneer missionary tradition out of St. Patrick's, Cedar.
- Rev. John Gerald — current pastor
- Rev. Jeff Schleisman — previous cluster pastor (Ministry 2025 era)
The Greene County Catholic Cluster & Ministry 2025
Greene County Catholic Churches is the canonical pastorate that binds St. Joseph (Jefferson), St. Brigid (Grand Junction) and St. Columbkille (Churdan) together with the historic St. Patrick's oratory (Cedar Township). Under the Sioux City Diocese's 'Ministry 2025' plan — published Feb. 25, 2016 in The Catholic Globe and finalized in 2017 — St. Brigid and St. Columbkille lost regular weekend Masses and were reduced to oratory status beginning summer 2018, with only feast-day, wedding, funeral and one other annual Mass permitted. The cluster was combined with Boone County parishes (Sacred Heart, Boone; St. Malachy, Madrid; St. John, Ogden) for priestly ministry, with weekend Masses celebrated twice each in Jefferson and Ogden and twice each in Boone and Madrid.
- Cluster pastor Fr. Jeff Schleisman publicly advocated preserving full parish status for all three Greene County churches during Ministry 2025 hearings
- Parishioners in 2017 voted to merge the three parishes into a single parish to forestall oratory status; the diocese did not approve the proposal
- Oratory status means no regular Mass, no religious education program, no weekly collection, and no diocesan funding for maintenance
Lay Ministry & Parishioner Involvement
Even as a small rural parish, St. Joseph's has a strong tradition of lay liturgical involvement. Funeral Mass bulletins regularly name lectors (e.g., Sue Wind, Tom Feldmann), Eucharistic ministers, cantors/soloists (Sheilah Pound, Amy Roberts, Lois Last) and large numbers of honorary and casket bearers — evidence of a tight, multigenerational parish community.
- Lay liturgical roles: lector, Eucharistic minister, cantor/soloist, accompanist
- CCD / religious education: parish director role + CCD teaching by lay volunteers (Francis Cudahy taught CCD for 30 years)
- Parish historian and parish representatives to the diocese
Heritage of St. Patrick's, Cedar
St. Patrick's in Cedar Township remains an oratory chapel stewarded by the Greene County Catholic Churches cluster. Founded in 1872 with land donated by Miles and Julia Fitzpatrick, it was the first Catholic church in Greene County and was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1992. It is still used for weddings, funerals, and at least two Masses each year, with upkeep funded entirely by former parishioners and friends since oratory status was imposed in 1996.
- First Catholic church in Greene County (1872)
- Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1992
- Oratory since August 1996; remains a heritage chapel under cluster care
Visiting Jefferson & the Parish Grounds
The church sits near the heart of downtown Jefferson, whose Courthouse Square is one of the few still fully intact town squares in Iowa and was named a Main Street Community by the National Trust for Historic Preservation in 2012. The 2021 City of Jefferson Comprehensive Plan highlights St. Joseph's parish grounds as a community amenity, with a playground and a shelter area available to residents and visitors.
- Located near the Greene County Courthouse Square (Main Street Community, 2012)
- Parish grounds: playground and shelter area open to the public
- Grouped with affiliated historic chapels for cultural tourism in Greene County
Contact & Practical Information
Parishioners and visitors can reach the parish office at (515) 386-2638 or by email at [email protected]. The cluster maintains a public Facebook page as its main online presence, with information about Masses, sacramental needs and cluster news.
- Phone: (515) 386-2638
- Email: [email protected]
- Facebook: facebook.com/greenecountycatholicchurches
- Mailing: 501 N. Locust St., Jefferson, IA 50129
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Missionary priests serving from St. Patrick's, Cedar Creek (1850s–1870s)pre-1873
Priests from the Cedar Creek mission (including Frs. Delaney, Concannon, Barry, McGrath, Mulvehill, O'Farrell, and Quirk, as named in the parish history of St. Patrick's, Cedar) traveled out to Jefferson to celebrate Mass for Catholic families.
- Rev. Jeff Schleismanc. 2016–2017
Pastor of the Greene County Catholic Churches cluster; led the public advocacy and parish meetings during the Ministry 2025 process.
- Rev. John Gerald2018–present (as of available records)
Current pastor; named in multiple parish funeral Masses from 2018 onward as celebrant of the Mass of the Resurrection.