About St. Joseph · Mccloud, California
St. Joseph Parish is a small Catholic parish serving the historic mill town of McCloud in Siskiyou County, in the shadow of Mount Shasta in northern California. Established in 1933 and canonically erected with its founding pastor named in 1935, it belongs to the Siskiyou Deanery of the Diocese of Sacramento and is currently administered by Rev. Reji Joseph, CMI, who also serves as Dean of the deanery. The parish church sits at 213 Colombero Drive and shares its Catholic life with neighboring St. Anthony Parish in Mount Shasta, where most weekday and Saturday sacramental ministry is centered. Worshippers gather for Sunday Mass at 11:00 a.m. and a Wednesday noon Mass in this tight-knit community of faith.
- Established
- 1933
- Patron
- St. Joseph
- Rector
- Rev. Reji Joseph, CMI (Parochial Administrator)
- Diocese
- Diocese of Sacramento (Siskiyou Deanery)
Why belong here
St. Joseph Parish offers the small-town Catholic heart of McCloud an intimate, neighborhood-sized community in which Sunday Mass at 11:00 a.m. and a Wednesday noon Mass keep the liturgical week rooted in the Eucharist, with confession available before and after scheduled Masses. The parish shares active ministry with St. Anthony Parish in Mount Shasta — including a weekly Bible study that meets Thursday afternoons in St. Joseph Hall — giving parishioners regular opportunities for ongoing faith formation. As one of the historic churches anchoring McCloud's company-town Main Street, belonging to St. Joseph means carrying forward more than ninety years of Italian-Catholic heritage in the shadow of Mount Shasta.
Mass times at St. Joseph
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Before and after scheduled Masses
Parish Identity & History
St. Joseph Parish has served the predominantly Italian Catholic community of McCloud — once a company-owned sawmill town at the foot of Mount Shasta — since 1933, with its first resident pastor, Msgr. Patrick McTague, taking up the role in September 1935. The parish was canonically erected by the Diocese of Sacramento (then only a generation old) and quickly became the spiritual center for mill-town families. The historic rectory, donated to the parish during the 1930s when the town was still company-owned, was finished in knotty pine to match the interior of the church and was used to house the priests and nuns serving the area.
- Established 1933
- Founding pastor: Msgr. Patrick McTague (1935–1950)
- Originally a mill-town parish serving Italian Catholic families
- Current administrator: Rev. Reji Joseph, CMI
Rectory Relocation (2020)
After the rectory ceased housing priests in the 1970s and was rented out for decades, mounting upkeep costs made the building unfeasible to maintain. In September 2019 the Mathis family — owners of the McCloud Mercantile — purchased it to keep it from demolition. On Monday, November 16, 2020, the historic four-bedroom, two-bath rectory was lifted off its foundation and hauled, balloons and all, around the corner to a new location on Main Street in McCloud's historic district, continuing the long tradition of houses being moved to new sites in this former company town. The parish, then under Father Lester Menor, planned to convert the vacated footprint next to the church into an outdoor garden for prayer.
- Donated to the parish in the 1930s
- Second floor added within first decade
- Knotty pine interior matching the church
- Relocated to Main Street, November 2020
Diocese & Deanery
St. Joseph Parish belongs to the Diocese of Sacramento and is one of seven parishes in the Siskiyou Deanery, the most northern deanery of the diocese. The parish is administered in tandem with neighboring St. Anthony Parish in Mount Shasta, which serves as the sacramental hub for the area and handles the parish office. The current administrator of McCloud's St. Joseph, Rev. Reji Joseph, CMI (a member of the Carmelites of Mary Immaculate), also serves as Dean of the Siskiyou Deanery.
- Diocese of Sacramento
- Siskiyou Deanery (Rev. Reji Joseph, CMI, Dean)
- Sister parishes: Dunsmuir St. John, Fort Jones Sacred Heart, Mt. Shasta St. Anthony, Tulelake Holy Cross, Weed Holy Family, Yreka St. Joseph
Mass & Sacramental Schedule
The parish keeps a compact weekly schedule in McCloud, gathering for the Eucharist on Sunday morning and at midday on Wednesday. Confession is offered by the priest before and after each scheduled Mass. Day-to-day sacramental ministry (including Saturday confessions and a regular Saturday vigil Mass) is centered at St. Anthony Parish in Mount Shasta, ten miles away.
- Sunday Mass — 11:00 AM
- Wednesday Mass — 12:00 noon
- Confession — before and after scheduled Masses
- Weekend and Saturday vigil Masses and Saturday confessions at St. Anthony Parish, Mt. Shasta
Faith Formation & Ministries
Parish life centers on the Eucharist, ongoing Scripture study, and parish-wide service. A weekly Bible study meets Thursday afternoons in St. Joseph Hall and is the heart of adult faith formation here. Social-concern ministry is shared with St. Anthony Parish through the St. Vincent de Paul conference, which serves those in need throughout the Mount Shasta–McCloud area.
- St. Joseph Bible Study — Thursdays, 4:00 p.m., St. Joseph Hall
- St. Vincent de Paul — shared conference with St. Anthony Parish, Mt. Shasta
- Sacramental preparation (Baptism, Marriage, Anointing, RCIA) by contacting the parish office
Pastorate & Staff
McCloud's St. Joseph Parish is led from Mount Shasta, with both parishes sharing one priest-administrator. The office of the McCloud parish is administered c/o St. Anthony Parish in Mt. Shasta, where day-to-day inquiries, sacramental scheduling, and record-keeping are handled.
- Parochial Administrator: Rev. Reji Joseph, CMI
- Former Pastor: Rev. Lester Menor (named in 2020 diocesan coverage)
- Mailing: c/o St. Anthony Parish, Mt. Shasta, CA 96067
- Pastoral contact via St. Anthony Parish office
Visit & Contact
The church stands at 213 Colombero Drive in central McCloud, just steps from Main Street in the town's historic district. Mass-going visitors typically pair Sunday worship here with the broader slate of weekend Masses and Saturday confession offered at St. Anthony Parish in Mount Shasta.
- Address: 213 Colombero Drive, McCloud, CA 96057
- Phone: (530) 964-9774
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: scd.org/parish/st-joseph-parish-mccloud
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Msgr. Patrick McTague1935–1950
Founding pastor of St. Joseph Parish, McCloud (September 1935 – November 1950); named Dean of Siskiyou County by Bishop Armstrong on January 8, 1948; subsequently transferred to St. Joseph Parish, Redding.
- Rev. William Broderick
Succeeded Msgr. McTague as pastor of St. Joseph Parish, McCloud.
- Rev. Michael T. Canny
Listed as pastor on independent parish directories prior to recent reorganizations.
- Rev. Lester Menor
Pastor in 2020 when the historic rectory was relocated; priest named in 2020 Mt. Shasta News article.
- Rev. Reji Joseph, CMI
Current Parochial Administrator per Diocese of Sacramento; also serves as Dean of the Siskiyou Deanery and administrator of neighboring St. Anthony Parish, Mount Shasta.