About St. Joseph · Mendon, Missouri
St. Joseph is a small Catholic mission church in rural Salt Creek Township, Chariton County, Missouri, situated in the unincorporated community of Hurricane Branch near Mendon. The parish is one of the oldest active Catholic parishes in the Jefferson City diocese, with its origin traced to 1858 when Catholic families of the surrounding counties gathered monthly in private homes for Mass celebrated by the pioneering missionary priest Fr. John Hogan of Chillicethe. Today the mission is associated with St. Bonaventure Parish in Marceline, sharing its pastor and sharing worship with the neighboring parishes of Immaculate Conception in Brookfield and St. Raphael in Indian Grove.
- Established
- 1877
- Patron
- Saint Joseph
- Rector
- Rev. C. Paschal Ihediohamma (Parochial Administrator; also Pastor of St. Bonaventure, Marceline)
- Diocese
- Diocese of Jefferson City
Why belong here
St. Joseph, Hurricane Branch is a small, rural Catholic mission with deep roots in north-central Missouri — a faith community that has celebrated the Eucharist on this same ground since the 1870s. Because the mission is part of a four-parish cluster led from St. Bonaventure in Marceline, visitors and parishioners can plug into a broader network of family-friendly Catholic life in Chariton County, including Mass at the historic Marceline church, the parish school (Father McCartan Memorial School), and Knights of Columbus Council 9028. The current worship site — a simple country church with an adjoining cemetery — offers a quieter, more intimate Sunday Mass experience for those in the Mendon/Hurricane Branch area, with the carved wooden statue of St. Joseph keeping watch over the grounds.
Mass times at St. Joseph
Weekly Mass schedule
History of St. Joseph, Hurricane Branch
St. Joseph Catholic Church at Hurricane Branch is the oldest active parish in the rural sector of the Diocese of Jefferson City. Its roots reach back to 1858, when missionary priest Fr. John Hogan of Chillicethe began riding out to north-central Missouri to celebrate Mass once a month in the homes of scattered Catholic families — many of them Irish and German settlers — in what would become Salt Creek Township, Chariton County. Fr. Hogan continued that work for more than twenty years until Pope Pius IX named him Bishop of St. Joseph (later Bishop of Kansas City); the new bishop then ordered a permanent church built for the families he had served. The diocese dates the parish's founding to 1877, with the church building in place by 1878; the parish marked its centennial in May 1977.
- 1858 — First home Masses celebrated by Fr. John Hogan
- 1877 — Parish officially founded (per diocesan history)
- 1878 — Permanent church built by order of newly consecrated Bishop Hogan
- Originally served from the 1877 Franciscan friary at nearby Wien, Missouri
- 1977 — Centennial celebrated
Parish Cluster & Clergy
St. Joseph Hurricane Branch is administered together with three other parishes in the Chariton County area as part of a single pastoral cluster led from St. Bonaventure, Marceline. The current Parochial Administrator for the cluster is Rev. C. Paschal Ihediohamma, ordained in 2006 (Diocese of Okigwe, Nigeria) and a priest of the Diocese of Jefferson City. Deacon Mike Dorrell serves the associated parishes. After June 30, 2026 Fr. Henry Ussher is scheduled to become the next pastor of the cluster.
- Parochial Administrator: Rev. C. Paschal Ihediohamma
- Deacon: Mike Dorrell
- Cluster parishes: St. Bonaventure (Marceline); St. Joseph Mission (Hurricane Branch); Immaculate Conception (Brookfield); St. Raphael (Indian Grove)
- Mailing address for the cluster: 409 S Kansas, Marceline, MO 64658
- Cluster office: (660) 376-3239 / [email protected]
Father McCartan Memorial School
Although located in the town of Marceline rather than at the Hurricane Branch mission itself, the parish cluster's Catholic school is closely tied to the faith life of families in St. Joseph's mission territory. Fr. McCartan Memorial School serves preschool through eighth grade, has been ranked #1 in diocesan achievement scores for three consecutive years, and operates with a small class-size model that emphasizes Christ-centered learning, daily Mass, and student involvement in liturgical planning. Enrollment is open to families from across the cluster parishes.
- Address: 327 S Kansas Ave., Marceline, MO 64658
- Phone: (660) 376-3580
- Principal: Lisa Sensenich ([email protected])
- Office: Carly Smith ([email protected])
- Grades: Preschool through 8th
Cemetery
Adjoining the church on St. Joseph Avenue is Saint Joseph Catholic Cemetery, Hurricane Branch — the historic burial ground for generations of Catholic families from the surrounding rural townships. The cemetery is still in active use and remains under the care of the parish. A 2021 funeral notice records the burial of a longtime local Catholic family member there, and a 2024 Catholic Missourian feature described how a new chainsaw-carved wooden statue of St. Joseph was deliberately positioned to 'look out over our cemetery,' keeping silent watch over those at rest.
- Saint Joseph Catholic Cemetery, Hurricane Branch — adjacent to the church
- Active burial site under parish care
Church Grounds & Devotional Carvings
In 2024 the parish community turned a setback — the loss of mature ash trees to disease — into a new devotional landmark. Parishioner Dennis Speichinger proposed having the dying trees carved rather than removed, and Eagle Ridge Chainsaw Carvings created two pieces: a 'praying hands' carving that welcomes visitors entering Hurricane Branch, and a life-size wooden sculpture of St. Joseph, depicted as a humble carpenter, standing watch over the cemetery. The reflection published in The Catholic Missourian by parish member Becky Bentle notes that St. Joseph 'silently keeps watch over all those who have passed' and is positioned so that 'visitors will glance to the south in the cemetery and catch a glimpse of St. Joseph looking out over our cemetery.'
- Praying-hands chainsaw carving — welcomes visitors to Hurricane Branch
- St. Joseph chainsaw sculpture — keeps watch over the adjoining cemetery
- Carvings created by Eagle Ridge Chainsaw Carvings
- Featured in The Catholic Missourian, May 9, 2024
Contact & Diocese Information
St. Joseph, Hurricane Branch is a mission church of the Diocese of Jefferson City, in the Central Deanery of Chariton County. Mail and phone for the cluster are handled through the St. Bonaventure, Marceline parish office; the church itself can be reached directly at (660) 548-3267.
- Diocese of Jefferson City — Central Deanery
- Parish phone: (660) 548-3267
- Cluster office email: [email protected]
- Mailing: 409 S Kansas, Marceline, MO 64658