About St. Joseph · Platte Center, Nebraska
St. Joseph Catholic Church is a small rural parish serving the village of Platte Center in Platte County, Nebraska, within the Archdiocese of Omaha. It carries on a Catholic tradition in the area that stretches back to the 1850s, when Irish and German settlers began arriving along Lower Shell Creek. Today the parish is pastored by Fr. Walter Jong-a-Kiem (who also serves St. Stanislaus Parish in nearby Duncan) and offers a Saturday evening and Sunday morning Mass in English from its location at 155 A Street. Beyond its worship life, St. Joseph's is part of the broader Platte Center community, listed alongside other congregations on the town's civic website.
- Established
- 1884
- Patron
- St. Joseph
- Rector
- Fr. Walter Jong-a-Kiem
- Diocese
- Archdiocese of Omaha
Why belong here
St. Joseph's offers a small, traditional rural Catholic community in Platte Center where parishioners can worship in two clear weekly Masses — Saturday evening at 7:30 PM and Sunday morning at 8:00 AM — with Saturday-evening confessions from 7:00 to 7:20 PM. The parish is led by Fr. Walter Jong-a-Kiem of the Archdiocese of Omaha and sits at 155 A Street, with the phone line (402) 246-2255 connecting visitors directly to the parish office. With a heritage going back to 1884 and the Irish and German Catholic pioneers of Lower Shell Creek, it remains a welcoming place for families who want the rhythms of small-town Nebraska Catholic life — old-school liturgy, local fellowship, and a tight-knit faith community rooted in over a century of memory.
Mass times at St. Joseph
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Saturday 7:00 PM – 7:20 PM (before the 7:30 PM Mass)
Parish Identity & Location
St. Joseph Catholic Church sits at 155 A Street in the village of Platte Center, Platte County, Nebraska 68653. It is listed on the Platte Center community website alongside the village's other places of worship — Grace Lutheran Church (222 1st St.) and St. John's Lutheran Church — with contact handled through the parish office at (402) 246-2255.
- Address: 155 A St., Platte Center, NE 68653
- Phone: (402) 246-2255
- Rite: Roman-Latin
- Language: English
- Listed under 'Worship' on the Platte Center village site
Platte Center Worship Schedule
The Platte Center community website publishes St. Joseph's Mass schedule alongside other local congregations. Weekend Masses are celebrated Saturday evening and Sunday morning, with confessions heard immediately before the Saturday Mass.
- Saturday Vigil Mass: 7:30 PM
- Sunday Mass: 8:00 AM
- Confessions: Saturday 7:00 PM – 7:20 PM
- Pastor listed on the village site as 'Fr. Walter'
Pastor & Archdiocesan Leadership
St. Joseph Parish, Platte Center is part of the Archdiocese of Omaha and is currently pastored by Fr. Walter Jong-a-Kiem, who simultaneously serves as pastor of St. Stanislaus Parish in Duncan, Nebraska. The Archdiocese's printed and online directory has, in earlier editions, listed Rev. Joseph A. Miksch as pastor together with Deacon Louis J. Dohmen as parish deacon.
- Current pastor: Fr. Walter Jong-a-Kiem
- Companion parish: St. Stanislaus Parish, 1120 8th St., Duncan, NE 68634
- Former pastor (per earlier directory): Rev. Joseph A. Miksch
- Deacon (per earlier directory): Deacon Louis J. Dohmen
Founding & Pioneer Catholic Settlement (1857–1884)
The Catholic identity of Platte Center's Lower Shell Creek area began with Irish pioneer families who arrived in March 1857 — Thomas Lynch, Patrick Gleason, John Dineen, Michael Kelly — soon followed by Pat Murray, the Dineens, Conways, Hayes, Carrigs, Doody and Burke. German Catholic families (the Ripps, Jordans, Greisens, Liebigs, Mehrbergers and others) began arriving in 1868–1869. For years the settlers had to travel to Omaha by ox team to receive the sacraments; Fr. Fourmont served as the only resident clergyman in Platte County. A first small frame church was built in 1873 by Ferdinand Ripp near the Pat Gleason home, with Mass originally said in Henry Ripp's house before it was exteriorly finished.
- 1857: first Irish Catholic settlers arrive along Lower Shell Creek
- 1863: Fr. William Kelly arrives; community organized as St. Patrick, Shell Creek (1863–1884)
- 1870: Fr. Frederick Uhing begins ministering to Catholic Germans from West Point
- 1873: 24x30-foot frame church built by Ferdinand Ripp near the Pat Gleason home
- 1880: village of Platte Center grows up along the Columbus-Norfolk U.P.R.R. branch
Birth of St. Joseph Parish (1884)
Bishop James O'Connor of Omaha directed the Franciscan friars of Columbus to found a parish in the new town of Platte Center. Fr. Seraphin Lampe, O.F.M., superior of the Columbus monastery, presided at a meeting on May 4, 1884, in the store of C. C. Carrig and James Lynch, at which the people subscribed $1,500 toward a combined church, school and Sisters' residence estimated at $4,000. Two acres were donated by Patrick Murphy and the adjoining two by Edmond Roberts, with deeds signed over to the bishop on June 3, 1884. Brother Adrian Wewer, O.F.M., drew the plans and Frank Brockhaus erected the building for $500 between August 20 and November 15, 1884.
- February 3, 1884: first parish service celebrated by Fr. Boniface Depmann, O.F.M.
- May 4, 1884: organizing meeting; $1,500 subscribed
- Land: 2 acres from Patrick Murphy + 2 acres from Edmond Roberts
- Combined building 24x58 ft. with 24x28 ft. school and 25x28 ft. Sisters' home
- Builder: Frank Brockhaus, $500 contract
- November 15, 1884: building completed
- December 25, 1884: first Mass celebrated at 8:00 a.m.
St. Joseph Parish School (1885–)
Realizing the importance of a parochial school in pioneer Nebraska, Bishop O'Connor pressed for a school alongside the new church. Fr. Boniface arranged to bring the Franciscan Sisters of Lafayette, Indiana, and announced from the pulpit: 'Tomorrow afternoon the Sisters will arrive here and the parish school will be opened Wednesday morning.' Classes began in the church on September 7, 1885 and moved into the school proper on September 23, 1885.
- First Sisters: Sister Modesta and Sister Hermana (O.S.F.)
- First enrollment: 40 children
- 1885: school opened in combination church-school-Sisters' residence
Building the Present Church (1899 & 1924)
As the congregation outgrew the original combined building, Rev. Jerome launched a campaign in 1898 for a larger church. Its cornerstone was laid August 17, 1899 and the second church — built by Mr. Liss of Tarnov — was dedicated October 12, 1899. By 1917 the parish had paid off $3,000 of debt and set aside $600 on interest toward another new church. The older church was razed in early May 1924, the cornerstone was laid on May 31, 1924, and the present church was dedicated November 28, 1924.
- 1899 church: cornerstone August 17, 1899; dedicated October 12, 1899; built by Mr. Liss of Tarnov
- 1924 church: old building razed first week of May 1924; cornerstone May 31, 1924; dedicated November 28, 1924
- 1924 dedication choir included Max and Francis Bruckner, Charles Kaipust, Mark Schilz, Mrs. Frank Bruckner, L. A. Lachnit, A. J. Glodowski, Misses Madeline Gleason, Anna Kaipust, Bernice Szostak, Cecilia Burke, Alice and Leona Heeg, with Sister M. Rosella, O.S.F., as organist
Centennial & Legacy
In 1984 St. Joseph Parish marked its hundredth anniversary with the publication of *Century of Blessings, St. Joseph Centennial, Platte Center, Nebraska (1884–1984)* — the same book that anchors most surviving written histories of the parish. The parish remains a focal point of Catholic life in Platte County and continues to draw its heritage from the Irish and German pioneers of Lower Shell Creek who first gathered for Mass along that stretch of prairie.
- 1884: parish founded by Franciscans from Columbus
- 1984: centennial celebrated with *Century of Blessings* (used as the source for later local histories)
- Archdiocesan affiliation: Archdiocese of Omaha
Visiting St. Joseph's
Visitors can find St. Joseph Catholic Church through the Platte Center village website under the 'Worship' page, where the parish is listed with Fr. Walter's contact details and the weekend Mass schedule. Those looking for more information can phone the parish office at (402) 246-2255 or follow the parish's official Facebook presence.
- Link on Platte Center village site: plattecenter.com/worship
- Facebook: facebook.com/StJosephsPlatteCenter/
- Phone for Mass times and pastoral needs: (402) 246-2255
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Rev. Boniface Depmann, O.F.M.February 1884–July 1886
First pastor of St. Joseph's, Platte Center; celebrated the first parish service on February 3, 1884 and the first Mass in the new building on Christmas Day 1884. Brought the Franciscan Sisters of Lafayette, Indiana, to open the parish school in 1885.
- Rev. Jerome1898–1899
Began planning and oversaw construction of the second church; cornerstone laid August 17, 1899 and the building dedicated October 12, 1899 (built by Mr. Liss of Tarnov).