About St. Joseph · Roanoke, Illinois
St. Joseph Catholic Church is a small Roman-Latin rite parish located at 508 W. Randolph Street in Roanoke, Illinois, a village in Woodford County. Founded in 1874 according to GCatholic's records (with a parish history rich in German-Catholic immigrant roots going back to the early 1890s), the parish belongs to the Diocese of Peoria and is currently served by Monsignor Charles J. Beebe, P.A. The parish shares its website (stsjlj.com) with nearby St. Luke Parish in Eureka, reflecting a pastoral grouping under one administrator. Weekend and weekday Masses, Holy Day liturgies, and Saturday confessions are offered each week, sustaining a faithful Catholic presence in this rural central-Illinois community.
- Established
- 1874
- Patron
- St. Joseph
- Rector
- Monsignor Charles J. Beebe, P.A.
- Diocese
- Diocese of Peoria
Why belong here
St. Joseph offers a small, traditional Catholic community rooted in nearly 150 years of faith in Roanoke, with weekly Mass on Sunday morning and Saturday evening, daily Mass on Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday mornings, and regular Saturday confessions — the kind of steady sacramental rhythm that families and individuals can build their week around. As one of the historic parishes of the Diocese of Peoria in rural Woodford County, it sustains the Catholic traditions brought by the area's German-Catholic founders, from the cemetery consecrated in the 1870s to the church building dedicated on June 8, 1958. Worshippers here join generations of the same farm and village families in a worship space that has served as the spiritual heart of Roanoke since the 1890s.
Mass times at St. Joseph
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Saturday 3:00 PM – 3:45 PM
- Sunday 9:30 AM – 9:45 AM (before 10:00 AM Mass)
Parish Identity & Location
St. Joseph Catholic Church is a Roman-Latin rite parish of the Diocese of Peoria located at 508 W. Randolph Street, Roanoke, Illinois 61561. The mailing address is 508 W. Randolph St., Roanoke, IL 61561-7773, and the parish can be reached by phone at (309) 923-3031. The parish is in Woodford County, central Illinois, and shares a pastoral grouping with St. Luke Parish in Eureka, sharing the joint website stsjlj.com.
- Address: 508 W. Randolph St., Roanoke, IL 61561
- Phone: (309) 923-3031
- Diocese: Peoria
- Rite: Roman (Latin)
History of St. Joseph Parish
Catholic life in the Roanoke area traces to the 1850s, when traveling missionary priests occasionally visited the German-settler families. According to the parish's own published history, the Diocese formally established the parish in 1867 when it purchased property on Main Street — including a parish cemetery — for the growing community. Additional land was acquired in 1873, and after a fire destroyed the original building, the parish community rebuilt. GCatholic records the formal history year as 1874, the year Roanoke itself was incorporated as an Illinois village.
The 1893 Land Purchase and Early Records
On December 23, 1893, Peter Kennell and his wife Anna Kennell sold Lots 7, 8, and 9 in Block Two of Kennell's Addition in Roanoke to Bishop John Lancaster Spaulding of the Diocese of Peoria for the sum of $100. This transaction provided the site of the present church. The first baptism recorded at the parish was Malami Maria Provost on December 31, 1893, by the first priest assigned, Rev. Alex Centner, O.F.M. The first recorded marriage was Augustus Schuler and Emma Winter on February 13, 1896, by Rev. Samuel Gelting, O.F.M., and the first recorded funeral was Catherine Mueser on January 12, 1896, by Rev. Samuel Ott.
- First baptism: Dec. 31, 1893 (Malami Maria Provost)
- First marriage: Feb. 13, 1896 (Schuler–Winter)
- First funeral: Jan. 12, 1896 (Catherine Mueser)
Building the Present Church
The cornerstone for the present St. Joseph church building was laid on April 29, 1958, and the church was formally dedicated on June 8, 1958. The building has served the Roanoke Catholic community ever since as a worship space consistent with the Diocese of Peoria's mid-century building program.
- Cornerstone laid: April 29, 1958
- Dedication: June 8, 1958
A Century of Franciscan Service
Franciscan (O.F.M.) priests have administered St. Joseph Parish continuously since 1921. Local parish histories name several of them: Rev. Generose Stronk, Rev. Felician Sanford, Rev. Adrian Kohl, Rev. Roger Hengehold, and Rev. Carol Meyer. The parish's published history records that thirty-one priests in total have served St. Joseph since its founding, with Rev. Jordon Telles, O.F.M., listed as 'the present priest' at the time of that record. Today the parish is served by Monsignor Charles J. Beebe, P.A., as the current pastor/parochial administrator.
- O.F.M. priests in charge since 1921
- 31 priests total in parish history
- Named Franciscans: Stronk, Sanford, Kohl, Hengehold, Meyer, Telles
Getting to St. Joseph
From Highway 116, turn north onto Cleveland Street and continue one block north to reach the church at 508 W. Randolph Street. The parish sits in the heart of Roanoke, a small farming village in Woodford County. Visitors coming from Eureka, El Paso, Metamora, or other central-Illinois communities will find Roanoke between Eureka and Minonk along the Route 116 corridor.
- From Hwy. 116: turn north onto Cleveland St., one block to the church.
- Nearby Illinois communities: Eureka, El Paso, Metamora, Minonk
Online & Streaming Resources
The parish shares its website at stsjlj.com with St. Luke Parish in Eureka, IL, and livestreams Masses on its YouTube channel (channel ID UCCBgkChdeBqzwJwXQ0ddq1A) for those unable to attend in person. St. Joseph also appeared in Catholic Spirit Radio's broadcast of local Easter and Holy Week Masses for Woodford County, alongside St. Luke in Eureka and St. Mary in El Paso.
- Website: http://www.stsjlj.com
- YouTube channel: Catholic Spirit Radio lists stsjlj.com live streams under channel UCCBgkChdeBqzwJwXQ0ddq1A
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Rev. Alex Centner, O.F.M.1893-
First priest assigned to the present church site; baptized Malami Maria Provost on December 31, 1893 (the first baptism recorded at the parish).
- Rev. Samuel Gelting, O.F.M.
Officiated the first marriage recorded at the parish, Augustus Schuler and Emma Winter, on February 13, 1896.
- Rev. Samuel Ott
Officiated the first recorded funeral at the parish, Catherine Mueser, on January 12, 1896.
- Rev. J. E. Chapuis
Officiated the second marriage recorded at the parish, August Mueser and Rose Lotscher, on December 28, 1901.
- Rev. Generose Stronk, O.F.M.
Franciscan pastor; part of long line of O.F.M. priests serving the parish since 1921.
- Rev. Felician Sanford, O.F.M.
Franciscan pastor.
- Rev. Adrian Kohl, O.F.M.
Franciscan pastor.
- Rev. Roger Hengehold, O.F.M.
Franciscan pastor.
- Rev. Carol Meyer, O.F.M.
Franciscan pastor named in parish history.
- Rev. Jordon Telles, O.F.M.
Listed in local parish history as 'the present priest' at the time of that record (succeeding a long line of 31 priests who have served St. Joseph's).
- Monsignor Charles J. Beebe, P.A.
Current pastor/parochial administrator as published on parish directories (joinmychurch.com and discovermass.com).