About St. Joseph · Wesley, Iowa
St. Joseph is a small rural Catholic parish in Wesley, Iowa, one of seven worship sites that together form Divine Mercy Catholic Parish of North Central Iowa in the Diocese of Sioux City. The church serves a farming community in Kossuth County with a Saturday Vigil Mass, a midweek Mass on Tuesdays, weekly Eucharistic Adoration, and regular times for the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Since 7 July 2021, St. Joseph Wesley has been joined with sister churches in Algona, Bancroft, Whittemore, West Bend, St. Joseph, Ledyard, and St. Benedict under one pastoral team, currently led by Father Matthew Solyntjes.
- Established
- 1891
- Patron
- St. Joseph
- Rector
- Father Matthew Solyntjes (current pastor/administrator of Divine Mercy Catholic Parish)
- Diocese
- Diocese of Sioux City
Why belong here
St. Joseph in Wesley offers a quiet, family-sized Catholic home in the heart of Kossuth County's farming country. Parishioners can attend the Saturday Vigil Mass at 5:00 PM and gather again on Tuesday mornings for daily Mass, Eucharistic Adoration, and the Sacrament of Reconciliation — a rhythm that keeps the parish both prayerful and accessible. As one of seven worship sites of Divine Mercy Catholic Parish, it combines the warmth of a small-town church with the resources of a much larger community of faith across North Central Iowa.
Mass times at St. Joseph
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Tuesday 9:00–10:00 AM (following morning Mass and during Adoration)
- Saturday 4:15–4:45 PM (before the Vigil Mass)
Adoration times
- Tuesday 9:00–10:00 AM
Parish Identity
St. Joseph is a small rural Catholic parish in Wesley, Iowa, serving a farming community in Kossuth County. Since July 2021 it has been part of Divine Mercy Catholic Parish of North Central Iowa, a seven-site merged parish in the Diocese of Sioux City. Its legal entity, St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Church, was incorporated under Iowa law on 27 March 1912 (Corporation #081089).
History of St. Joseph Parish, Wesley
The parish was founded in an unusually lay-led way. Before any priest was assigned, Catholic men in Wesley raised $10,000 and built their own combination school and church, then petitioned the Bishop for a pastor. In the summer of 1891, Father Eckert came from St. Benedict to celebrate Mass in Ed Kunz's store while the new school was still rising; in December of that year he was transferred to Wesley as the parish's first resident priest, and the first parish Mass was said in the school chapel.
The 1901 Church Building
The present church was built in 1901 at a cost of $17,000. Parish histories describe it as 'one of the most beautiful frame churches in the Diocese of Sioux City' — a handsome frame edifice that still anchors the Wesley faith community more than a century later.
Catholic Education in Wesley
Through most of its history the Wesley school was taught by various orders of Franciscan sisters. Declining vocations led to the hiring of the first lay teacher in 1962, and within eight years the sisters had all left. In 1970 St. Joseph's school merged with the school in St. Benedict — a partnership that lasted about ten years. The original school building was torn down in 1986, but the school bell was saved and erected near the church as a memorial to ninety years of Catholic education.
Divine Mercy Parish Merger (2021)
On 7 July 2021, St. Joseph Wesley joined six other parishes from the former Blessed Trinity and Five Saints Catholic Communities in Kossuth County and West Bend to form Divine Mercy Catholic Parish of North Central Iowa. Bishop R. Walker Nickless appointed Father Steven J. McLoud as the new parish's first pastor. The merged parish encompasses 2,191 families and 5,122 souls across its seven worship sites.
Mass & Liturgical Schedule
St. Joseph Wesley follows a simple, weekly rhythm rooted in small-town life: a Saturday Vigil Mass, a midweek Tuesday morning Mass, weekly Eucharistic Adoration, and regular times for the Sacrament of Reconciliation. All Masses are celebrated in English. The parish is served from the Divine Mercy Catholic Parish office in Algona.
Clergy & Pastoral Staff
Father Matthew Solyntjes serves as the current pastor/administrator of Divine Mercy Catholic Parish, and so as the priest in charge of St. Joseph Wesley. Father Steven J. McLoud was the parish's first pastor following the 2021 merger. Father Eckert, who came to Wesley from St. Benedict, was the community's first resident parish priest beginning in December 1891.
- Father Matthew Solyntjes — current Pastor/Administrator, Divine Mercy Catholic Parish
- Father Steven J. McLoud — first Pastor of Divine Mercy Catholic Parish (appointed 7 July 2021)
- Father Eckert — Wesley's first resident parish priest (December 1891)
Divine Mercy Catholic Parish (Parent Parish)
St. Joseph Wesley is one of seven worship sites that make up Divine Mercy Catholic Parish of North Central Iowa. The parish was formed on 7 July 2021 from the seven parishes of the former Blessed Trinity and Five Saints Catholic Communities in Kossuth County and West Bend, with Father Steven J. McLoud named first pastor by Bishop R. Walker Nickless. The parish has 2,191 registered families and 5,122 souls across its sites. The central parish office is located at 715 East North Street, Algona, IA 50511.
- St. Cecelia, Algona
- St. John the Baptist, Bancroft
- St. Michael, Whittemore
- Sts. Peter & Paul, West Bend
- Sacred Heart, Ledyard
- St. Benedict, St. Benedict
- St. Joseph, Wesley
Cemetery
St. Joseph Cemetery, Wesley is one of several Catholic cemeteries kept under perpetual care by Divine Mercy Catholic Parish. The parish views these grounds as 'holy ground where the body rests until it is reunited with the soul at resurrection,' and is committed to maintaining them as a peaceful place of prayer and remembrance for families. Updated Cemetery Rules & Regulations and a 2025 cemetery guide for St. Joseph Wesley are published by the parish office.
- St. Joseph Cemetery, Wesley — under perpetual care of Divine Mercy Catholic Parish
- Director of Operations (cemeteries): Dave Wieland — [email protected]
Contact & Location
St. Joseph Church is located about half a mile south of Highway 18 in Wesley, Kossuth County, Iowa. Parishioners and visitors can reach the parish office by phone or email; the office is staffed out of the central Divine Mercy Catholic Parish office in Algona.
- Address: 403 / 405 East Street S, Wesley, IA 50483
- Phone: (515) 295-3435
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: https://my.dmparish.org/mass-times
- Parish office (Algona): 715 East North Street, Algona, IA 50511
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Father Eckert1891
Parish priest from St. Benedict who first celebrated Mass in Wesley (in Ed Kunz's store, summer 1891); transferred to Wesley in December 1891 as its first resident parish priest.