About St. Joseph · Williams, Minnesota
St. Joseph is a small Catholic mission parish in Williams, a tiny community in far northwestern Minnesota (Lake of the Woods County). Founded in 1909 by homesteading Catholic families, it has spent most of its life as a mission church served from neighboring parishes — first from Baudette and Warroad, and most recently as a mission of the Our Lady of the Woods Catholic Community (which also includes Sacred Heart in Baudette and St. Mary's in Warroad). In June 2025 Bishop Andrew H. Cozzens of the Diocese of Crookston issued a decree formally uniting St. Joseph (Williams) with St. Mary (Warroad) and relegating the Williams church building to profane but not sordid use, ending more than a century of Catholic worship at the site. The parish is remembered for its annual Hunter's Mass on the opening weekend of deer season and the Ladies Aid's fall turkey dinner — hallmarks of a tight-knit rural Catholic community in Minnesota's north woods.
- Established
- 1909
- Patron
- St. Joseph
- Rector
- Fr. Christon Muhero
- Diocese
- Diocese of Crookston
Why belong here
St. Joseph is the spiritual home of a small but devoted Catholic community in the forests of northwestern Minnesota, where the rhythms of faith and hunting seasons have shaped parish life for more than a century. Members gather under the care of a long-serving pastor and the steady presence of Deacon Jim Lukenbill (ordained 1996), share in the beloved annual Ladies Aid turkey dinner, and worship together at the mission Masses served from the Our Lady of the Woods Catholic Community alongside Sacred Heart in Baudette and St. Mary's in Warroad. It is a place where rural traditions, neighborly charity, and the sacramental life of the Diocese of Crookston converge for some 30 to 40 registered households in the Williams area.
Mass times at St. Joseph
Weekly Mass schedule
History of St. Joseph Church, Williams
Catholic life in the Williams area began with missionary priest Fr. St. Armant, who ranged across a two-hundred-mile stretch of Rainy River territory from Pinewood, Ontario on horseback and on foot, celebrating Mass in settlers' homes. The first church was built in 1909 on land donated by Mr. and Mrs. Pat Woods. A larger St. Cloud Church followed in 1916 under Fr. Ernest Bossus, and in 1940 the present church was built across the street from the Williams school by the Ebletoft brothers of Baudette, renamed St. Joseph and dedicated by Bishop J.H. Peschges on December 8, 1940. A 1973 addition expanded the social hall and renovated the kitchen during Fr. Raymond Palcisko's pastorate. The parish history, drawn largely from the Our Lady of the Woods Catholic Community 75th Anniversary book (1983), was prepared for the Diocese of Crookston's 100th-anniversary publication by parish secretary Joan Heinrich (revisions April 11, 2008 and January 4, 2011).
- 1909: First church built on land donated by Mr. and Mrs. Pat Woods; the same family donated the parish cemetery where two of their children were the first burials.
- 1916: St. Cloud Church built on Meloney Avenue and Pine Street under Fr. Ernest Bossus; supported by a grant from the Catholic Church Extension Society.
- 1940: Present St. Joseph Church built by the Ebletoft brothers of Baudette, using salvaged lumber from St. Cloud; dedicated December 8 by Bishop J.H. Peschges, D.D.
- 1973: Social-hall addition and kitchen renovation completed under Fr. Raymond Palcisko (1971–1977).
Our Lady of the Woods Catholic Community
St. Joseph's is one of three parishes that form the 'Our Lady of the Woods Catholic Community' in the Diocese of Crookston, clustered across Lake of the Woods County and the surrounding area. The community's mailing address and offices are at Sacred Heart, 104 1st St SW, PO Box 738, Baudette MN 56623, and the cluster is cared for by Fr. Christon Muhero with Deacon Jim Lukenbill.
- Sacred Heart, Baudette — Sundays 10:45 AM; Wednesdays 8:30 AM
- St. Mary's, Warroad — Saturdays 5:00 PM; Sundays 8:30 AM
- St. Joseph's, Williams — historical Sunday 10:00 AM Mass (now listed as closed for the winter on the cluster schedule)
Parish Life and Traditions
St. Joseph has long been a small but resilient rural Catholic community of 30 to 40 registered households, marked by warm traditions that bring neighbors together around food, faith, and the rhythms of the north woods.
- St. Joseph's Ladies Aid — organizes a beloved annual fall turkey dinner
- Hunter's Mass — Saturday-evening Mass on the opening weekend of deer hunting season; hunting attire welcomed (introduced by Fr. Cyril Foppe, OMI)
- Parish secretary Joan Heinrich — long-time keeper of parish records and author of the parish history revisions (2008, 2011)
2025 Closure and Diocese Action
On June 9, 2025, Bishop Andrew H. Cozzens, bishop of Crookston, signed a decree relegating St. Joseph's Church in Williams to 'profane but not sordid use,' and on June 30, 2025, a further decree united the parish of St. Joseph (Williams) with the parish of St. Mary (Warroad). The moves marked the end of regular Catholic worship in the Williams church building after more than a century of mission life, while the diocesan statements acknowledged the hardship of the moment and affirmed continued pastoral care for the faithful of the area through the Our Lady of the Woods Catholic Community.
- June 9, 2025: Decree relegating St. Joseph's Church (Williams) to profane but not sordid use.
- June 30, 2025: Decree uniting the parishes of St. Joseph (Williams) and St. Mary (Warroad).
- Both decrees issued by Most Rev. Andrew H. Cozzens; released by Janelle Gergen, Chancellor / Chief Operating Officer of the Diocese of Crookston.
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Fr. St. Armant1846–1907
Missionary who traveled from Pinewood, Ontario on horseback and on foot to celebrate Mass in homes across the Rainy River territory, including the early Williams area.
- Fr. Ernest Bossus1913–1926
Pastor who oversaw the 1916 construction of St. Cloud Church (later renamed St. Joseph).
- Fr. Shanahancirca 1935–1936
Served Williams briefly as a mission of Warroad.
- Bishop J.H. Peschges, D.D.December 8, 1940
Dedicated the newly rebuilt and renamed St. Joseph Church.
- Fr. Clement Cloutier1970–early 1971
Also served as chaplain at the Air Force Radar base south of Baudette.
- Fr. Eugene Wesleyearly 1971
Filled in during Fr. Cloutier's sick leave; later assigned to Blessed Sacrament Parish, Greenbush.
- Fr. Louis E. Proulxfrom June 1971
Accepted the pastorate of St. Mary's Warroad and St. Joseph's Williams.
- Fr. Raymond Palcisko1971–1977
Completed 1973 social-hall addition and kitchen renovation.
- Fr. Cyril Foppe, OMI1987–1997
Designated the opening-of-deer-season Saturday Mass as the 'Hunter's Mass,' welcoming hunters in hunting attire.
- Fr. August Gothmanfrom July 2011
Long-serving pastor of the Our Lady of the Woods Catholic Community.
- Fr. Christon Muherocurrent
Current pastor of the clustered Our Lady of the Woods Catholic Community (Sacred Heart Baudette, St. Mary's Warroad, and St. Joseph's Williams).