About St. Joseph · Wisner, Nebraska
St. Joseph Catholic Church is a small, historic Catholic parish in Wisner, Nebraska, founded in 1879 as a mission of St. Mary's in West Point and established as an independent parish in 1893. Worship is celebrated in a Gothic-design church whose cornerstone was laid in 1924 during the long pastorate of Father Joseph Rose, and which has been steadily updated over the decades — air conditioning in the late 1980s, a handicapped-accessible ramp in the 1990s, and a major renovation campaign in 2009. Today St. Joseph shares its pastor with neighboring Holy Cross Parish in Beemer as part of the St. Joseph Family of Parishes in the Archdiocese of Omaha, and serves the rural Cuming County community with Sunday Mass, the OCIA process, the Ladies Guild, the Knights of Columbus, and a parish-run cemetery overlooking the Elkhorn River valley.
- Established
- 1879
- Patron
- St. Joseph
- Rector
- Father James Weeder
- Diocese
- Archdiocese of Omaha (Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Omaha)
Why belong here
St. Joseph is a close-knit rural parish with more than 145 years of Catholic worship on the same site in Wisner, gathering weekly for Sunday Mass (with an additional Thursday morning Mass) and welcoming newcomers through OCIA each fall. It pairs deep history — the 1924 Gothic church, the parish-run cemetery overlooking the Elkhorn River, and a long line of pastors — with hands-on community life through the Ladies Guild, the Knights of Columbus, an active Parish Council and Finance Committee, and shared pastoral care across the St. Joseph Family of Parishes. For families and individuals in Cuming County looking for a parish where they can know their pastor, serve on a council, and be remembered by name, St. Joseph offers exactly that small-town Catholic welcome.
Mass times at St. Joseph
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- By appointment (call the parish office at 402-529-3531)
Our History
St. Joseph was founded in 1879 as a mission project of St. Mary's in West Point and served by its priests until 1893, when it became an independent parish and a frame church was built. Under Father Joseph Rose the parish built its current Gothic-design church in 1924 — stained-glass windows imported from Italy, cornerstone laid by William Murphy — and continued updating the building and grounds through the decades.
- 1879: Parish founded as a mission of St. Mary's, West Point; original church built for $1,200, dedicated July 27, 1879
- 1893: Became an independent parish; new frame church built that same year, heated by two coal stoves
- 1918–1953: Pastorate of Father Joseph Rose, during which the present church was erected in Gothic design
- 1924: Cornerstone of current church laid by William Murphy; stained-glass windows imported from Italy
- Late 1960s: New brick parsonage replaces the original frame structure
- Late 1980s: Air conditioning added to the church
- 1990s: Handicapped-accessible ramp added to the front of the church; additional stained-glass windows added on the south side
- 2009: Major capital campaign funds new tile roof, new boiler, tuck-pointing, insulation, and interior repainting
- 2005–present: Parish shares its pastor with Holy Cross Parish in Beemer as part of the St. Joseph Family of Parishes
St. Joseph Family of Parishes
St. Joseph in Wisner is part of the St. Joseph Family of Parishes, which also includes Holy Cross Parish in Beemer (which dedicated its church in 1914). The two parishes have shared a pastor since 2005; the current team is Fr. James Weeder as pastor with associate pastors Fr. Walter Jong-A-Kiem and Fr. Matthias Sule. The family-of-parishes model is the Archdiocese of Omaha's way of clustering rural parishes for shared clergy and ministry.
- Holy Cross Catholic Church, 517 Fraisier Street, Beemer, NE 68716 — Sunday Mass 8:30 AM; Reconciliation Sundays 8:00–8:20 AM or by appointment
- Pastor: Fr. James Weeder
- Associate Pastors: Fr. Walter Jong-A-Kiem; Fr. Matthias Sule
- Family of Parishes portal: stjosephfamilyofparishes.org
Faith Formation & OCIA
The parish website highlights the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults (OCIA) — the formal process by which adults prepare to receive Baptism, First Communion and/or Confirmation, or to be received into the Catholic Church from another Christian tradition. Sessions typically run from September through Easter each year, and inquiries go directly to Fr. Weeder.
- OCIA program: September through Easter each year
- Contact: Fr. James Weeder
- Sacramental outcomes: Baptism, First Communion, Confirmation, reception into full communion
Parish Groups & Ministries
Two long-standing lay organizations anchor parish life at St. Joseph. The Ladies Guild brings the women of the parish together monthly for fellowship and service to the parish and to local agencies in need. The Knights of Columbus council connects the men of the parish (ages 18+) to the worldwide Catholic fraternity's work of charity and faith formation. Both groups are featured prominently on the parish homepage as the main ways to 'Join Us.'
- The Ladies Guild — monthly meetings, fellowship, and service projects supporting the parish and local agencies
- Knights of Columbus — Catholic fraternal organization for men 18+; charity and faith formation
- Parish Council — president, vice president, secretary and three members; elected/appointed for three-year terms; meets every other month
- Finance Committee — five finance-professional members appointed by the pastor; meets quarterly
Parish Council & Finance Committee
Each pastor at St. Joseph is assisted by a Pastoral Council comprising a president, vice president, secretary and three other members. Leaders are elected by parishioners or appointed by the pastor for three-year terms. Any parishioner may attend meetings but cannot vote on council matters. The Finance Committee is made up of five members appointed by the pastor and meets quarterly.
- St. Joseph's Council President: Chad Ludwig
- St. Joseph's Finance Chair: Dianne Davies
- Meetings: every other month (Parish Council); quarterly (Finance Committee)
St. Joseph Cemetery
The parish operates its own cemetery located in the southeast corner of the Wisner Cemetery, overlooking the Elkhorn River valley. The parish describes it as nicely manicured and a 'serene final resting place for loved ones,' and asks that 'the faithful family members and friends of St. Joseph Catholic Church who have departed this earth' be entrusted to it 'in anticipation of their entry into eternal Glory.'
- Location: southeast corner of the Wisner Cemetery, overlooking the Elkhorn River valley
- Contact for plots: Steve McGuire, (402) 649-1119
- Parish office contact: (402) 529-3531
Visit & Contact
St. Joseph Catholic Church is located at 1318 Avenue G West in Wisner, Cuming County, Nebraska. The parish office can be reached by phone at (402) 529-3531 or by email. The website's contact header also lists the Holy Cross, Beemer address (517 Fraisier Street, Beemer, NE 68716) since the two parishes share staff.
- Address: 1318 Ave G West, Wisner, NE 68791
- Phone (parish office): (402) 529-3531
- Alternate line shown on site header: (402) 529-3891
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: https://stjosephwisner.org/
- Family of Parishes site: https://stjosephfamilyofparishes.org/st-joseph-wisner/
Pastors & rectors through the years
- James Aheren1893–1896
- E. Geary1896–1901
- F. Byrne1901–1903
- J.B. Fitzgerald1903–1911
- Micheal A. Feeney1911
- Stephen Carroll1911–1918
- Joseph Rose1918–1953
Master of architecture under whom the present Gothic-design church was built; cornerstone laid 1924, windows imported from Italy.
- John Connealy1953–1965
- Norbert Boland1965–1972
- Conrad Kaup1972–1973
- Aloysius McMahon1973–1975
- John Koros1975–1987
- Benedict LaRogue1987–1988
- Thomas DeBacker1988–1990
- Daniel Kampschneider1990–1991
- Daniel Keller1991–1994
- John Fiala1994–1995
- David Belt1995–2000
- Jeff Zyla2000–2003
- Mark Bridgeman2003–2004
- Tim Podraza2004–2008
- Wm. Safranik2008–2012
- Joe Wray2012–2018
- Vincent Sunguti2018–2024
- James Weeder2004 to present
Listing on the About Us page reads 'James Weeder 2004 to present'; also identified as current pastor by the St. Joseph Family of Parishes website.