Welcome To
St. Joseph Catholic Community
We are committed to building a great sense of community and involvement at St. Joseph Catholic Community. We hope you will join us in sharing your gifts and inviting other people to join the excitement with our faith.
Our
Mission
To Know, Love, and Serve the LORD
- Know and celebrate our Catholic Faith
- Love God and our neighbor
- Serve as disciples of Jesus
St. Joseph Catholic Community brings people to Christ and forms missionary disciples by growing in our relationship with Jesus, His Church, and one another. Every member will be committed to worship, grow, serve, connect, and give.
Know
Know your Catholic Faith by attending daily Mass, studying the Bible, reading spiritual material, and checking out the catechism! Did you know all are welcome to daily Mass? It is a great way to start the day.
Love
Love God and your neighbor by attending Mass, spending time in daily prayer, including our “Discipleship Prayer,” making a Holy Hour, joining a hospitality ministry, mentoring new families, and more.
Serve
Serve as a disciple of Jesus by attending Mass, exploring and sharing your spiritual gifts, becoming involved as a catechist, ministering to the homebound, becoming a Befriender, or joining other ministries of the St. Joseph Community.
Welcome to
St. Joseph
About
St. Joseph
St. Joseph Catholic Community brings people to Christ and forms missionary disciples by growing in our relationship with Jesus, His Church, and one another. Every member will be committed to worship, grow, serve, connect, and give.
The first Mass was offered in the Sam Schmitt home two miles southeast of Waconia.
The first church was built out of logs on what is now the front lawn of the rectory.
A larger brick church was built on the southeast corner where the rectory driveway is today.
The brick church was quickly outgrown, so a new church was planned and built by the Franciscans. Our church is Romanesque style, with beautiful classical lines, and remains much as it was when the Franciscans built it. The church is approximately 160 ft. long, and 72 ft. at the transepts (i.e. widest parts). The steeple is 150 feet high.
The Franciscan influence is present in many of the church objects and art. On the high altar are St. Francis Assisi and St.
Anthony, both Franciscans. Our Church Patron, St. Joseph is high over the reredo or high altar. On the Sacred Heart altar stands St. Louis, who is the patron of the Third Order Franciscans. St. Aloysius, patron saint of Catholic youth, is also present on this altar. Behind the glass window is the statue of the Infant Jesus of Prague. On the Blessed Mother’s altar, the Immaculate Conception statue is prominent. To the left is St. Elizabeth of Hungary, patroness of women who are Franciscan Third Order of Tertiaries.
Opposite her is St. Rose of Lima, patroness of the Americas. Behind the glass is an Icon of our Lady of Perpetual Help. By the side door is the beautiful “Pieta,” that of the sorrowing Virgin Mary.
Although the interior of the church remains much as it was when the Franciscans built it, a period of renovation occurred in the 1980s.
The hand-carved Communion rail became the banister in the loft. the storage rooms in the loft were removed allowing the loft to be opened for choir use and additional seating. New pews were added. The statues were restored. The walls and ceiling were repainted with new gold leaf to resemble the Baroque Romanesque era. The wood Stations of the Cross had arch tops added.
The church basement was made into our Parish Center with classrooms added for our Faith Formation students.
A Narthex, or gathering space, was added to the front of the church. Stained glass windows were added. The Narthex stained-glass windows were made by Fairmont Art Glass, located in Fairmont, Minnesota. The largest west window is that of the glorified Christ, flanked by St. Joseph and the Virgin Mary. In the tops of the window are symbols of St. Joseph, Universal Church, lilies, and carpenter’s tools. The north window is dedicated to our youth with the image of the Guardian Angel. The southeast window is from the Old Testament Joseph, about whom it was urged to “Go to Joseph.”
in the year 2000, in order to meet the educational facility needs of our growing parish, a decision was made to build a new Education Center on the same block as the 1908 school building. The 55,000 square foot Education Center now accommodates our growing faith formation classes, parochial school, youth ministry, adult education, social events, sporting events, and administrative staff. The building offers a large gymnasium, cafeteria/commons, technology center, media center, art room, science room, preschool, and 19 classrooms. The parochial school has the ability to accommodate two sections of each grade kindergarten through eighth grade. This is over twice the capacity of the 1908 building. The Education Center was dedicated on September 22, 2002.