St. Joseph's Church

From its earliest beginnings, Waite Park people had a concern for their spiritual welfare as well as their “daily bread”.  More than 100 years ago, Catholics depended on traveling priests who celebrated Mass in their homes.  Waite Park was located close enough to St Cloud; Catholics could attend Mass there but it meant a journey of some distance by foot or horse and buggy.

It wouldn’t be until February 3, 1916 that the Church of St. Joseph, Waite Park was commissioned.

That summer, on July 4^th, its first field Mass – a Solemn high Mass – was celebrated, attended by many priests in the area.  Hundreds of people attended, and there was entertainment and a bazaar that followed, raising $3000 to help pay for the church.  The church, a frame stucco building built on a shelf of granite; the bell located on the roof at the east entrance called people to prayer.

Four hundred people attended the first Mass in the new church on August 28, 1916, and Bishop Joseph Busch dedicated the new church.

The first rectory was built in 1918. Sometime in the 1920s the church building was expanded to its current size.  In 1921, five acres of land south of the village was purchased for a cemetery, and in 1975, an additional two acres was donated to the west side of the cemetery.

In 2000, Fr. Ron Weyrens, pastor at the time, and Sr. Adela Gross, OSF of Little Falls, and Multicultural minister for the Diocese of St Cloud recognized the increasing numbers of Latino people in St Cloud and throughout the diocese. They saw the need for an experienced, bilingual with a pastoral person to serve the needs of the Hispanic population. 

In September 2001, Sr. Carol Virnig, OSF of Little Falls began an “orientation” to this new role.  After talking with those who ministered to the already established Hispanic community in Cold Spring on how to develop trust and connect the Hispanic community to a parish for sacramental formation, St Joseph, Waite Park would become another home to Hispanics for mass and the sacraments.  The goal of the ministry from the beginning was to find a way to minister to the needs to new immigrants, to honor their language and traditions, and at the same time, help them integrate into their “new church”.  Fr. Ron accepted this new ministry for St. Joseph and worked to be a welcoming community for our Latino brothers and sisters.

The Church of St. Joseph celebrated 100 years in 2016.  Since then, much has been added to this vibrant parish: parish festivals and formation of our youth and adults has become part of the fabric of our community.  Funeral luncheons, Wit/Wine/Wisdom nights, social justice committee, choirs and Knights of Columbus are all ways to get involved in this community, and continues to be a hub for immigrants and the Hispanic community here in Central MN.

There are many ways to get involved – check-out our Get-Involved page to learn more.