St. Joseph Catholic Church at 103 N. Mill St., Rushford, MN 55971 US - Tri-Parish Cluster of St. Joseph, Rushford, St. Mary, Houston, and St. Peter in Hokah was created July 1, 2005, and Fr. Joseph Pete was assigned as the pastor of the cluster. 

The parishes of Hokah, Houston and Rushford date back to the middle of the 19th century and are closely involved with the settlement of southeastern Minnesota.  

St. Joseph's in Rushford

St.  Joseph's parish in Rushford was founded in 1868 with Fr. James Holton as its first Pastor.  A band of Polish immigrants settled the area first but moved to other areas.  A group of Irish immigrants followed but many of them also moved with only a small group remaining and contributing heavily to the building of the present day church.  A fire in 1887 destroyed the previous church and all its records with it.   The current parish church was built in 1893  and the rectory in 1903.  Montini Hall was built in 1963 and the breezeway connecting the church and hall in 1984.  In 1998, the parish purchased the adjacent Rushford Clinic building and parking lot.  A strong wave of Norwegian immigration into the area brought a dominate Scandinavian flavor to the area and the parish population grew very little until the early 1990's  when the area started to become a bedroom community for people working in Rochester, Winona and LaCrosse.  As the area grew, so did the parish, expanding from 110 families in 1992 to nearly 140 today.  
St. Mary's in Houston

St. Mary's parish in Houston was founded in 1872 with Fr. Mathias Strumberg as the first pastor.  Growth of the parish paralleled the growth of the City of Houston.  From its beginning it was a "mission parish" attached to St. Joseph's in Rushford.  In its earliest days the parish did not have a scheduled Mass every Sunday.  The priest had to cover at other missions in the area.  A fire in 1887 destroyed the church and with it all the church records.  The next building served as the church until the current one was built in 1969.  As the number of priests in SE Minnesota increased, St. Mary's became the only mission for St. Joseph's in Rushford.  From 1989 to 1992, St. Mary's, Immaculate Conception in Wilson and St. Joseph in Rushford were a "cluster" with one pastor.  In 2005 St. Mary's was "clustered" with St. Peter and St. Joseph.  

St. Peter in Hokah

The first Catholic church built in the Hokah area (St. Joseph's) was built by Joseph Pfeffer, Sr. on a small hill on his farm. It was a little chapel 18x30 feet in section 29. Father Etschmann of La Crosse first visited St. Joseph's Church on February 3, 1860. On that date he baptized four children, all of whom were born the previous year. He continued to make visits for two years. From May 1862, Father Schraudenbach, pastor of St. Mary's in La Crosse attended the Hokah parish. Father Neubrand who had come directly from Germany, was the first resident priest from 1864-1867 and made his home with the Joseph Pfeffer family. He occupied a two room addition, which Mr. Pfeffer had built onto his home for this purpose. In 1863 a bell was purchased at a cost of $80 and it was put on the left side of the entrance to the church. It was the duty of the Mass server to ring the bell. In the fall of 1866 work was begun on a convent for the School Sisters of Notre Dame from Milwaukee. The convent was finished in 1867. In that same year an Academy was opened to educate the children of the area. The altar, pews, confessionals, and communion railing were moved from St. Joseph's Church to the convent and the bell placed in the bell tower. The bell rang from 1867 to 1904 from the convent, but was then given to St. Peter's Parochial School. The convent church was dedicated by Bishop Grace and was named Church of the Blessed Sacrament. For several years after the convent was completed, Mass was said only once a year at the old St. Joseph Church. When the little church was dismantled, WJ Langen placed the altar in one of his farm buildings, where he stored it for years. It was a valued keepsake having belonged to his grandfather, and he thought that at some future date there might be a use for it. In 1876-78, a new church was built and dedicated by Bishop Ireland. Just about that time, the railroad yards were moved from Hokah, leaving many people without work. Those who could afford to, moved away leaving very few people with the means to carry on the work of the parish. Neither the parish nor the convent were strong enough to have a resident priest. With the hope that a rectory would increase the chances of getting a priest, a parsonage was built in 1899; however, the hope was not realized. When Father Knauf left, no pastor was appointed to succeed him, and the priest from La Crescent ministered to St. Peter's. Around the turn of the century the number of families in the parish increased from 10 to 30. With the increase of members, a new church, the present St. Peter's Church building was erected in 1917-1918. In 2005, an addition was completed on the west side of the church adding an elevator, restrooms and a gathering area. Today there are approximately 200 families in the parish.

(the above information about St. Peter's was paraphrased from a document written by W.J.Langen in 1939, which was then typed in 1970 by Joseph Thicke. It was made available by Al and Rita Langen.)

Parish Officials and Committee members
St. Joseph
Bookkeeper - Arlene Hegge
Administrator - David U'Ren
Trustees - Helen Novlan and Mark Barber
Cemetery Trustees - Betty Culhane and Steve Culhane
Cemetery Committee - Betty Culhane, Steve Culhane, Jim Culhane, Marie Lockwald-Trent, and Anne Spartz
Pastoral Council - Dawn Servais, Gary Marcoux, and Becca Munson
CCW - Dorothy O'Donnell contact person
Finance Council - Norb Quella, Mike Jeresek, Luanne Culhane, Helen Novlan, and Mark Barber
Youth Group - Karen Eich and Theresa Munson
Arts and Environment - Kriste Rislove and Sandee Jeresek
Building and grounds - Mike Jeresek