St. Mary's Catholic Church Joplin MO official site

History

St. Mary's Catholic Church was established on October 16, 1938 with Fr. Phillip Farrell named as the first Pastor. The first Church was housed in a small residential building, located on the NE corner of 22nd and Jackson Ave. Inner walls were removed to make space for the congregation. With chairs in place, 75 to 100 people could be seated for Mass.

With the onset of WWII, came the Camp Crowder Training Base at nearby Neosho and the doubling of the miner population in the area. The small Church could no longer accommodate the number of Catholics who wished to attend Sunday Mass. Bishop O'Hara saw the need for a new and larger Church. Land was purchased from 24th to 25th Streets and from Pearl to Moffet Ave. Work began on the new building, affectionately called the AQuonset Hut. The new Church was dedicated on July 29, 1945. Later that year, construction was completed on the first Rectory at 2410 Pearl.

As the population of Saint Mary's continued to grow, the Parish initiated construction of the second Catholic elementary school in Joplin in the fall of 1957. A year later the work was completed. In 1959, the first four Sisters of Charity arrived to staff the school. The old Church at 22nd and Jackson was moved to 2331 Moffet. Inner walls were reconstructed, thereby providing the Sisters with a place to stay.

By 1967 there were more than 425 families in the Parish. This put a tremendous strain on the WWII Church. Not only was the Church too small, but it had become infested with termites to such a degree that restoration was impossible. Construction for a new structure began in November of 1966. The dedication for the new Church took place just before Christmas on December 17, 1967.

With the continued growth of the Parish and the development of various programs, things were becoming crowded in the Rectory. Conference rooms and general use rooms were needed by the parishioners and staff who had assumed a larger role in the management of the Parish and now needed places to meet. Ground-breaking ceremonies for the new Rectory took place in August 1976. The old Rectory became an Early Childhood Center for the School.

In 1994, the three local Parishes united in a fund raising drive to construct five additional classrooms at St. Mary's Grade School. Enrollment had increased to the point that four mobile classrooms were moved in as a temporary solution to the problem. Along with the new school construction, St. Mary's Parishioners decided to add a Gathering Area to the front of the Church. The Church and School construction was completed and then dedicated on July 30, 1995.

On Sunday, August 1, 1999 a Memorial Mass in honor of Rev. Raymond W. Kunkel was celebrated followed by a ground breaking ceremony for the new Parish Center. Fr. Kunkel believed that such a building would build a stronger Catholic Community. He died before he saw his dream fulfilled. The building was dedicated by Bishop John Leibrecht on May 7, 2000.

Today, St. Mary's Parish is over 700 families strong and continues to grow and change. We have become a very strong Stewardship Parish. More and more Parishioners are taking ownership of their Parish.

Our current Pastor, Fr. Justin D. Monaghan was appointed to St. Mary's Church on August 17, 1999.