Organized in 1863 by 50 families, St. Joseph's Catholic Church has served the Catholic community in Palmyra, Missouri for nearly 150 years. The cornerstone for the current church was laid in 1899 and since that time has been through numerous renovations, a fire and a tornado. The church still stands today as the house for the Body of Christ and His family gathered here on Earth.
St. Joseph's has been served by many wonderful priests, deacons
and other religious through the years. Monsignor Herbert
Farischon was appointed the first resident pastor in 1919 and
stayed with the parish for 51 years until his retirement in
1968.
In honor of the 1999 centennial of the church building, a book was published with the history of the parish. The contents of the book can been read in the .pdf files here.
