Our history:

A Benedictine priest first visited the village of Beatrice in 1869, offering Mass and baptizing several children.  In 1874, the priest from Crete began his monthly visits to Beatrice to offer Mass and teach the Faith.  A small church was built on south 6th street in 1878 to allow for bi-monthly visits.  In 1881, Beatrice was made a mission of Tecumseh, and in 1883 received its first resident pastor.  The original church building was enlarged in 1887, more than doubling its size.  The cemetery was established in 1893.  The school was built in 1907, with the top floor serving as the church.  After many years of discussion and planning, the current church was completed in 1926 at a cost of $107,000 (about $1.7 million in today's dollars) and the stained glass windows installed in 1941.  The interior of the church was remodeled in 1973.  The parish hall was added to the school building in 1981.  The church interior was repainted in 1996, and the church roof and tower were repaired after tornado damage on May 8, 1996.  Protective glass was added to the stained glass windows in 2001.

Our Catholic School began with classes in the church annex in 1888, with the classes moved to the current three-story school building in 1907.  Grade levels were added in the 1940's, and the first high school graduation was held in 1949.  In 1955, an addition to the school was blessed.  The junior-senior high school program was discontinued in 1967.  Later, kindergarten and preschool programs were added.  St. Joseph Catholic School currently offers preschool through 5th grade.

The resident pastors of St. Joseph's:
Fr. A. Havestat  1883-1886
Fr. Thomas Quick  1886-1889
Fr. A.J. Capellan  1889-1893
Fr. Michael M. Merkl  1893-1906
Fr. A. Petrasch  1906-1912
Fr. Englebert Boll  1912-1916
Fr. Robert L. Bickert  1916-1934
Fr. Adolph M. Mosler  1934-1936
Fr. Patrick Harte  1936-1940
Msgr. Ferdinand Mock  1940-1965
Fr. John Kelly  1965-1971
Fr. Michael Danko  1971-1994
Fr. Mark Seiker  1994-2006
Fr. Steven Major  2006-2013
Fr. Robert Barnhill  2013-2020
Fr. Rand Langhorst  2020-2022
Fr. Leo Kosch  2022-present