St. Joseph Church is a

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

of the

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

Apple Creek, Missouri Apple Creek is an unincorporated community in south central Perry County, Missouri, United States, though not to be confused with the town of Old Appleton which was originally known as Apple Creek. The community is just north of Missouri Route ...

, in the Deanery of Ste. Genevieve of the Archdiocese of St. Louis.

History

Catholic German immigrants from the region of

Baden Baden (; ) is a historical territory in southern Germany. In earlier times it was considered to be on both sides of the Upper Rhine, but since the Napoleonic Wars, it has been considered only East of the Rhine. History The margraves of Ba ...

settled in

Perry County, Missouri Perry County is a county located in the southeastern portion of the U.S. state of Missouri. As of the 2020 census, the population was 18,956. Its county seat is Perryville. The county was officially organized on November 16, 1820 (effectiv ...

in the 1820s. W. Joseph Schnurbusch was a leader in building the first

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...

, constructed of logs. The log church, completed in 1828, was dedicated to his namesake,

Saint Joseph According to the canonical Gospels, Joseph (; ) was a 1st-century Jewish man of Nazareth who was married to Mary, the mother of Jesus, and was the legal father of Jesus. Joseph is venerated as Saint Joseph in the Catholic Church, Eastern O ...

. Twelve years later, a second church, called the Rock Church, was constructed 600 feet north of the present church. In 1881, the

cornerstone A cornerstone (or foundation stone or setting stone) is the first stone set in the construction of a masonry Foundation (engineering), foundation. All other stones will be set in reference to this stone, thus determining the position of the entir ...

for the present church was laid, and in 1884 construction was completed. The pastor, Rev. Francis Krieger oversaw the construction of the church as well as the construction of the rectory in 1904 and the convent in 1917. An organ, three bells – named Joseph, Cecelia, and Elizabeth – and stained glass windows were added over the years. The church was renovated in 1998; this included the installation of a new marble sanctuary.

Shrine

Next to the church is a shrine built into a

Karst Window A karst window, also known as a karst fenster, is a geomorphic feature found in karst landscapes where an underground river is visible from the surface within a sinkhole. In this feature, a spring emerges, then the discharge abruptly disappears int ...

, known as the Schnurbusch Karst Window, allowing the view of an underground spring. This Karst Window is the result of the collapse of a cave roof, allowing the view of a small portion of a hidden underground stream.

Karst Karst () is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble carbonate rocks such as limestone and Dolomite (rock), dolomite. It is characterized by features like poljes above and drainage systems with sinkholes and caves underground. Ther ...

topography is common in Perry County, Missouri, which is known to have at least 650 caves. In 1857, Rev. Joseph Becker installed stone steps to the cave spring so drinking water could be carried to the rectory via buckets and neck yoke. Later, a water line was laid so water could be pumped to the rectory. In 1883, Rev. Francis Krieger had a dam built and installed a hydraulic ram, which brought the water to the rectory by its own power. This provided the water supply until 1927 when the present deep well was drilled. In the 1950s, Father Michell Deck began development of the Shrine, which was further expanded by Father George Schrammel. Most of the stonework was laid by local Parishioners who used the foundations of old farm homes and barns in the community. The outdoor ''Way of the Cross'' or ''Via Doloroso'' along with a rosary laid out in the stepping stones were added in the late 1990s by Father Mark Bozada. The ''Via Doloroso'' leads down a steep path to the bottom of the

sinkhole A sinkhole is a depression or hole in the ground caused by some form of collapse of the surface layer. The term is sometimes used to refer to doline, enclosed depressions that are also known as shakeholes, and to openings where surface water ...

containing the Schnurbusch Karst Window. The shrine features a statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary as Our Lady of Grace, a small altar for Masses, and amphitheater. A small waterfall flows out of the cave, and its water flows before the altar, under the stone bridge, and back into the cave.

Parish

The parish is home to 250 families.

Picnic

An annual church picnic is held on the Labor Day weekend.psichurch.com/bulletins http://www.psichurch.com/bulletins/1055.pdf

Gallery

File:St. Joseph Roman Catholic Church, Apple Creek, Missouri at Christmas.jpg, At Christmas File:St. Joseph Roman Catholic Church, Apple Creek, Missouri at Easter.jpg, At Easter File:St. Joseph Roman Catholic Church, Apple Creek, Missouri station.jpg, Via Doloroso File:St. Joseph Roman Catholic Church, Apple Creek, Missouri statue.jpg, Statue File:St. Joseph Roman Catholic Church, Apple Creek, Missouri rectory.jpg, Rectory

References

External links

Official websiteArchdiocese of St. Louis: St. Joseph (Apple Creek) {{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Joseph Roman Catholic Church, Apple Creek, Missouri Religious organizations established in 1828
Roman Catholic churches completed in 1884 Churches in Perry County, Missouri Churches in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. Louis 19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the United States