Welcome to St. Joseph Catholic Church
Welcome to our vibrant small town church, where we celebrate faith, hope, and community together.
Join us in creating meaningful relationships and discovering your spiritual home!
We warmly welcome you to St. Joseph Catholic Church in Friend, Nebraska!
As a faith community rooted in the love of Christ, we strive to live out the teachings of the Catholic Church through prayer, worship, and service. Whether you are a lifelong member, a visitor, or searching for a spiritual home, you will find a friendly and supportive parish family here.
We encourage participation in the sacraments — Baptism, Confirmation, Holy Communion, Reconciliation, Matrimony, and Anointing of the Sick — nurturing your spiritual journey.
Join us for faith formation programs designed to deepen understanding and devotion!
May you experience God’s grace and peace as you become part of our parish family at St. Joseph Catholic Church. We are here to support you in faith, hope, and love.
Mass Schedule
Saturday Vigil - 5:00 p.m.
Sunday - 9:00 a.m.
Confessions are offered 30 minutes before each Mass.
Becoming a Catholic
Our Order of Christian Initiation of Adults (OCIA) Classes are your journey towards becoming a Catholic presented by our priest Rev. Kenneth Borowiak.
OCIA is the process through which adults become members of the Catholic Church. It involves a series of stages that include prayer, instruction in the faith, and full participation in the sacraments of initiation: Baptism, Confirmation, and Eucharist. OCIA is designed to support individuals as they grow in understanding and commitment to the faith. The process is open to anyone seeking to join the Church or complete their sacraments.
Contact us to learn more and receive access to our OCIA Portal!
Catholic Links & Media
Catholic Answers (Questions & Answers)
Formed (Free Catholic Streaming Service)
The Chosen (Free Online TV Series on the Life of Jesus)
Spirit Catholic Radio (Nebraska’s Catholic Radio Service)
Word on Fire (Catholic Media by Bishop Robert Barron)
EWTN (Global Catholic Television)
A Catholic Radio Game Show is a very fun and effective way for us to learn our faith. I found this program, “Catholic Challenge Quiz Show,” on the Living Bread Radio Network in Ohio; I hope you enjoy it.
Catholic Challenge Quiz Show - Living Bread Radio Network
This Month in Catholic Church History
December
22:
1917 St. Francis Xavier Cabrini dies. She is the first American citizen canonized.
1877 Michael J. McGivney was ordained a priest in Baltimore, Maryland.
25:
2006, 2009, Pope Benedict XVI releases his encyclical Deus Caritas Est, God is Love.
This Month in Jesuit Catholic History
December 22
1588. In Transylvania the Protestants agitate for the expulsion of the Society.
1642. At London the martyrdom of Fr. Thomas Holland. After his sentence he declared himself a priest and a Jesuit and said that he was ready to lay down his life 100 times and more for the Faith. He gave two gold crowns to his executioner.
1844. Six Jesuits from Lyon land at Reunion and begin the evangelization of Madagascar. 1933. Vincent McCormick, S.J. is named Rector Magnificus of the Gregorian University. 1977. In Rhodesia, the death of Michael Hannan. He published the first complete dictionary of Shona, and translated the New Testament and parts of the old into Shona.
December 23
1549. Letter from St. Ignatius to India. Xavier is appointed Provincial of the newly erected Province of India.
1631. At Ghent the parish priests complain to the Bishop because the Jesuits had told those under their direction that they were not bound sub gravi to hear the Sunday Mass specifically in their parish church.
1758. Carvalho orders a strict search for arms and ammunitions at the Jesuit College in Lisbon.
1808. At Bologna, 21 Spanish ex-Jesuits living in exile were conducted to Modena and imprisoned for refusing the oath of allegiance to Joseph Bonaparte, the ursurper of the Spanish throne.
December 24
1491. Ignatius Loyola is born.
1567. The first Jesuits arrive in Cartegena, missioned by Francis Borgia.
1587. The death of Claude Matthee, highly esteemed by King Henry III. He predicted that Fr. Acquaviva would be General and hold that office for a long time.
1603. The leaders of the Paris Parliament presented to King Henry IV a long list of accusations against the Jesuits. The King replied by refuting them and making a strong defense of the Society.
1910. Fr. General Franz Xaver Wernz orders the Woodstock faculty to be moved to New York, to Fordham.
December 25
NATIVITAS DOMININOSTRI JESUCHRISTI, SECUNDUM CARNEM. The Birth of our Lord Jesus Christ, according to the flesh.
1538. St. Ignatius celebrates his first Mass in the basilica of St. Mary Major, Rome, at the altar of the Holy Crib. He had been ordained more than a year.
1540. In Rome Peter Ribadeneira, aged fourteen, began his noviceship, after making the Spiritual Exercises.
1545. Isabel Roser pronounces her vows as a Jesuit, together with Lucrezia di Brandine and Francisca Cruyllas, in the presence of St. Ignatius at Santa Maria della Strada.
1902. The Novitiate of St. Andrew on Hudson, Poughkeepsie, New York opens.
1930. California Province is divided into California Province and the Rocky Mountain Region.
1941. An ordinance on community litanies is promulgated by V. Rev. Fr. General Ledochowski.
1961. The Vice Province of Central Africa becomes a Province.
December 26
1569. (Dec. 25 or 26) Thomas Pounde, of Belmont, dancing before Queen Elizabeth, fell and was jeered at by her Majesty, which led to his conversion.
1649. At Ratisbon Mark Grandl, a German lay-brother, died immediately after making a general confession of his whole life. He had made his own coffin and kept it in his room.
1856. The death in Rome of Gilles Henry, a missionary in the Caucasas and Greek archipelago.
1978. Fr. Gerhard Pieper, S.J., librarian, aged 38, is shot to death in Zimbabwe.
1979. John Reed, S.J. +, a member of the NY Province, a canon lawyer and teacher of canon law.
2014. Joseph Pittau, SJ, dies, age 86. Archbishop. He was Assistant to Fr. Dezza from 1981-83.