Welcome to Saint Joseph Holy Family Parish

St. Joseph Holy Family Parish is a merger of St. Joseph Parish, Phlox, and Holy Family Parish, Mattoon, in July 2006.

The beginnings of the current parish go back to 1880 when Fr. Philip St. Louis began serving the Catholics of the Phlox region, including some from the Mattoon area. Soon, a church was built, and in 1883 a two-story school was added. A new school was built in 1907 after the first school burned down. That school served the parish well until 1960 when a three-classroom addition was added. The school served the parish well until 1987 when it closed.

In the meantime, in Mattoon the Wisconsin Timber and Land Company donated a site for a church to be built before June 1901. The parishioners pulled together and erected the church, which was dedicated on October 22, 1901 by Bishop J.J. Fox. Fr. George Pesch was Holy Family’s first pastor. Holy Family, through most of its history, has been connected to St. Joseph, Phlox, even as it maintained its independent status as a parish. After the merger in 2006, Holy Family’s property, including the church and rectory, was sold.



The merger of St. Joseph Parish and Holy Family Parish has united faithful people in one parish, bringing together grace-filled people from two different communities.