On two corners of old Leavenworth stand two Catholic churches that together form one parish. Immaculate Conception Church faces North Fifth Street, and St. Joseph Church rises on Broadway. The two were canonically united in 2007, but their roots run back much further. Together, they make up Immaculate Conception - St. Joseph Parish, a Roman Catholic community served by the Carmelite Order since 1864, when two Carmelite priests from the Bavarian monastery of Straubing, Germany arrived to take charge of St. Joseph. It was the first permanent Carmelite foundation in the United States.
Four Parishes, One Community
What is now a single parish grew out of four separate Catholic communities in Leavenworth County. The oldest thread reaches back to 1836, when Jesuit missionaries led by Fr. Charles Felix Van Quickenborne established the mission of St. Francis Xavier with the Kickapoo Indians, the first Catholic mission in what would become the State of Kansas. In 1873 Bishop John Baptist Miege, SJ founded the Parish of Sacred Heart near the original mission site. It served the Kickapoo community for almost a century before closing in 1970 and was later named a pilgrimage site for the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas during the 2000 Jubilee Year. Today Sacred Heart has no regular weekend Masses but still hosts Thanksgiving Eve, Christmas Eve, and Memorial Day celebrations, along with Baptisms, Weddings, May Crownings, and Stations of the Cross.
Immaculate Conception Parish was founded on August 15, 1855 as the Cathedral Parish for Bishop Miege, who chose Leavenworth as the seat of the new Kansas Territory. The original Romanesque cathedral, begun in 1864 and dedicated on December 8, 1868, was considered the grandest church between St. Louis and San Francisco, with Italian Renaissance styling, Corinthian columns, barrel ceilings, and ceiling paintings by the French artist Leon Pomrade. Twelve stained glass windows from the Royal Bavarian Art Institute of Munich were installed in 1913. On December 30, 1961, the beloved Old Cathedral was destroyed by fire, the windows shattering in the cold. The present Immaculate Conception Church was built during the Second Vatican Council under Monsignor Alexander Harvey and dedicated on May 31, 1964.
Holy Epiphany Parish was established in 1874 at Sixth and Pottawatomie Streets for African-American Catholics, becoming the first Black Catholic parish west of the Mississippi River. It was served by the Oblate Sisters of Providence, the first group of African-American sisters founded in the United States, who taught at Holy Epiphany Grade School and cared for the children at Guardian Angels Home for Boys and Holy Epiphany Home for Girls. The parish closed in 1954 and its members were folded into Immaculate Conception and St. Joseph.
St. Joseph Parish itself was founded on September 5, 1858, just three years after Immaculate Conception, to serve the growing German immigrant community in the new territory. The first church was dedicated in 1859 on what is now the site of the Parish Office. The present German Gothic church was dedicated in 1871 by Bishops Miege and Fink. German was spoken in the parish for more than eighty years, and since 2002 the community has marked that heritage with an annual Germanfest. In 1945 a spring storm heavily damaged the church; when it reopened in 1946 under Fr. Herman Golobic and Fr. Leonard Kinzler, it gained the wood altar of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel and a basement parish hall now known as Kinzler Hall.
Archbishop Ignatius J. Strecker asked the Carmelites to assume administration of Immaculate Conception in 1981. The two parishes operated with shared staff and services until their official canonical union on July 1, 2007. Fr. David McEvoy, O.Carm., a native son of the parish, served as pastor during the 2005 Immaculate Conception Jubilee and the 2008 St. Joseph Jubilee. Fr. Glenn Snow, O.Carm. became pastor in 2020.
Masses and Confessions
Weekend Masses are celebrated at both churches, giving parishioners and visitors a choice of locations. Saturday Vigil Masses are offered at 4:00 PM at St. Joseph and 5:30 PM at Immaculate Conception. On Sunday, Mass is offered at 8:00 AM at St. Joseph and 10:30 AM at Immaculate Conception. Weekday Masses rotate between the two sites: Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday mornings at 8:30 AM at St. Joseph, and Wednesday and Friday mornings at 8:30 AM at Immaculate Conception. There is no daily Mass on Mondays in 2026. Confessions are heard every Saturday from 1:00 to 1:30 PM at Immaculate Conception.
The Saturday 4:00 PM Mass from St. Joseph is livestreamed on the parish YouTube channel, with the stream going live about five minutes before Mass begins. A YouTube account is not required to watch, though subscribers receive a notification when the stream starts. The parish also publishes a weekly bulletin online for those who want to follow along with the prayers and announcements of the community.
Becoming Catholic: The OCIA Process
For adults exploring the Catholic faith, the parish runs a vibrant Order of Christian Initiation of Adults program. Sessions meet on Wednesday evenings from late August through April or early May, with a parallel monthly track beginning in January for those still discerning. There are no fees and no pressure. An OCIA Team of parish volunteers and an individual sponsor walk alongside inquirers, discussing Catholic belief and practice, answering questions, and praying with the Scriptures. The Sacraments of Initiation - Baptism, Confirmation, and the Eucharist - are typically celebrated at the Easter Vigil. Deacon Dean Gilbert serves as OCIA Director and welcomes inquiries from anyone curious about the Catholic faith.
The parish has also purchased a subscription to FORMED for every parishioner. FORMED provides Catholic movies, videos, audiobooks, and study programs from more than sixty organizations, accessible on computers, tablets, and phones. New users can sign up at formed.org by selecting "Sign up as a parishioner" and searching for Immaculate Conception Saint Joseph Parish.
Religious Education and Youth
Religious education is offered for children in kindergarten through eighth grade. Class schedules and enrollment forms are available through the parish office and from Deacon Patrick Hood, the Director of Religious Education. The parish also partners with Xavier Elementary School, formed in 1979 when the four parish elementary schools in Leavenworth were unified and now located on Muncie Road near the Mother House of the Sisters of Charity.
High school youth gather as the Quo Vadis Youth Group, named for the question Peter put to Jesus on the road to Rome: "Quo vadis, Domine?" - "Where are you going, Lord?" Meetings run from 6:00 to 7:30 PM in the St. Joseph Gym, Youth Group Room, and Church, roughly twice a month during the school year. Activities include Bible study, community service such as Christmas caroling, and outings to an apple orchard, Worlds of Fun, Benedictine College, and a local escape room, along with movie nights featuring films like Triumph of the Heart and Quo Vadis. Registration is handled through the parish office.
A Parish of Ministries and Service
The parish lists more than fifty ways for people to use their time and talent. Liturgical roles include lectors, communion ministers, gift bearers, altar servers (fourth grade and above), adult altar servers, sacristans, and members of the music and choir program coordinated by Theresa Vitt. Christian formation ministries include OCIA team members and sponsors, religious education teachers and aides, substitutes, marriage preparation couples, and youth group adult leaders.
Social concerns ministries include the ICSJ Altar Society, the Carmelite Third Order, Communion to the Homebound, a monthly food collection, and the Interfaith Community of Hope. Lay organizations include the St. Joseph's Men's Society, St. Joseph's Quilting Group, the Knights of Columbus, St. Vincent De Paul, and a young adult group. Social activities keep the calendar lively with First Sunday Coffee and Donuts, funeral dinners, the parish picnic, and two signature events: the St. Patrick's Day Corned Beef and Cabbage Dinner held at Immaculate Conception, and Germanfest at St. Joseph, both run by volunteers from the parish.
The prayer ministry is a particular point of pride. Pope Benedict XVI once told a gathering of Carmelite leaders, "Carmel teaches the Church how to pray." The parish embraces that calling through an extensive schedule that includes weekly Eucharistic Adoration with one-hour commitments, daily prayer for parishioners, prayer for vocations, prayer for the deceased, prayer for the youth, and a Prayer for the Prodigals group.
Giving and Stewardship
The parish frames its work in terms of stewardship: "As each one has received a gift, use it to serve one another as good stewards of God's varied grace" (1 Pt 4:10). Registered parishioners may use offering envelopes at Mass or contribute online through ParishSoft, with options for one-time or recurring gifts drawn from a checking or savings account or paid by credit or debit card. The parish also welcomes planned gifts and supports the Archdiocesan Call to Share annual appeal, which funds more than forty-three ministries and programs across the Archdiocese of Kansas City in Kansas.
The Pastoral Team
Fr. Glenn Snow, O.Carm. serves as pastor and is supported by two deacons: Deacon Patrick Hood, who is also Director of Religious Education, and Deacon Dean Gilbert, the OCIA Director. Theresa Vitt coordinates the parish music program. The parish office at 747 Osage Street is open Monday through Friday from 8:00 AM to noon and 1:00 to 4:00 PM, and can be reached at 913-682-3953 or at icsjparish@icsj.org.
Joining the Parish
Visitors and newcomers are warmly welcomed at any Mass at either church. Those who wish to register can pick up a form at the back of church, download one from the parish, or stop by the Parish Office. The parish's two church buildings - Immaculate Conception on North Fifth Street and St. Joseph on North Broadway - stand as visible reminders of a Catholic presence in Leavenworth that reaches back to the first Jesuit mission of 1836 and that, in the Carmelite tradition, keeps watch over the city through prayer, the Sacraments, and service to the wider community.