Catholic Masses
Masses are held each weekday morning, except Tuesdays, at 7:30 A.M.; Saturdays at 5:30 P.M.; and Sundays at 9:00 A.M. For more information, call 479-361-2612. St. Joseph’s Church is located at 139 E. Henri De Tonti Blvd. (directly across the street from City Hall); the mailing address is P.O. Box 39, Tontitown, AR 72770. You can email St. Joseph's Church at stjoetontitown2@ cox-internet.com.
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History
Tontitown was founded by a group of Italian Catholic families in the late 19th century. Naturally, one of the first things the settlers did was found a church. The first families were able to use an existing wood-frame school building. This building served as both school and parish for several years. In 1898, though, the first church was damaged in a fire. Tontitowners immediately went to work repairing their church. A picture of St. Joseph had miraculously survived the fire in the church, so, when the church was dedicated on November 18, 1900, it was named after the venerable saint.
Another disaster struck when a tornado swept through Northwest Arkansas in 1934, destroying many buildings, including St. Joseph’s Church. Undeterred, citizens rebuilt the church, which was reopened during Holy Week of 1942.
It was St. Joseph’s first pastor, Father Bandini, who led the first settlers from south Arkansas to the fertile farmlands of Tontitown. In 1906 a religious school St. Mary’s, was opened under the auspices of St. Joseph’s and the Ursuline Sisters, and later under the Sisters of Mercy. When Tontitown was incorporated as a City in 1909, Father Bandini was elected as the first mayor. Seven years later Father Bandini suffered a stroke, and subsequently died in January of 1917.
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