It is difficult to put one hundred years of a parish history into one or two pages. It is equally difficult to do the same task in ten thousand pages. May this be a fair assessment of our time spent at the corner of Locke and Herkimer Streets.
St. Joseph is not unlike hundreds of other parishes that dot this country, except for its people. When built, St. Joseph was on Hamilton's western boundary, in an area not yet populated. The only question left in those early days was who would fill the seat? The working class Catholics found their way to streets bordering the railway tracks- such streets as Canada, Jackson, Hunter and Melbourne, to name but a few. Aberdeen, Bay, Undercliffe and streets closest to the mountain became the home of some of the most influential members of Hamilton's society and industry. All have worked diligently together throughout our 105 years to construct not only a building but a community of active, growing and caring Catholics. Many descendants of these early parishioners remain active in our parish community today.
On September 24, 1893, the cornerstone for the present church was laid by Bishop Thomas J. Dowling. Construction was completed by June 24, 1894, at which time Bishop Dowling returned to dedicate our parish in the name of our patron, St. Joseph.
We began our Catholic ministry some years earlier in a small wooden church known as the German mission church. It also bore the name, St. Joseph. This church was located at the corner of Jackson and Charles St. This parish served the German community as a mission church out of St.Mary's
Cathedral until Bishop Dowling suggested it be torn down to be eventually replaced by the present St. Joseph Church.
In 1894 our first pastor arrived. Father John Hinchey was a young diocesan priest of Irish descent. However he was not with us long. He died in 1902, he was only 39 years of age.
We were then served by five more diocesan pastors and a number of associates.
In those days, St. Vincent's School, located at the corner of Pearl and Nelson Streets, was served by our Parish until 1920. At this time St. Joseph School opened in the former St. James Presbyterian Church. The school was run by the Sisters of the Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Loretto Sisters) until 1958 when the Sisters of St. Joseph of Cluny arrived to replace them. All remnants of the old church were removed by this time, leaving us with the present school structure.
Until 1933 we were served by diocesan priests who were responsible for establishing the Church and the School. The last of these diocesan priests was Fr. Alban J. Leyes, a kindly and caring man, a man of boundless energy. Fr. Leyes is credited with the renovation of the present church building in 1924. In spite of this massive reconstruction not one Mass was cancelled.
On March 5, 1933 Bishop John T. McNally transferred Fr. Leyes to Walkerton. The Fathers and Brothers of the Congregation of the Resurrection were asked to take charge of St. Joseph. Fr. B. Wilbert Mayer, C.R. was our first C.R. pastor. This was a difficult period in the history of the parish, as it was for the entire diocese. The parish was in debt and its territory was to be divided due to the newly built Cathedral of Christ the King. It was the middle of the great depression and no one had money to support such a massive building project. However, St. Joseph survived and found the way to meet its financial needs. Some time later the area now served by St. Charles Garnier Parish was also "cut out" of our territory.
Our records show that over seventy organizations are working within the Parish. Without doubt many more have come and gone over time about which we have no record at all. To name only a few we remember: the Alban Credit Union, Legion of Mary, Peoples' Eucharistic League. Some are still with us: the Catholic Women's League,St. Vincent de Paul Society, the Marriage Preparation Team and many more who continue to serve the Community. Suffice it to say that the history of St. Joseph is one of its people- a people of faith, of hope, of hospitality; a people who formed and continue to form the bonds of Christian Community.
It is not known when the Sisters from the Congregation of St. Joseph (Sisters of St. Joseph) began serving as sacristans. We do know they relinquished this ministry in July 1953 to the School Sisters of Notre Dame who, while living at Ravenscliffe, continued as sacristans for approximately two years.
We have been blessed with twenty-eight vocations, fourteen to the priesthood and fourteen to various congregations of sisters.
We celebrated our Centennial in 1994 with a year and a half of preparation, celebration and prayer. Monthly pictorial displays with over four hundred parish pictures were presented in the Parish Hall. The annual picnic was resumed as was the annual Christmas Carol Service. A gala dinner/dance/reunion was held on June 18, 1994. The next day an anniversary Mass was concelebrated by Bishop Anthony Tonnos along with several C.R.s who had formerly served the Parish and Fr. Arthur Scidmore, a diocesan vocation from the parish. These are but a few of the events held during our centennial year.
As we move into our second century we do so with a sense of renewed spirit. We are led by a pastor who is willing to trust his people with responsibilities we never dreamed of in years past.
