St. Joseph Catholic Church

St. Joseph Catholic Parish was established in February, 1844. The original church style included medium-sized Gothic architecture with a tall front steeple. Its previous location was at the site of the present-day Tulane Medical Center. The building was constructed in 1846 to serve a growing Irish population. After the construction of the new church, the original church was renovated in 1895 and placed under the patronage of St. Katherine. The new St. Katherine’s became a center for African American worship in New Orleans. The original St. Joseph church, later called St. Katherine's was demolished in 1964 due to damage from Hurricane Betsy.

In 1858, St. Joseph Parish was entrusted to the priests of the Congregation of the Mission which were Vincentians or Lazarists. In 1859 Father Hayden built a boy’s school which was under the direction of the Christian Brothers. In 1864, a school for girls was constructed under the direction of the Daughters of Charity. The plot of land that the church currently sits on was purchased in 1866.

Construction of St. Joseph Catholic Church lasted several years. On May 5, 1869 at 3:00 p.m. the ground breaking ceremony took place. The laying of the cornerstone of the foundation took place on Sunday October 8, 1871 at 3:00 p.m. Pastor Father Thomas Smith of the Congregation of the Mission presided over the event. Construction officially began in 1869. Defects in the construction of the foundation caused the roof placement to be delayed until 1877. The architect of the church was P.C Keely from Brooklyn. The builder was D.M. Foley Jr. The original plans for the church included spires on the front towers. A historical note about the construction of the church is that the contract for the building of the church was originally given to Thomas O’Neil. O’Neil sculpted the faces on the bases of the pillars and the church porch.

St. Joseph Catholic Church was dedicated on December 18,1892. An estimated 3,000 people attended the dedicated and Reverend Francis Nugent preached during the occasion. The first Mass in the new St. Joseph church was on Christmas Day in 1892. The parochial service was held on January 1, 1893 by Reverend J.W. Hickey as pastor. Money for the construction and decoration were obtained by donations by local citizens, parishioners, and benefactors in other states. 

Histoy, Saint Joseph Church. Accessed August 15th 2020. http://www.stjosephchurch-no.org/history/.

Saint Joseph Catholic Church, New Orleans Churches . Accessed August 15th 2020. http://www.neworleanschurches.com/stjosno/stjosno.htm.