Church of St. Joseph (Bronxville, New York)

The Church of St. Joseph (commonly called St. Joseph's Church) is a Roman Catholic church located in the Village of Bronxville in Westchester County, New York. Officially founded as a parish of the Archdiocese of New York in 1922, the Church of St. Joseph consists of the parish church, adjacent parochial St. Joseph School, rectory, and parish center. It serves residents of Bronxville as well as residents of nearby neighborhoods in Eastchester and Yonkers. St. Joseph's has a permanent chaplain to the nearby Lawrence Hospital.

Church of St. Joseph
St. Joseph's front facade
Church of St. Joseph
Church of St. Joseph
40°56′18″N 73°50′4″W
Location15 Cedar Street,
Bronxville, New York 10708
CountryUnited States
DenominationCatholic
TraditionRoman Rite
Websitesaintjosephsbronxville.org
History
StatusParish church
Founded1922
(1905 as a mission church)
DedicationSaint Joseph
Dedicated1927
Architecture
Functional statusActive
Architect(s)William H. Jones
Architectural typeChurch
StyleEnglish Gothic Revival
Completed1928 (1928)
Administration
ArchdioceseArchdiocese of New York

History

The Church of St. Joseph began as a mission in Bronxville by neighboring Church of the Immaculate Conception of Tuckahoe in 1905. Having no dedicated structure, masses were celebrated in the ballroom of the illustrious Hotel Gramatan by Immaculate Conception pastor John McCormack who traveled by horse each Sunday. The first masses were attended by only seventeen families. In 1906, the mission purchased a former Bronxville schoolhouse on the corner of Park Place and Kraft Avenue, converting it into St. Joseph's Chapel.

The once-small Bronxville Catholic community grew rapidly. In 1922, the mission was elevated to an official parish of the archdiocese by Patrick Cardinal Hayes, Joseph L. McCann its first pastor. The church quickly outgrew its home and began construction on the present-day church building on the corner of Kraft Avenue and Cedar Street, having raised $50,000 over the preceding four years. The new building was designed by Yonkers architect William H. Jones in the English Gothic Revival style, constructed from stones quarried locally in Westchester. In 1927, the church was dedicated by Hayes and was completed in 1928.

The second pastor, Francis X. Scott, oversaw the opening of the school in 1951. Joseph Moore led the parish's transition following the Second Vatican Council. Under Patrick J. Sheridan and James Connolly, the church and rectory were renovated and a pipe organ was installed in the church, as the staff was expanded. A parish center was constructed in 1986, which replaced the limited space of a previously used house on Meadow Avenue.[1]

During their time of residence in Bronxville, the Kennedy family attended St. Joseph's Church. The young Ted Kennedy was an altar boy at St. Joseph's Church and was later married there by Francis Cardinal Spellman.[2][3]

St. Joseph's celebrated its Golden Jubilee in 1972 with Terence Cardinal Cooke and Theodore E. McCarrick (who would later become a Cardinal and Archbishop of Washington) in attendance.[4]

Parochial school

St. Joseph School opened on September 10, 1951 adjacent to the church at 30 Meadow Avenue and was staffed by the Adrian Dominican Sisters, while operated by the parish.[5] Cardinal Spellman dedicated the school on October 7 of that year. Patrick Sheridan (a future bishop) oversaw the start of construction in 1985 of the parish center, which included a gymnasium and additional space for teaching and offices, with the dedication by John Cardinal O'Connor occurring on September 27, 1986. St. Joseph School consists of an upper and lower school of grades kindergarten through eight.[6] It was presented with a National Blue Ribbon Award by the U.S. Department of Education in 2010.[7] The school's facilities are used also for the CCD religious education program for students who attend secular schools.[8] St. Joseph School has an active Mothers' Club and Men's Club. Many students who graduate go on to attend local Catholic high schools in Westchester County and Manhattan. As of 2015, 239 students attended the school.[9]

List of pastors

In chronological order, the following priests have served as pastor:[1]

  1. Joseph L. McCann (1922–1942)
  2. Francis X. Scott (1942–1967)[10]
  3. Joseph P. Moore (1968–1980)
  4. Patrick J. Sheridan (1980–1985)[11]
  5. James Connolly (1985–1998)
  6. James F. Doyle (1998–2013)
  7. Peter McGeory (2013–present)

References
  1. "About: History". saintjosephsbronxville.org. Archived from the original on December 29, 2017. Retrieved February 1, 2018.
  2. Failla, Zak. "Looking Back on JFK's Time in Bronxville". bronxville.dailyvoice.com. Archived from the original on August 15, 2017. Retrieved February 1, 2018.
  3. Sullivan, Amy (August 27, 2009). "Ted Kennedy's Quiet Catholic Faith". time.com. Archived from the original on March 8, 2017. Retrieved February 1, 2018.
  4. Hill, Marilynn Wood; Huber, Mary Means (1997). Around Bronxville. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 9780738562223.
  5. Whalen, Mary (May 1, 1969). "Sisters At St. Joseph's Members of Dynamic Order" (PDF). Review Press-Reporter. Bronxville, NY – via Fultonhistory.com.
  6. "St. Joseph School: Our History". St. Joseph School.
  7. "2010 Blue Ribbon Schools" (PDF). United States Department of Education. Archived (PDF) from the original on July 3, 2017. Retrieved February 1, 2018.
  8. "St. Joseph Religious Education". Saint Joseph Religious Education. Archived from the original on June 22, 2017. Retrieved February 1, 2018.
  9. "St. Joseph School: Our School 2014-2015". St. Joseph School.
  10. "Cardinal, Clergy Attend Funeral Of Msgr. F.X. Scott". Review Press-Reporter. Bronxville, NY. September 14, 1967. Retrieved March 10, 2019.
  11. "Bishop Patrick J. Sheridan". Catholic New York. December 2, 2011. Retrieved March 10, 2019.
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