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In the center of Alameda stand the buildings, old and new, of St. Joseph
Parish. For over 133 years this parish has served the spiritual
life of the Catholic families of central Alameda; at one time, all of
Alameda. St. Joseph Parish started as a mission church in 1873. Land
on the southeast corner of Santa Clara Avenue and Chestnut Street had
been donated by Mr. Minturn, a non-Catholic, and the first Catholic
church in Alameda was built. This mission church, which was attached to
St. Anthony Parish, Oakland, was dedicated by Archbishop Joseph Alemany
on April 6, 1873. Fr. William Gleeson, Pastor of St. Anthony, was
placed in charge of the new St. Joseph Mission Church. Each Sunday Fr.
Gleeson came to Alameda on horseback or on foot to celebrate Mass and to
teach Catechism. He served the entire Catholic population of Alameda
which consisted mainly of families of Irish extraction.
As the congregation grew, Fr. Gleeson was assisted by Fr. J. B.
McNally. Twice in a period of seven years the church was enlarged.
Finally in 1881 St. Joseph Church was moved to the southwest corner of
Chestnut Street and San Antonio Avenue, just across from its present
location. Fr. Gleeson had chosen this site for the new church for the
convenience of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur who had just built a
girls’ school on the adjoining lot: Notre Dame Academy for girls in
grades one through twelve.
Many dates stand out in the history of St. Joseph Parish, and the year
1885 is one of the most memorable, for it was in that year that St.
Joseph became an independent parish. In May of 1885 Fr. Michael McNaboe
was appointed by Archbishop Patrick W. Riordan as the first resident
pastor of St. Joseph Church.
In addition to caring ably for the souls in his charge, Fr. McNaboe
constructed the first permanent rectory at St. Joseph. At the same time
he inaugurated a grade school for boys which was taught by the Sisters
of Notre Dame. Fr. McNaboe served as pastor until his death on March 1,
1892. He was succeeded by Fr. John Sullivan, who was appointed as the
second pastor in April, 1892.
Just ten years after St. Joseph Mission Church became an independent
parish, it had grown to the extent that a new church was needed. The
new building was to be a beautiful Gothic edifice with a seating
capacity of 700.
On August 12, 1894, Very Reverend John Prendergast, Vicar General,
officiated at the laying of the cornerstone of the new parish church,
and on January 20, 1895, Archbishop Riordan dedicated the new building.
Because of ill health Fr. Sullivan resigned as pastor in January, 1893,
and Fr. Patrick A. Foley was appointed the third pastor of St. Joseph.
Inspired by the work of his predecessors and looking toward the future
of the parish, Fr. Foley set to work at once, with the spiritual
guidance of his parishioners and the development of the parish plant.
One of Fr. Foley’s projects was the building of a new rectory. A
two-storied frame building was constructed on the northwest corner of
San Antonio Avenue and Chestnut Street, the site of the present church.
The old rectory was sold and moved off the parish property. The new
rectory, which was later moved back to its present site, has served as
the residence of the clergy to the present day.
It was on January 14, 1913, that the fourth pastor was appointed. Fr.
J. Bernard Praught assumed charge of the parish on February 1 of that
year. By 1919 the church needed to be redecorated, so that year Fr. Praught had the necessary work done at a cost of $3000. The color of
the church was changed from slate gray to pure white.
Just about the time the redecoration of the church had been completed, a
catastrophe occurred. On the night of September 29, 1919, a fire of
unknown origin started, and St. Joseph Church was burned to the ground.
With the exception of a few vestments which were saved, the building and
its contents were a total loss.
It was not long before the parishioners overcame the initial shock and
discouragement at the loss of their church. Under the able leadership
of Fr. Praught plans were formulated for the building of a new church.
This was to be a structure of reinforced concrete containing an altar of
marble, woodwork and pews of oak, and murals and pictures of inspiring
beauty. On August 22, 1920, the cornerstone for the new church, a
replica of the old mission at Monterey, was laid by Archbishop Edward
Hanna. During the period of construction Mass was celebrated in a
temporary structure erected where the elementary school now stands.
The completion of the new church was followed shortly by another major
building project. In 1922 a grammar school was donated to the parish by
Theresa Ettinger in memory of her husband, the late Victor Ettinger.
The school, which is in the same style as the church, contains eight
classrooms and a large auditorium. The sisters of Notre Dame staffed
the St. Joseph Elementary School of which the parish was so proud. The
old school building next to the convent which had housed the grammar
school was now given over entirely to the high school.
As the parish grew in physical size, it flourished spiritually. The
establishment of the grammar school brought an increase in the number of
vocations from the parish. Fr. Praught provided spiritual stimulation
for his parishioners through frequent Missions and Novenas.
The social life of the parish was not neglected during these middle
years of its history. A motion picture projection booth with a sound
projector was added to the school auditorium, and the famous Friday
Night Socials were started. As many as four to five hundred people
would gather in the school auditorium each Friday night for the showing
of a good movie which was followed by a dance.
Fr. Praught was ever mindful of the future of his parish. He purchased
property adjacent to the boys’ schoolyard to expand the recreational
yard of the school. By 1935 a boys’ high school had been built and a
residence for the Brothers of Mary, who were to staff the high school,
had been purchased. (This building, reduced in size in recent years to
accommodate off-street parking, is now known as the Parish Center, with
offices and meeting rooms.)
The year 1935 was one of the truly great highlights of St. Joseph
Parish. This, the Golden Jubilee Year, was fittingly celebrated by two
memorable events. Archbishop John J. Mitty presided at three days of
solemnities highlighted by the consecration of the altar and church. On
August 17, 1935 St. Joseph Church was one of the few churches
consecrated in the Archdiocese of San Francisco.
The second great event of the Golden Jubilee Year was the opening of St.
Joseph Boys’ High School on August 26, 1935. In the new high school a
boy could receive an excellent Catholic education for the low cost of
ten dollars a quarter. Expensive textbooks did not have to be
purchased, as a textbook rental plan was inaugurated.
The parish could indeed be proud of its educational facilities which now
consisted of a grammar school, a high school for girls under the
direction of the Sisters of Notre Dame, and the newly completed St.
Joseph Boys’ High School staffed by the Brothers of Mary.
After thirty years of untiring zeal Fr. Praught resigned as pastor of
St. Joseph Parish in 1943. He remained in residence in the parish as
Pastor Emeritus until his death on October 22, 1949. The new pastor
appointed after Fr. Praught’s retirement was Fr. Robert J. O’Connor who
was no stranger to St. Joseph’s. He had served for many years as pastor
of the neighboring parish of St. Philip Neri. Fr. O’Connor carried on
the spiritual traditions of the parish during the last two years of
WWII.
These were years during which Alameda’s population grew rapidly.
Realizing that the old Notre Dame Convent would soon need to be
replaced, Fr. O’Connor purchased property across the street from the
convent as the site for a new home for the Sisters.
In
1954 Notre Dame Convent and Notre Dame High School, which had served the
parish for decades, but which had been independent of it, were
transferred to the official care of St. Joseph Parish. Early in 1957
Fr. O’Connor was in an automobile accident and was confined to the
hospital until he passed away on September 17, 1957.
In October of 1957 St. Joseph Parish received its sixth pastor. Fr.
Alvin Wagner was sent from St. Francis Parish, San Francisco, where he
had served as pastor. With the appointment of Fr. Wagner, St. Joseph
Parish proudly became the headquarters of the radio Rosary Hour.
After a careful study and approval of His Excellency the Most Reverend
Archbishop, the archdiocesan Building Commission and the Archdiocesan
School Board, the building program of St. Joseph Parish was formulated.
This program included plans for the remodeling of the boys’ high school
and construction of a new convent, a new girls’ high school, and a new
combination gymnasium and all-purpose hall. The estimated cost for the
program was a minimum of $560,000, a figure which grew to $700,000
because of improved construction.
The parishioners rallied with enthusiasm to the building program
announced by Fr. Wagner in 1958. In April of that year a fund-raising
drive was conducted under the supervision of the Charles Francis
Company. No time was lost in starting the projects to be undertaken.
In the summer of 1958 the urgently needed renovation of the boys’ high
school was begun and completed in time for the opening of school.
Construction of the new St. Joseph Convent for the Sisters of Notre Dame
was begun promptly after the purchase of a lot adjacent to the one that
had been purchased earlier. This beautiful building, which is situated
on the corner of San Jose Avenue and Chestnut Street and which blends
architecturally with the other parish buildings was ready for occupancy
in August 1959. The convent was built and furnished at a cost of
$177,000. (Now known as San Jose Hall, its purpose changed when no
longer needed as a convent. It currently provides additional offices
and meeting spaces for the high school, and a modern music facility for
the students of the elementary school as well as the high school.)
The old convent was converted to a temporary girls’ high school. The
old high school was torn down and construction of the new St. Joseph
Notre Dame High School was begun. In July 1960, the old convent, the
oldest building on the parish property, was made ready for the
demolition crew who quickly razed it. The new high school was completed
and opened on September 6, 1960. The school was built at a cost of
$310,000 and furnished for an additional $35,000.
The abandonment of the one-block section of San Antonio Avenue between
Chestnut and Lafayette Streets by the City of Alameda and the dedication
of this area has meant an increased recreation space for the school
children.
On September 12, 1962 Fr. Wagner was elevated to Monsignor. That same
year the Diocese of Oakland was created.
St.
Joseph Church was designated a minor Basilica by Pope Paul VI on June 4,
1972. Monsignor Wagner retired in 1983 and it was then that the
Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary was asked by the
Oakland Diocese to staff St. Joseph. On August 22, 1983 Fr. Patrick
Goodwin was appointed pastor. Fr. Goodwin’s leadership style was to
encourage active involvement of the laity in the celebration of the Mass
and through the creation of new ministries.
For several years, the two high schools had been sharing classes and
developing a joint curriculum. In 1985 they were formally merged into
one co-educational school: St. Joseph Notre Dame High School. The
Marianist Brothers had relinquished responsibility for St. Joseph High
School in 1970, but the Notre Dame Sisters continued to be an active
presence in the parish serving in the Elementary School until the
1990’s.
On August 23,1993 Fr. Jeremiah Holland SS.CC. became pastor of St.
Joseph. With Fr. Holland’s leadership the St. Joseph community
developed a master plan to improve the facilities for the whole parish
plant in 1997. The first phase of the master plan was the building of a
Gathering Space which was completed in 1999.
On February 17, 2001 Fr. Rich Danyluk SS.CC. was installed as pastor.
Fr. Danyluk speaks about his vision for St. Joseph Community: “It is my
privilege to call attention to and enable each person’s Baptism be made
real and we recognize the gift of each of us being called to the
priesthood of Jesus. Our parish becomes the fullness of who we are meant
to be when each person not only recognizes this gift but chooses to
share it. As Oscar Romero said, ‘How beautiful will be the day when all
the baptized understand that their work, their job, is a priestly work,
that just as I say Mass at the altar, so each carpenter celebrates Mass
at the workbench, and each metalworker, each professional, each doctor
with a scalpel, the market woman at her stand, are performing a priestly
office! How many cabdrivers I know listen to this message there in
their cabs; you are a priest at the wheel, my friend, if you work with
honesty, consecrating that taxi of yours to God, bearing a message of
peace and love to the passengers who ride in your cab.’”
A large part of the master plan involved major improvements to St.
Joseph Notre Dame High School. The "Let Every Student Soar" Capital
Campaign was launched in 2001 to fund the improvement of the high
school's music, library and science facilities, and the gymnasium. In
June 2003, construction began on San Jose Hall for the enhancement of
the facility as a music center to be used by both the high school and
the elementary school.
During the summer of 2004 the high school library was enlarged and
enhanced to update it and provide a state-of-the-art facility for
students and teachers. In the fall of 2005 construction began on the
remodeling of the gymnasium and the addition of the science center with
three new state-of-the-art science laboratories. This project is
scheduled to be complete in the spring of 2007. The creation of the
three new lab classrooms will allow for the conversion of the three
current high school lab spaces into additional general-purpose
classrooms as well. The improvements provide a foundation for
subsequent improvements to the elementary school and the parish. The
"Let Every Student Soar" Campaign lays stepping stones to the long-term
vision of the future of St. Joseph Community, as framed by it’s Master
Plan.
In 2006 Fr Rich started his long-awaited sabbatical, at which time the
Congregation of the Sacred Hearts relinquished their involvement with
St. Joseph and the parish returned to administration by the Diocese.
Following several months without an assigned priest, Father Ray
Zielezienski was appointed Temporary Administrator. Finally in August
2008 we were able to welcome our 11th pastor, Father Fred
Riccio.
In 2007,
after twenty-four years as shepherds to our parish, the Congregation of
the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, made the decision to give St.
Joseph parish back to the Diocese of Oakland. Unfortunately, there were
no priests from their Congregation that could be sent to St. Joseph to
continue the tradition. On August, 2008, Fr. Fred Riccio arrived from
St. Joan of Arc parish in San Ramon as our new pastor.
1873 - Father William Gleeson
1885 - Father Michael McNaboe
1892 - Father John Sullivan
1893 - Patrick A. Foley
1913 - Father Bernard Praught
1943 - Father Robert O’Connor
1957 - Msgr. Alvin P. Wagner
1983 - Father Patrick Goodwin, SS.CC.
1993 - Father Jeremiah Holland, SS.CC.
2001 - Father Rich Danyluk, SS.CC.
2008 - Fr
Fred Riccio
1935-1970 Brothers Of Mary
1885-1997 Sisters of Notre Dame De Namur
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