Epicopusnesqallenensis.Dileeto NobisinChristoAlexandroDiomedi S.J.Sacerdoti.SaluteminDomino. Cumanobislicentiannpostulaveris erigendiinecclesiaStiJosephapud SeattleStaionesViaeCrusis,nos,ad augendamfideliumdevotionemerga SacreatiEpicopusnesqallenensis. DileetoNobisinChristoAlexandro DiomediS.J.Sacerdoti.Salutem inDomino.Cumanobislicentiann FROM A MISSION CHAPEL TO ST. JOSEPH PARISH
Alexander Diomedi, SJ, Northwest pioneer, Jesuit missionary, and first St. Joseph pastor [JOPA]
“I would be pleased if you would submit to your very Reverend Superior General the matter of locating your new church on 18th or 19th Avenue in Seattle.” [Letter from Bishop O’Dea to Jesuit Provincial George de la Motte June 1, 1903]
EarlySt.JosephParishBulletin(1913)combinedwith ImmaculateConceptionParish,whenbothwereunder the direction of the Jesuits
1919 receipt reveals the cost of furnishing the church interior with a new pulpit ($30).
1907
St. Joseph Church (c1916); apparently after the carpenters doubled its seating capacity [MOHAI]
Fr. Diomedi’s appointment as first pastor [ArchivesoftheCatholicArchdioceseofSeattle]
Interior sanctuary of the original church with paintings by Brother Carignano, SJ [JOPA]
I
n 1904, the Jesuits had already built the Immaculate Conception Parish, and its pastor, Adrian Sweere, SJ, responded to Bishop O’Dea by arranging to purchase the block bordered by 18th and 19th Avenues, Aloha and Roy Streets, at a cost of $30,000. In 1906, under the direction of Alexander Diomedi, SJ, a small wood-frame church was built as a mission chapel of Immaculate Conception Parish. The heroic Blackrobe, Fr. Diomedi, even at sixty-three years old, was well suited to this challenge having already served a long and distinguished career as a Jesuit builder and pioneer architect of several Rocky Mountain missions. On April 21, 1907, on the feast of the patronage of St. Joseph, the new parish was formally dedicated, and Fr. Diomedi, SJ, was appointed its first pastor. By 1908, the second pastor, Patrick J. Mahony, SJ, faced an overcrowded church. The parish had grown to more than 180 families, and the tiny building was too small to accommodate the parishioners at Sunday Mass — some folks occasionally waiting outside in the rain until others filed out. The solution was to saw off the front of the church and move it out towards 18th Avenue, doubling the seating capacity.
TheinterioroftheoriginalchurchsanctuarywasbeautifullydecoratedbythepaintingsofBrotherCarignano,SJ.Atthecenterofthealtar,abovethetabernacle,wasan oil painting of St. Joseph. The huge curved ceiling resembled one large painting; a water-color copy of the famous Immaculate Conception, flanked by images of S Matthew and Luke, the two saints quoted in the Bible praising St. Joseph.
Epicopusnesqallenensis.Dileeto NobisinChristoAlexandroDiomedi S.J.Sacerdoti.SaluteminDomino. Cumanobislicentiannpostulaveris erigendiinecclesiaStiJosephapud SeattleStaionesViaeCrusis,nos,ad augendamfideliumdevotionemerga SacreatiEpicopusnesqallenensis. DileetoNobisinChristoAlexandro DiomediS.J.Sacerdoti.Salutem inDomino.Cumanobislicentiann postulaveriserigendiinecclesiaSti THE MISSION TO EDUCATE
SISTERS OF THE HOLY NAMES AND THE JESUIT FATHERS
“ May God grant that our efforts be blessed with success in molding these young minds and hearts for eternity.” [Chronicles, Sisters of the Holy Names, September 3, 1907]
First Holy Names Sisters teaching at St. Joseph School, residing in Convent, 1943. (left to right)
Front: Sr. M. Joanne, S.N.J.M., Sr. Rosanne Mary, S.N.J.M., Sr. M. Celine Therese, S.N.J.M., Sr. Elaine Marie, S.N.J.M., Sr. Rebecca Mary, S.N.J.M., Sr. M. Rosilda, S.N.J.M.
1907-1919
Back: Sr. Bernard Marie, S.N.J.M., Sr. Cecile Maureen, S.N.J.M., Sr. M. Wilfrida, S.N.J.M., Sr. Joseph Maria, S.N.J.M., Sr. M. Eustace,S.N.J.M.[Archives,SistersoftheHoly Names, Spokane,Washington]
JohnMcHugh,SJwhoservedthreeterms aspastor[1913-1920,1921-1925,19311936] was a key administrator in the history of St. Joseph Parish. [JOPA]
1923photoofstudentsonthenorthslopeofAlohaStreetoutsidethechurchwhenSt.JosephSchoolwasinthechurch basement. In November 1923, the new school was completed.
Invoice from Sr. Mary Leontine to Fr. McHugh, SJ, Pastor, compensatedthesistersfor$150forteachingplusonedollarfor music for the children’s choir in 1917
1932 class of second grade girls at Holy Names Academy
P
artners in the mission to educate, the Jesuits and the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary organized the first parish school in 1907, enrolling fourteen boys and sixteen girls in the small classrooms located in the basement of the church. The school grew to forty-three students by 1910. The nuns and priests created a legacy of high academic standards for the children while encouraging involvement in music, theatre and athletics.
By1917,overcrowdinginthesmallclassroomscontributedtothedecisiontoshiftthegirlstoHolyNamesAcademy.Thisarrangementcontinuedformorethanforty years until the last all -male class graduated from St. Joseph School in 1963. While Holy Names Academy was considered the parish school for girls, the Religious of the Sacred Heart also provided an excellent education for the parish girls at ForestRidgeConventonInterlakenBoulevard.Bothschoolsofferedthegirlselementaryandhighschooldiplomas.TheparishboysgraduatedfromSt.JosephSchool to continue their education with the Jesuits at Seattle College High School (later Seattle Preparatory High School) or with the Christian Brothers at O’Dea High School. The close proximity of fine schools to the parish neighborhood created an enduring bond and identity that sustained generations of Capitol Hill families.
Epicopusnesqallenensis.Dileeto NobisinChristoAlexandroDiomedi S.J.Sacerdoti.SaluteminDomino. Cumanobislicentiannpostulaveris erigendiinecclesiaStiJosephapud SeattleStaionesViaeCrusis,nos,ad augendamfideliumdevotionemerga SacreatiEpicopusnesqallenensis. DileetoNobisinChristoAlexandro DiomediS.J.Sacerdoti.Salutem inDomino.Cumanobislicentiann postulaveriserigendiinecclesiaSti A TIME TO BUILD RECTORY, SCHOOL AND CHURCH
William Deeney, SJ, (1925-1931), pastor. On September 8, 1926, he vacatedthewoodenchurch, holding Mass in the school auditorium during the four-year fundraising and constructionphases.[JOPA]
John Van Hoomissen, SJ (1927), assisted in fundraising. [JOPA]
[Ecclesiastes 3:3]
Benefactorsoftheearlyparishprovidedstrongleadershipandfaithful counsel to both pastors, Fr. McHugh, SJ, and Fr. Deeney, SJ, in the decade-long struggle to build a new, larger St. Joseph Church.
1920 - 1930
William Garrigan, SJ, organized a St. Joseph Boy Choir in 1918. [JOPA]
“There is an appointed time for everything …a time to build up and a time to tear down.”
St. Joseph Parish rectory (Beezer Brothers Architects), built in 1921, cost $60,000. [JOPA]
First Jesuits to occupy the rectory. (L to R standing:BrotherMurphy,SJ,GusDinard, SJ, William Deeney, SJ; and L to R sitting: James Brogan, SJ, J. Tomkin, SJ, William Garrigan, SJ)
Fr. James Brogan SJ, (1920-21)isrememberedas the pastor who built the rectory.
The Depression of 1929 dashed hopes for a granite-faced Gothic cathedral. Architect A.H. Albertson designed and built an Art Deco poured-in-place concrete church at a cost of $450,000.Recognizedforitsinnovativedesign,thebuildingstands250feetlong,110feetwide,tenstorieshighon19thAvenueandfivestorieshighon18thAvenue.Thetowerstands 225 feet high. Cornerstone of the new church laid – July 27, 1930, with dedication on October 26, 1930 — Feast of Christ the King.
Theoriginalchurchhadminimalornamentation;colorswerereflectedonlyinthemosaicsofthealtar,Stations oftheCross,andredsanctuarylamp.Thegrandeastrosewindowwasnotoriginal—butwasactuallyinstalled in the early years after the dedication.
St.JosephSchool(BeezerBrothersArchitects)occupiedby182studentsonNovember13,1923. Costofthebuildingwasapproximately$120,000plus$7800fornewschoolfurnishings.Itheld elevenclassrooms,agymnasiumandanauditorium.Thethirdfloorwasintendedaslivingquarters for the Holy Names Sisters, but they continued to live at the Academy instead.The tuition was one dollar per month. [Archives, Sisters of the Holy Names, Spokane, WA]
T
he early Jesuits in the Pacific Northwest were firmly committed to serving the growing Catholic populations both with churches for worship and exemplary schools for learning. The decade from 1920 to 1930 saw rapid growth in population and housing in Capitol Hill neighborhoods. TheJesuitsseizedtheopportunitytobeginaremarkableseriesofconstructionprojectsthatwoulddefinetheblockbetweenAlohaandRoyStreetsforthenextone hundred years.
Epicopusnesqallenensis.Dileeto NobisinChristoAlexandroDiomedi S.J.Sacerdoti.SaluteminDomino. Cumanobislicentiannpostulaveris erigendiinecclesiaStiJosephapud SeattleStaionesViaeCrusis,nos,ad augendamfideliumdevotionemerga SacreatiEpicopusnesqallenensis. DileetoNobisinChristoAlexandro DiomediS.J.Sacerdoti.Salutem inDomino.Cumanobislicentiann postulaveriserigendiinecclesiaSti A GROWING PARISH ON “CATHOLIC HILL”
“We who are members of St. Joseph’s realize so keenly our many blessings!” [St. Joseph Church Fund Drive brochure, 1938]
Altar boys (1937) spent a year in apprenticeship before serving Mass. [JOPA]
1931 - 1950
The Boy Choir of St. Joseph School was newly organized in 1934.
Philip Soreghan, SJ, (19411944)purchasedahouseat747 16th Avenue E. as a convent for the Sisters teaching at the school. [JOPA]
First Communion Day – Sisters and students
May crowning of the Blessed Virgin Mary
John McAstocker, SJ, supervised altar boys for many years. [JOPA]
1937 boys’ baseball team
1941 annual parish breakfast handbill – (35 cents!)
8th grade graduating class of 1948
A
glimpse of the sentiment felt within the parish is revealed in the text of a 1938 fundraising brochure:
“WewhoaremembersofSt.Joseph‘srealizesokeenlyourmanyblessings:thefinestpriests‑—whoserveandsave;ourSisterswhoteachinourschools—they’retops!OurSt. JosephSchoolforBoysiswithoutpeer,andweareprivilegedtoconsiderHolyNamesAcademytheparishschoolforourgirls;ourproximitytoForestRidgeConvent,conductedbythe ReligiousoftheSacredHeart,andSeattlePrepandSeattleCollegeconductedbytheFathersoftheSocietyofJesus;theSocietyofSt.VincentdePaulbringingspiritualandcorporal worksofmercyonall…Andfinallythereareyouand…yourfellowparishioners...anotherreasonwhywechoosetolivehere.ThisisthespiritofSt.Joseph’s!”[St.JosephChurch Fund Drive brochure, 1938] The 1930’s and 1940’s were a time of fervent faith and common values. School was growing with 300 boys enrolled by 1934. A tradition was launched with annual programs featuring songs and plays joining the boys of St. Joseph School and the girls of Holy Names Academy. Family life revolved around school, parish bazaars, Sunday Mass, altar servers schedules, and the newly organized Boy Choir. Children grew up; men and boys — even Jesuit priests — went off to serve in World War II. At one time, Capitol Hill was referred to as “Catholic Hill.”
Epicopusnesqallenensis.Dileeto NobisinChristoAlexandroDiomedi S.J.Sacerdoti.SaluteminDomino. Cumanobislicentiannpostulaveris erigendiinecclesiaStiJosephapud SeattleStaionesViaeCrusis,nos,ad augendamfideliumdevotionemerga SacreatiEpicopusnesqallenensis. DileetoNobisinChristoAlexandro DiomediS.J.Sacerdoti.Salutem inDomino.Cumanobislicentiann CHANGE and CONTINUITY POST-WAR GROWTH
Children living within an eight-block radius of school were required to walk home for lunch everyday due to overcrowding in lunchroom.
45-50 students in overcrowed classrooms
“The saturation of students using the school facilities has created a serious problem” [Captial Campaign brochure, 1958]
The 1923 school building was now overcrowded and inadequate.[JOPA]
From 1943 until 1960, the Sisters occupied 747 16th E. as a convent.
1950 - 1970
Sisters ate basket lunches brought from Holy Names Academy. [Archives, Sisters of the Holy Names, Spokane,WA]
The new addition to St. Joseph School was completed in 1960.[JOPA]
Emmett J. Rinn, SJ, (1945-1960), the second longest serving pastor
Leo Eckstein, SJ, pastor (1960-1970)establishedthe firstSt.JosephSchoolBoard with lay members from the parish (1966). [JOPA]
The Sisters took up residence in the new convent on 18th E. and Roy in 1960.
Class of 1964 was the first graduating class of both boys and girls.
C
hange and continuity were the hallmarks of post World War II America. While society was shifting, a dynamic tension was felt in the struggle to retain traditionandvalues.Theparishfelttheimpactofthepost-warbabyboomwhenits1923schoolwasnolongeradequateforaburstingenrollment. The problem was compounded in 1953 by re-enrollment of the girls in grades one through four from an also overcrowded Holy Names Academy.
By1957,500studentsweresqueezedintoelevenclassrooms.Tuitionwas$40ayearperfamilyoftwoormorechildren.Predictionsthatstudentenrollmentwouldreach 850 students by 1960 demanded to be addressed. EmmettJ.Rinn,SJ,(1945-1960)respondedbylaunchinga$400,000capitalcampaignin1958tofundanadditiontotheschoolandbuildanewmodernconventfor the Sisters. Duringthe1950’s,thenumberofchildrenperblockwaslegionandlegend.Reportedly,therewere2,000childrenundertheageofseventeenintheparish.Continuityin faith and family values anchored the everyday lives of St. Joseph parishioners and school children and bound them to the Capitol Hill neighborhood.
Epicopusnesqallenensis.Dileeto NobisinChristoAlexandroDiomedi S.J.Sacerdoti.SaluteminDomino. Cumanobislicentiannpostulaveris erigendiinecclesiaStiJosephapud SeattleStaionesViaeCrusis,nos,ad augendamfideliumdevotionemerga SacreatiEpicopusnesqallenensis. DileetoNobisinChristoAlexandro DiomediS.J.Sacerdoti.Salutem inDomino.Cumanobislicentiann postulaveriserigendiinecclesiaSti REVITALIZING FAITH that does JUSTICE and RE-INVIGORATING EDUCATION
J. Patrick Hurley, SJ, Pastor 1974-1982 [JOPA]
William Hayes, SJ, Pastor, 1982-1984 [JOPA]
“The school continues to exist because of and through the countless individuals who so generaously give of themselves in so many ways.” [George Hofbauer, Principal, 1977-2012 ]
Peter Byrne, SJ, Pastor 1984-1990 [JOPA]
Peter Ely, SJ, Pastor, 1990-1992 [JOPA]
Science class, St. Joseph School, 1984-85
School children engaged in technology, 2001
School children engaged in technology, 2001
1971 - 1996
Sr. Jocie-Rhea Chism, SNJM, and George Hofbauer,1977,co-principalsSt.JosephSchool. In 2007, Sr. Jocie is the last Sister of the Holy Names order teaching at the school.
Rick Boyle re-establishes a St. Joseph School chorus, 1985
Children on the playground, 1988
Evening of Entertainment, 1997
S
t. Joseph Parish was not spared the social turmoil of the late 1960’s and early 1970’s. Capitol Hill neighborhoods suffered declining populations as families fled the city for the suburbs. Large family homes were
emptied as children moved away and parents moved on.
The Second Vatican Council ushered in worldwide changes for the Catholic Church. At St. Joseph’s, a new altar platform arrived, and Latin disappeared from Mass along with devotional statues. Vatican II also called for “a renewal” of religious orders. The Jesuits revitalized their identity and mission as the service of faith to promote justice. J. Patrick Hurley, SJ, (pastor, 1974-1982) led a Jesuit ministry team, including Leo Eckstein, SJ, L. Patrick Carroll, SJ, and Jack Morris, SJ, to serve a parish in transition and initiate a new call to social justice by sponsoring nearly 60 refugees from Southeast Asia and South America. Weekend worshipers shrank from 3200 in an earlier decade to 1100. Why did parishioners stay? According to Fr. Hurley, “The real glue up here [Capitol Hill] was pretty much the parish and the school. This was enough to override reasons for going somewhere else.” From that time on, the community, fragile but determined, willed itself forward. In 1972, with fewer nuns, James Eisenhardt was hired as the first lay school principal. With a dwindling enrollment of 476 students (1975), some feared the parish school would close. Sr. Jocie-Rhea Chism, SNJM, and George Hofbauer re-invigorated the curriculum with technology, chorus and drama. By 1980, enrollment was growing, and nearly fifty percent of the student body was non-Catholic.
Epicopusnesqallenensis.Dileeto NobisinChristoAlexandroDiomedi S.J.Sacerdoti.SaluteminDomino. Cumanobislicentiannpostulaveris erigendiinecclesiaStiJosephapud SeattleStaionesViaeCrusis,nos,ad augendamfideliumdevotionemerga SacreatiEpicopusnesqallenensis. DileetoNobisinChristoAlexandro DiomediS.J.Sacerdoti.Salutem inDomino.Cumanobislicentiann postulaveriserigendiinecclesiaSti BUILDING AGAIN POISED for a NEW MILLENIUM
“… you are members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone.” [Ephesians 2:19-21]
View east to Holy Names Academy dome through the church breezeway
1997 - 2004
LeeKapfer,SJ,servingSt.Joseph Parish from 1992 to 2008
Craig Boly, SJ, pastor from 1992-2004, with Archbishop Alexander Brunett at the dedication of the new buildings.
Breaking ground for the new Wyckoff Gymnasium
The new Parish Center under construction, 1999.
George Hofbauer, principal (1977-2012), in front of the new Wyckoff Gymnasium with St. Jospeh students.
Three bells are installed for the first time in the 225 foot church steeple, 2003.
The new Wyckoff Gymnasium, 1999, marked the culmination of a long-held dream.
In 1997, under the vision and leadership of Craig Boly, SJ, and George Hofbauer, the community of St. Joseph pledged its commitment to the next generations by launching a CapitalCampaign to build, refresh, and revitalize the physical campus. Theprojectincludedanewgymnasium,aremodeledParishCenter,seismicupgrades,landscapingandpedestrianwalkways.Fr.Boly,SJ,wrote,“whenthecornerstone waslaid…inthecurrentbuildingofSt.JosephChurch,great–grandparents,grandparents,auntsanduncleswereinstrumentalinmakingsureourfaithcommunityhada home.Nowasstewardsofthisspacewherefaithisformedandrichfamilytraditionsaremade,itisourturntoensurethatfuturegenerationshaveawelcomingspace…”. Inasubsequentcentennialrestorationin2004,thestainedglasswindowsinthechurchwerereframedandrestored,analtardomeskylightwascreated,andthreebells were installed in the church steeple. Atthebeginningofanewmillennium,theSt.JosephcommunityoffaithreflectstheimageofSt.Paul:wethepeoplearelikeanedificebuiltonthefoundationofthe apostleswithChristhimselfasthecornerstone.WithGod’screativespiritasthearchitectofournextcenturyoffaith,St.JosephParishispoisedtohonorthreevoices: community, education and social justice.
Epicopusnesqallenensis.Dileeto NobisinChristoAlexandroDiomedi S.J.Sacerdoti.SaluteminDomino. Cumanobislicentiannpostulaveris erigendiinecclesiaStiJosephapud SeattleStaionesViaeCrusis,nos,ad augendamfideliumdevotionemerga SacreatiEpicopusnesqallenensis. DileetoNobisinChristoAlexandro DiomediS.J.Sacerdoti.Salutem inDomino.Cumanobislicentiann postulaveriserigendiinecclesiaSti IN SERVICE to ONE ANOTHER
“Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘ Whom shall I send and who will go for us? ’ And I said, Here am I! Send me.” [Isaiah 6:8]
The Voice, St. Joseph youth ministry group
Christopher Weekly, SJ, pastor, 2004-2009
2005 - 2009
Hosting Tent City
Serving dinner at St. Martin De Porres Shelter
Student project for Jubilee House
I
Delegation of St. Joseph parishoners to Sister Parish St. Bartolome
Students delivering food to Northwest Harvest
Deacon Steve Wodzanowski, serving St. Joseph Parish since 1982
George Hofbauer, classroom in Africa
gnatian spirituality — at the core of Jesuit heritage and St. Joseph Parish — is a dynamic,livingtradition.TheparishionersofSt.Josephactivelycommittolivingthistraditionthroughdiscernment,prayerandservice—
AdMajoremDeiGloriam—forthegreatergloryofGod.Faithformationandspiritualityforfamiliesandyouth,communitylife,andliturgynameonlythebroadestoutline ofparish-centeredservice.St.JosephsocialjusticemissionreachesoursisterparishSt.BartolomeinArcatao,ElSlavador,wheredelegationsofparishionerstransform livesinfaithandservice.St.Joseph’sboundlessdevotiontolocalbasedministries,includingSt.MartindePorresShelter,St.VincentdePaul,WinterShelter,BabyCorner, Jubilee Women’s Center, L’Arche, Seniors, and host to Tent City, touch the lives of the homeless, the hungry and the helpless.
St. Joseph School, the largest apostolic work of the parish, is proud of its long tradition teaching and inspiring students for lives of service. In 1970,Sr. Mary Michael Archangel, S.N.J.M., school principal, wrote“Young people today all realize that the world has many problems, war, starvation, injustice …What can we do? How canwemakeanimpacttomakeabetterworld?Wecanonlybeginwhereweare,anddowhatispartofourordinarylife.”Everyyearstudentsservelocalandnational communitiesthroughserviceprojectsincluding,butnotlimitedto,NorthwestHarvest,disasterassistance,andJubileeHouse.GeorgeHofbauer,formerschoolprincipal, has led International Service Journeys to Jordan, Israel, China, Japan, Tanzania, Kenya and Arcatao, El Salvador.