About Us
Founding Years - October 1912 - April 1915
Bishop Legal, of St. Albert Diocese, invited the Benedictine Fathers of Ampleforth Abbey, England, to start a parish on Clagary's north hill and found a college for Catholic boys. The parish was named St. Benedict and mass was said in a rented Ruthenian church located on 23 Ave NE. In 1914, the Benedictine Fathers returned to England as no agreement for the school had been reached. Ownership reverted to the Diocese along with the building fund of $300.00 raised for the proposed Chuch and school.
Calgary first Bishop renamed the parish after St. Joseph in March 1914 and seven twenty-five foot lots of prairie land were purchased. The cornerstone was laid by September 1914 for a Gothic style brick church that included a rectory and school classrooms in the basement. Bishop McNally blessed St. Joseph Church on Easter Sunday, April 11, 1915.
Lean Years - 1915 - 1946
For over thirty years this new church sat isolated on the sparsely settled north hill remote through distance and lack of public transportation. St Joseph Church, burdened with a huge debt in a stagnant economy and with low attendance, struggled to keep going. Parish fundraising and financial assistance from the Diocese were combined with the Church and school revenues to survive these lean years.
Growth Years - 1946 - present
The post war building boom began in 1946. St Joseph Church was soon surrounded by new homes. The congregation grew bringing increased revenue, program development, and a demand for adequate school space.
The expansion: 1948 St. Joseph School; 1949 debt paid; 1950 St Paul's School; 1955 new rectory constructed with offices and sacristy attached to the Church; 1956 St. Joseph Junior High School; 1959 St. Paul's Chapel; 1960 Parish Centre (20 Ave & 7 St. NW); 1968 the front entrance of St. Joseph Church is changed and an elevator is installed. (St Paul's chapel and the Parish Centre were subsequently sold).
Today, St. Joseph Church continues to flourish; there are now nineteen churches serving the needs of Catholics living in North Calgary.
Pastors Serving Our Parish Over the Years
1912 - 1914: Benedictine Fathers
1914 - 1915: Rev. Arthur Heatherington
1915 - 1916: Rev. Fergus O'Brien
1916 - 1916: Rev. Michael Fitzpatrick
1916 - 1945: Rev. Fergus O'Brien
1945 - 1946: Rev. Joseph LeFort
1946 - 1967: Rev. Neville Anderson
1967 - 1968: Rev. Rev. Paul O'Byrne
1968 - 1974: Rev. Patrick Cramer
1974 - 1975: Rev. Louis Malo
1975 - 1982: Rev. James Smith
1982 - 1989: Rev. Alex MacLennan
1989 - 1989: Rev. Don Vonbrock
1989 - 1990: Rev. Andrew Pyon
1990 - 1990: Rev. John McNamee
1990 - 1995: Rev. Gerald Gillis
1995 - 2000: Rev. Ireneusz Bem, S.D.S
2000 - 2001: Rev. Stanislaw Lasko, S.D.S
2001 - present: Rev. Krystian Golisz, S.D.S