St. Joseph

Officially opened in 1887, St. Joseph Parish is located at 180 Wellington St W.

by Gerry Murphy

Visitors entering St. Joseph’s Church are universally taken with its beautiful simplicity and speak of a feeling of peace and spirituality. These are sentiments shared by generations of faithful parishioners.

This landmark building. important both architecturally and historically, has been the spiritual home for Chatham and area Catholics for more than 125 years — it was dedicated by Bishop Walsh on October 17, 1886: and one year later, on October 23, 1887 Bishop Walsh returned to ofiicially open the new church.

The interior of the church has been redone many times throughout the last century. In 1909 major interior work was done, and in 1914, Fr. James oversaw the painting of the church ceiling. In 1916 the two bell towers were added. Fr. Vincent Walsh redecorated in 1937, Fr. Iim Williams restored the exterior in the mid 1960’s and the interior was renewed by Msgr. John O’Donnell in 1968.

It was during the 1968 renovation that changes were made to accommodate the liturgical renewal of Vatican 11. Mass was now to be celebrated with the priest facing the people and the new marble alter was designed to reflect the return to table-simplicity and the Renaissance character of the church. The large wooden reredos (the huge decorative background to the former alter) was removed because it had come to overshadow the alter and had deteriorated over time. The tabernacle was moved from the main sanctuary and placed in a new Chapel of the Eucharist, marking the two separate aspects to the mystery of the Eucharist — its celebration and its reservation.

After celebrating its centennial in 1987, the church structure was showing signs of deterioration. In 1995, Fr. Stan McGuire initiated restoration to the exterior of the building from the roof line up. This included a new slate roof, restoration of the bell towers and the upper masonry.

By 1999, under Fr. Greg Bonin, exterior restoration continued including new accessible entrances. Inside, the pews were removed to be refinished offsite, and resurfacing of all walls and surface areas was done. The new surfaces were painted in softer tones revealing the detail in the architecture and the colours in the windows. A new state-of-the-art sound system, barrier-free washrooms, and new rooms in the entrance way were installed.

The heating system and wiring were updated and the original pendant light fixtures were restored with crowns added to the top so as to have both up and dowu lighting available. These fixtures Were hung down the centre of the church, and new fixtures were made to match for the side aisles and main entrance.

In an ongoing project, the stained glass windows have been removed and re-leaded two at a time. In the apse (behind the altar) four windows were installed where there had been none for over 30 years. Two of the windows were originally removed from that area in 1968 and were refurbished, along with the relocation of a window honouring St. Joseph and one depicting the apostles at Pentecost, signifying our identity as God’s people.

The large Franciscan Cross is a replica of the original found in a church in Italy, and reminds us of the Franciscan Fathers who served here from 1878 to 1921. It was  commissioned by Bishop Sherlock when he was pastor here as Auxiliary Bishop of London from 1974-1978

We are very proud of the work done and the beauty of this place which is so central to who we are as a Eucharistic Community. None of the restoration and continued care of this beautiful building would have been possible without the financial support of the entire parish and community, as well as the endless number of hours given by the many committee members and volunteers.