The Church of St. Joseph of the Parish of St. Joseph-St. Thomas, is a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

in the

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York The Archdiocese of New York ( la, Archidiœcesis Neo-Eboracensis) is an ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church ( particularly the Roman Catholic or Latin Church) located in the State of New York. It encompasses the borough ...

, and the oldest extant Roman Catholic church on Staten Island. The nearby cemetery is the second-oldest Roman Catholic cemetery on the island.Forgotten NY - Cemeteries - Burial Grounds of Richmond
/ref> The church is located on Poplar Avenue in

Rossville, Staten Island Rossville is a neighborhood of Staten Island, New York, on the island's South Shore. It is located to the north of Woodrow, to the west of Arden Heights, and to the south and east of the Arthur Kill. Rossville is located within Staten Island C ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, New York.

Parish history

St. Joseph's was established in 1848 as a mission of St. Peter's Church by that church's pastor, the Rev. Mark Murphy. Fr. Murphy celebrated the first Mass on July 2, 1848 for 58 Catholics in a house on Rossville Avenue. In 1851 a small chapel dedicated to St. Joseph was completed on Poplar Avenue. The mission was upgraded to parish status in 1855 and thereby the chapel upgraded to church status with Rev. Francis DeCaro, O.F.M., being appointed as first pastor. With its 1855 establishment, St. Joseph's is the third oldest of Staten Island's 36 parishes after St. Peter's and St. Mary's. During the tenure of Father John Barry, a mission, St. Patrick's, was established at Richmond around 1860. St. Mary of the Assumption in Graniteville, originally established in 1853 as a mission of St. Peter's Church, became a mission church of St. Joseph's. The parish of St. Joseph merged with St. Thomas the Apostle in 1959 to become the Parish of St. Joseph-St. Thomas, with two churches administered out of St. Thomas. St. Joseph's Church was substantially renovated in 1998. Originally founded for an Irish congregation, the parish reflects a number of ethnicities. A Mass in Italian is celebrated on the Feast of St Joseph.

Pastors of St. Joseph's

*Rev. Mark Murphy (1848-1855), pastor of St. Peter's Church, in charge of the mission of St. Joseph *Rev. Francis DeCaro, O.F.M. (1855-1857) *Rev. Bernard McCrossan (1857-1859)Clute, J.J., ''Annals of Staten Island, from Its Discovery to the Present Time'', Vol. 2, Press of C. Vogt, 1877 - Staten Island (New York, N.Y.) p. 300
/ref> *Rev. John Barry (1859 - 1877) *Rev. C. Rigney, (?-1892), transferred to become pastor of the

Church of Our Lady of Mercy (Bronx, New York) The Church of Our Lady of Mercy is a Roman Catholic parish church under the authority of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York, located at 2496 Marion Avenue, Fordham, Bronx, New York City, New York. Parish history The parish was establishe ...

*Rev. Peter J. Harold

St. Joseph's Cemetery

Located at the end of Barry Street, St. Joseph's Cemetery dates from 1848, and is the second-oldest Roman Catholic cemetery on the island.

St. Thomas the Apostle

The Church of St. Thomas the Apostle, in the Pleasant Plains section, opened with Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve 1938. The church was destroyed by arson on Palm Sunday 1983, but a new Church of St. Thomas the Apostle opened on Christmas Eve 1995.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Joseph's Church, Staten Island, New York Religious organizations established in 1848 Religious organizations established in 1855 Roman Catholic churches completed in 1851 Roman Catholic churches in Staten Island Roman Catholic cemeteries in New York (state) Cemeteries in Staten Island 1848 establishments in New York (state) Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York 19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in the United States Rossville, Staten Island