The St. Joseph Catholic Church 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 let ...
parish church in the
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Antonio
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Antonio is an archdiocese of the Catholic Church in the United States, and sui juris Latin Church in full communion with the pope of Rome. It encompasses in the U.S. state of Texas. The Roman Catholic Archd ...
, located at 623 East Commerce Street in
downtown San Antonio
("Cradle of Freedom")
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, map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = United States
, subdivision_type1= State
, subdivision_name1 = Texas
, subdivision_t ...
,
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...
, United States.
The
Gothic Revival house of worship was the fourth Catholic parish in the city.
The church is an example of a
holdout or nail house; when the archdiocese refused to sell the church to a property developer, a large shopping mall had to be constructed around it.
Parish history
The church occupies the probable second site of the Missión San Antonio de Valero (later known as
the Alamo), before it was moved in 1724 to its present location.
The cornerstone of the church was laid in 1868, and it was finally completed in 1871.
It served a large and growing community of German immigrants.
In the 1870s, Friar Henry Pfefferkorn, founder of the ''Liederkranz'' (male singing choir), painted the Annunciation and Assumption murals on the side altars.
A steeple was added in 1898.
Stained glass windows, imported from the Emil Frei Art Glass Factory in Munich were installed in 1902.
In 1944,
Joske's department store (whose site would eventually become part of the
Shops at Rivercenter complex) offered to buy the church grounds in order to develop it commercially. Parishioners unanimously refused the offer to move from the site and so instead Joske's built around the three sides of the church, earning the church from locals the moniker "St. Joske's".
A restoration was commenced in 1981.
Today, the parish serves as home to a multicultural community and as a popular attraction for tourists.
Spanish-language masses are held with mariachi music
and the San Antonio Liederkranz sings once a month.
See also
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*
Recorded Texas Historic Landmarks in Bexar County
Bibliography
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External links
St. Joseph Catholic Church on Facebook
{{San Antonio
Roman Catholic churches in San Antonio
German-American culture in Texas
Real estate holdout
Churches on the National Register of Historic Places in Texas
National Register of Historic Places in San Antonio
Recorded Texas Historic Landmarks