St. Joseph church celebrates 150 years in Athens with retrospective and vision for the future

St. Joseph Catholic Church is celebrating its 150th anniversary in Athens on Sunday.

The historic event will start at 11 a.m. with a Mass, celebrated by the archbishop of Atlanta, Most Reverend Gregory John Hartmayer, along with the pastor, the Very Reverend Paul Moreau, and parochial vicars, Revs. Avery Daniel and Matthew Howard.

Serving as the first catholic church in Clarke County, St. Joseph Catholic Parish was established in 1873 after local families petitioned the Savannah archbishop following a visit with Bishop William Gross. It is one of the 103 parishes and missions of the Archdiocese of Atlanta, serving northeast Georgia.

In honor of this milestone anniversary, St. Joseph has compiled a retrospective gallery, featuring a series of news articles, photographs, and artifacts that together tell the history of the church. Assembled via St. Joseph's archives and local newspapers, the gallery highlights pivotal moments, including the church’s role in saving St. Mary’s Hospital in 1937 after closing due to the founders’ deaths.

“The retrospective ends with a display of items from our history: The original scrapbooks, the cornerstone and the 1912 nickel that was found inside, and a raffle ticket from 1888 for a buggy that was used as our first fundraiser. We also have one of the pendant lights from Prince Avenue and the antique lock and key that was used when we officially closed the [Prince Avenue] building with a final Mass,” said St. Joseph communications coordinator Jane Sullivan.

The gallery is now open for viewing during church hours and will remain open throughout the event weekend. It can be found on the upstairs level of the church on the circular track.

Showcasing its deep history of the city, St. Joseph has had three different locations during the time in which it has called Athens home. Its first estate was a small wood building known as the former law office of Thomas R. R. Cobb, where priests utilized the now historic T.R.R. Cobb Hose as residence. Building a larger property, the church moved onto the corner of Prince Avenue and Pulaski Street in 1913 as well as commissioned 18 lead-stained glass windows from Germany. As the church grew, further expansion was needed, prompting the move to its current location at 958 Epps Bridge Parkway.

Among the festivities, St. Joseph has also received approval from the Archdiocese to move forward with building a new sanctuary at Epps Bridge that will feature the church's original stained glass windows from the 1900s. In the second phase of construction, the church hopes to add a bell tower.

This article originally appeared on Augusta Chronicle: St. Joseph Catholic Church started in Athens 150 years ago in September