The history of the Catholic Church in the St. Joseph area begins over 300 years ago. It appears that a Catholic mission had been established in this area by Jesuits even prior to the explorer LaSalle’s arrival in 1679. Following the completion of LaSalle’s fort at the mouth of the St. Joseph River, a mission was maintained for the spiritual benefit of the French settlers as well as Pottawatomie converts.

The history of the Catholic presence in the area is a bit unclear. It is known, however, that priests of the Congregation of the Holy Cross would occasionally celebrate Mass in the private homes of area Catholics or in a one-room schoolhouse located on Ship Street.

In 1850, a wooden church was constructed for the Catholic community and was dedicated to serving this community until they turned it over to diocesan priests in 1857. Fr. Joseph Van Waterschoot became the first resident pastor in 1867. It was under his direction that the local Church built the present church building in 1869. This new structure was eventually embellished by the addition of the spire in 1891. St. Joseph Church 1901

A Catholic school was founded in St. Joseph in the 1890s. From 1910 a group of Dominican Sisters of Adrian dedicated their lives to the education of the community’s young Catholics. The present school building was opened in 1948 and was added to significantly in the 1950s and 1960s. The present elementary school, located on Washington St., was opened in 1991.

• In 1869, when the present church building was erected, it was the largest building in the village.
• In 1876, the bell in the steeple was cast by the Vanduzen and Tift Buckeye Bell Foundry in Cincinnati, Ohio, and weighs 1,500 pounds.
• The original wooden church building was used to house the first school in the area, which started in 1880.
• Resurrection Cemetery, our parish cemetery, was established by Father Joseph Theisen in 1882, at its Lakeshore Drive location.
• Our Stained Glass windows were installed in 1904.
• A new school was built in 1909 and provided the City of St. Joseph with its first large auditorium.
• In 1929, the present rectory and the convent were erected.
• In 1930, the high school started and the Class of 1933 was the first graduates of St. Joseph Catholic High School.
• In 1969, St. Joseph Catholic School merged with St. John Catholic School in Benton Harbor, forming the Lake Michigan Catholic School system.  Father Cletus Rose was Pastor at the time.
• The Rose Center, named after Fr. Cletus Rose, the pastor from 1966 to 1984, and was donated to the Parish by the Whirlpool Company in 1978.