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St._Joseph_Catholic_Church_(San_Antonio,_Texas) Latitude and Longitude:
29°25′25″N 98°29′11″W / 29.4236°N 98.4864°W / 29.4236; -98.4864
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St. Joseph Catholic Church
Aerial view of St. Joseph Catholic Church, surrounded by the Shops at Rivercenter
St. Joseph Catholic Church is located in Texas
St. Joseph Catholic Church
St. Joseph Catholic Church
St. Joseph Catholic Church is located in the United States
St. Joseph Catholic Church
St. Joseph Catholic Church
29°25′25″N 98°29′11″W / 29.4236°N 98.4864°W / 29.4236; -98.4864
Location623 E. Commerce St.,
San Antonio, Texas
CountryUnited States
Denomination Roman Catholic
Website St. Joseph Catholic Church
History
Status Parish church
Dedication Saint Joseph
Architecture
Functional statusActive
Architect(s)G. Friesleben, Theodore Giraud
Style Gothic Revival
Groundbreaking1868 (1868)
Completed1876 (1876)
Specifications
Number of spiresone
Administration
Archdiocese San Antonio
Clergy
Priest(s)Mark DelRosario, SSS; Anthony Schueller, SSS †; Joseph Thai Tran, SSS
Deacon(s)Vincent Scheel
St. Joseph's Church and Rectory
Part of Alamo Plaza Historic District ( ID77001425 [1])
RTHL  No. 5049
Significant dates
Designated CPJuly 13, 1977
Designated RTHL1962

The St. Joseph Catholic Church is a Roman Catholic parish church in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Antonio, located at 623 East Commerce Street in downtown San Antonio, Texas, United States. [2] The Gothic Revival [3] house of worship was the fourth Catholic parish in the city. [4]

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.[ citation needed]

Parish history

Interior of St. Joseph Catholic Church
Cornerstone of St. Joseph Catholic Church, inscribed with the words Siehe die Wohnung Gottes bei den Menschen (German: Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people) Revelation 21:3

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. [5] [6] The cornerstone of the church was laid in 1868, and it was finally completed in 1871. [7] It served a large and growing community of German immigrants. [8] In the 1870s, Friar Henry Pfefferkorn, founder of the Liederkranz (male singing choir), painted the Annunciation and Assumption murals on the side altars. [6] [9] A steeple was added in 1898. [10] Stained glass windows, imported from the Emil Frei Art Glass Factory in Munich were installed in 1902. [11]

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". [3] A restoration was commenced in 1981. [12] Today, the parish serves as home to a multicultural community and as a popular attraction for tourists. [12] Spanish-language masses are held with mariachi music [4] and the San Antonio Liederkranz sings once a month. [9]

See also

Bibliography

Notes
  1. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. November 2, 2013.
  2. ^ thecatholicdirectory.com 2013
  3. ^ a b visitsanantonio.com 2013
  4. ^ a b Levy 2010
  5. ^ Untiedt 2008, p. 16
  6. ^ a b Texas Monthly 1980, p. 117
  7. ^ Williams 2000, p. 28
  8. ^ Lair & Nawrocki 2008, p. 72
  9. ^ a b The San Antonio Liederkranz Inc 2013
  10. ^ St. Joseph Catholic Church 2013
  11. ^ tripadvisor.com 2013
  12. ^ a b Gerem 2001, p. 247
References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to St. Joseph Catholic Church.
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