St. Joseph's Catholic Church (Pensacola)

Last updated
St. Joseph's Church Buildings
Pensacola St Josephs Church01.jpg
USA Florida location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Usa edcp location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location140 W. Government St., Pensacola, Florida
Coordinates 30°24′33″N87°13′5″W / 30.40917°N 87.21806°W / 30.40917; -87.21806 Coordinates: 30°24′33″N87°13′5″W / 30.40917°N 87.21806°W / 30.40917; -87.21806
Arealess than one acre
ArchitectHernandes, Manuel; Et al.
Architectural styleLate Gothic Revival
NRHP reference No. 79000671 [1]
Added to NRHPJuly 10, 1979

St. Joseph Catholic Church (also known as the St. Joseph's Church Buildings or the St. Joseph's Complex) is a historic Black Catholic parish in Pensacola, Florida. On July 10, 1979, it was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places.

Contents

History

The parish was established in 1891 at the behest of one Mercedes Ruby, following Black Catholic schools opened there in 1877 by the Sisters of Mercy, one for Blacks and the other for Creoles. The first church was a two-story frame building, and the current building was constructed in 1894, dedicated on May 30. [2] [3]

The parish was unique in that it was established for African Americans, but was dominated by a White immigrant membership and controlled administratively by the Black Creoles. An integrated cemetery arrived in 1900. The White members of St Joseph were forced out with the advent of Jim Crow in the 1920s. [2]

In the 1920s, the church's pastor built an orphanage on the property for homeless African-American boys, and brought in the Trinitarians. [2]

In 1938, the pastor closed the orphanage and the schools, but one school eventually reopened under the Sisters of Charity. 1939, a high school was opened on the property, the first Black Catholic high school in the state at the time. [2] [3]

In its heyday, the parish operated the "Maryall Negro Mission" and four chapels. Next to the two schools, the parish also ran Our Lady of Angels Maternity Hospital for Black women, administered by sisters of the Third Order of Saint Francis. [2]

In the 1960s, with the onset of integration, the mission, chapel, hospital, and high school closed, followed by the one remaining school in 1977. [2] [3]

The complex was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.

In 1981, a council of the Knights of Peter Claver was established at the parish. In the 90s, the church celebrated its centennial and their gospel choir traveled to Rome to sing for Pope John Paul II. [2]

The complex was heavily damaged by Hurricane Ivan in 2004, including the church steeple being blown into the roof. Major flooding also occurred. During and immediately after the repairs, Hurricanes Dennis and Hurricane Katrina nearly hit Pensacola head-on. [2]

A medical clinic with the same name as the hospital would eventually be opened, active as of 2016. [3]

See also

Related Research Articles

Pensacola, Florida City in Florida, United States

Pensacola is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle, and the county seat and only incorporated city of Escambia County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 54,312. Pensacola is the principal city of the Pensacola Metropolitan Area, which had an estimated 502,629 residents as of 2019.

St. Patricks Old Cathedral Catholic parish church in Manhattan, New York

The Basilica of Saint Patrick's Old Cathedral, sometimes shortened to St. Patrick's Old Cathedral or simply Old St. Patrick's, is a Catholic parish church, basilica, and the former cathedral of the Archdiocese of New York, located in the Nolita neighborhood of Lower Manhattan, New York City. Built between 1809 and 1815 and designed by Joseph-François Mangin in the Gothic Revival style, it was the seat of the archdiocese until the current St. Patrick's Cathedral in Midtown Manhattan opened in 1879. Liturgies are celebrated in English, Spanish, and Chinese. The church is at 260–264 Mulberry Street between Prince and Houston Streets, with the primary entrance on Mott Street. Old St. Patrick parish merged with Most Precious Blood parish, and the two churches share priests and administrative staff.

Pensacola Naval Air Station Historic District United States historic place

The Pensacola Naval Air Station Historic District encompasses the early historic elements of Naval Air Station Pensacola in Warrington, Florida. Included in the historic district are surviving buildings of the Pensacola Navy Yard, which the air station took over, as well as buildings related to the early years of aviator training by the United States Navy. The district, roughly bounded by West Street, Saufley Avenue, and Pensacola Bay, was designated a U.S. National Historic Landmark District in 1976.

John Huston Ricard

John Huston Ricard, S.S.J. is an American prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee in Florida from 1997 to 2011 and as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Baltimore in Maryland from 1984 to 1997.

Pensacola Hospital United States historic place

The Pensacola Hospital is a historic hospital in Pensacola, Florida, United States. It is located at 1010 North 12th Avenue. On February 16, 1982, it was added to the United States National Register of Historic Places.

The history of Pensacola, Florida, begins long before the Spanish claimed founding of the modern city in 1698. The area around present-day Pensacola was inhabited by Native American peoples thousands of years before the historical era.

Cathedral of the Sacred Heart (Pensacola, Florida) Church in Florida, United States

The Cathedral of the Sacred Heart, is the seat of the Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee. It shares this distinction with the Co-Cathedral of Saint Thomas More in Tallahassee. The cathedral is named in honor of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and is located in Pensacola, Florida.

Saint Josephs Roman Catholic Church (Mobile, Alabama) United States historic place

Saint Joseph's Roman Catholic Church is a historic Roman Catholic church building in Mobile, Alabama, United States. It serves as the parish church for St. Joseph's Parish in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Mobile.

Church of All Saints (Keokuk, Iowa) United States historic place

The Church of All Saints is a parish of the Catholic Church in the Diocese of Davenport. The church is located in Keokuk, Iowa, United States. The church building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as St. Peter Church, the name of the congregation that built it.

St. Josephs Catholic Church (Davenport, Iowa) United States historic place

St. Joseph Catholic Church is a former Catholic parish in the Diocese of Davenport. Its former parish church is located in the west end of Davenport, Iowa, United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. The church and the rectory were listed together on the Davenport Register of Historic Properties in 1999. After serving as the location of a Reformed Baptist congregation and a private elementary school named Marquette Academy, the parish property now houses a fundamentalist Christian ministry named One Eighty.

Holy Family Catholic Church (Fort Madison, Iowa) Church in Iowa, United States

Holy Family Catholic Church is a parish of the Diocese of Davenport. The parish is the result of a merger between Saints Mary and Joseph Parish and Sacred Heart Parish in the city of Fort Madison, Iowa, United States. It maintains both of the former parish church buildings as worship sites. The oldest parish in town, St. Joseph, and St. Mary of the Assumption had merged in the 1990s. St. Mary of the Assumption Church, which became Saints Mary and Joseph, is located at 11th Street and Avenue E. It was individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. Sacred Heart Church is located at 23rd Street and Ave I.

Old St. Ferdinand Shrine United States historic place

Old St. Ferdinand Shrine and Historic Site is located at no. 1 rue St. Francois, Florissant, Missouri, and is owned, preserved, maintained, and protected by the non-profit organization, Friends of Old St. Ferdinand, Inc. The Shrine and Historic Site consists of four historic buildings on their original locations: the 1819 convent, 1821 church, 1840 rectory, and 1888 schoolhouse.

The Cathedral of St. Joseph is a Catholic cathedral in St. Joseph, Missouri, United States. Along with the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Kansas City, Missouri it is the seat of the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph. The Cathedral Church, rectory and convent are all contributing properties to the Cathedral Hill Historic District on the National Register of Historic Places. The school building and the auditorium do not contribute to the historical nature of the district.

Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception (Lake Charles, Louisiana) Church in Louisiana, United States

The Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception is a Catholic cathedral located in Lake Charles, Louisiana, United States. It is the seat of the Diocese of Lake Charles. Immaculate Conception Parish was established in 1869, and it became a cathedral in 1980. The church building, rectory, and a garage are listed together on the National Register of Historic Places.

Cathedral of Mary of the Assumption (Saginaw, Michigan) Church in Michigan, United States

The Cathedral of Mary the Assumption, also known as St. Mary's Cathedral, is a Catholic cathedral and parish church located in Saginaw, Michigan, United States. It is the seat of the Diocese of Saginaw. In 1979 it was included as a contributing property in the Saginaw Central City Historic Residential District on the National Register of Historic Places.

St. Gregorys Church (St. Nazianz, Wisconsin) United States historic place

St. Gregory Parish, also known as St. Gregory Nazianzen, is a Catholic parish of the Diocese of Green Bay. Its historic parish church, dedicated to Saint Gregory of Nazianzus, is located at 214 Church Street in the village of St. Nazianz, Wisconsin.

St. Mary's Church, School and Convent is a historic Roman Catholic church complex off United States Route 212 in Zell, South Dakota.

Basilica of St. Mary Star of the Sea (Key West, Florida) United States historic place

The Basilica of St. Mary Star of the Sea is a Minor Basilica of the Catholic Church located in Key West, Florida, United States. It is one of the oldest Catholic parishes in the state of Florida and the oldest parish in the Archdiocese of Miami. The church is a contributing property in the Key West Historic District on the National Register of Historic Places.

St. Josephs Church Complex (Fort Madison, Iowa) United States historic place

The St. Joseph's Church Complex is a collection of historic buildings located in Fort Madison, Iowa, United States. At one time the complex housed a Catholic parish in the Diocese of Davenport. St. Joseph and St. Mary of the Assumption parishes merged in the 1990s to form Saints Mary and Joseph Parish. In 2007 when that parish merged with Sacred Heart on the west side to form Holy Family Parish, St. Joseph's Church was closed. The former church, chapel, rectory, convent, and school were included as contributing properties in the Park-to-Park Residential Historic District that was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2014.

References

  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "About – Historic St. Joseph Catholic Church" . Retrieved 2021-06-30.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Moon, Troy. "Born in segregation, St. Joseph's now a beacon for all". Pensacola News Journal. Retrieved 2021-06-30.