Church of St. Joseph (Bronxville, New York)

The Church of St. Joseph began as a mission in Bronxville by neighboring Church of the Immaculate Conception of Tuckahoe in 1905. Having no dedicated structure, masses were celebrated in the ballroom of the illustrious Hotel Gramatan by Immaculate Conception pastor John McCormack who traveled by horse each Sunday. The first masses were attended by only seventeen families. In 1906, the mission purchased a former Bronxville schoolhouse on the corner of Park Place and Kraft Avenue, converting it into St. Joseph's Chapel.

The once-small Bronxville Catholic community grew rapidly. In 1922, the mission was elevated to an official parish of the archdiocese by Patrick Cardinal Hayes, Joseph L. McCann its first pastor. The church quickly outgrew its home and began construction on the present-day church building on the corner of Kraft Avenue and Cedar Street, having raised $50,000 over the preceding four years. The new building was designed by Yonkers architect William H. Jones in the English Gothic Revival style, constructed from stones quarried locally in Westchester. In 1927, the church was dedicated by Hayes and was completed in 1928.

The second pastor, Francis X. Scott, oversaw the opening of the school in 1951. Joseph Moore led the parish's transition following the Second Vatican Council. Under Patrick J. Sheridan and James Connolly, the church and rectory were renovated and a pipe organ was installed in the church, as the staff was expanded. A parish center was constructed in 1986, which replaced the limited space of a previously used house on Meadow Avenue.[1]

During their time of residence in Bronxville, the Kennedy family attended St. Joseph's Church. The young Ted Kennedy was an altar boy at St. Joseph's Church and in 1957 was married there to his first wife Joan by Cardinal Francis Spellman.[2][3]

St. Joseph's celebrated its Golden Jubilee in 1972 with Terence Cardinal Cooke and Theodore E. McCarrick (who would later become a Cardinal and Archbishop of Washington) in attendance.[4]

St. Joseph School opened on September 10, 1951, adjacent to the church at 30 Meadow Avenue and was staffed by the Adrian Dominican Sisters, while operated by the parish.[5] Cardinal Spellman dedicated the school on October 7 of that year. Msgr. Patrick Sheridan (a future bishop) oversaw the start of construction in 1985 of the parish center, which included a gymnasium and additional space for teaching and offices, with the dedication by John Cardinal O'Connor occurring on September 27, 1986. St. Joseph School consists of an upper and lower school of grades kindergarten through eight.[6] It was presented with a National Blue Ribbon Award by the U.S. Department of Education in 2010.[7] The school's facilities are used also for the CCD religious education program for students who attend secular schools.[8] St. Joseph School has an active Mothers' Club and Men's Club. Many students who graduate go on to attend local Catholic high schools in Westchester County and Manhattan. As of 2015, 239 students attended the school.[9]

In chronological order, the following priests have served as pastor:[1]

1. Rev. Joseph L. McCann (1922–1942)
2. Rev. Francis X. Scott (1942–1967)[10]
3. Rt. Rev. Msgr. Joseph P. Moore (1968–1980)
4. Rt. Rev. Msgr. Patrick J. Sheridan (1980–1985)[11]
5. Rt. Rev. Msgr. James Connolly (1985–1998)
6. Rt. Rev. Msgr. James F. Doyle (1998–2013)
7. Rev. Peter McGeory (2013–present)