St. Joseph Catholic Church (San Antonio, Texas)

St. Joseph Catholic Church
Aerial view of St. Joseph Catholic Church, surrounded by the Shops at Rivercenter
Basic information
Location 623 East Commerce Street
Affiliation Roman Catholic
Territory United States
State Texas
Region San Antonio
Status Active
Website stjsa.org
Architectural description
Architectural type Church
Architectural style Gothic Revival
Groundbreaking 1868 (1868)
Completed 1871 (1871)
Spire(s) one

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.[1] The Gothic Revival[2] house of worship was the fourth Catholic parish in the city.[3]

The church is an example of what the Chinese describe as a nail house; when the church refused to sell to a property developer a large shopping mall was constructed around it.[4]

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, Germany, 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".[2] 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[3] and the San Antonio Liederkranz sings once a month.[9]

See also

Bibliography

Notes
  1. ↑ thecatholicdirectory.com 2013
  2. 1 2 visitsanantonio.com 2013
  3. 1 2 Levy 2010
  4. ↑ Opelka, Mike (Dec 1, 2012). "China's 'House In The Middle Of The Highway' Has Been Demolished". TheBlaze. Archived from the original on January 29, 2013. Retrieved 29 June 2014.
  5. ↑ Untiedt 2008, p. 16
  6. 1 2 Texas Monthly 1980, p. 117
  7. ↑ Williams 2000, p. 28
  8. ↑ Lair & Nawrocki 2008, p. 72
  9. 1 2 The San Antonio Liederkranz Inc 2013
  10. ↑ St. Joseph Catholic Church 2013
  11. ↑ tripadvisor.com 2013
  12. 1 2 Gerem 2001, p. 247
References
  • Gerem, Yves (2001). A Marmac Guide to San Antonio (2001 ed.). Pelican Publishing. ISBN 9781455608546. - Total pages: 552
  • Google Translate (2013). "Siehe die Wohnung Gottes bei den Menschen (German: See the house of worship for the people)". Google Translate. Retrieved March 22, 2013.
  • Lair, Gerald; Nawrocki, Susan (2008). Our San Antonio. Photographs by Mark Langford (2008 ed.). Quarto Group. ISBN 9781610604802. - Total pages: 112
  • Levy, Abe (December 24, 2010). "St. Joseph's church evokes its German past". mysanantonio.com. Retrieved March 22, 2013.
  • St. Joseph Catholic Church (2013). "SAINT JOSEPH PARISH – About Us". St. Joseph Catholic Church. Retrieved March 22, 2013.
  • The San Antonio Liederkranz Inc (2013). "The San Antonio Liederkranz". The San Antonio Liederkranz Inc. Retrieved March 22, 2013.
  • thecatholicdirectory.com (2013). "St. Joseph Parish (Downtown) at 623 East Commerce St, San Antonio, Texas 78205 (Bexar County) United States". thecatholicdirectory.com. Retrieved March 22, 2013.
  • tripadvisor.com (2013). "Walking Tour of Some Downtown Attractions in San Antonio". TripAdvisor. Retrieved March 22, 2013.
  • visitsanantonio.com (2013). "The San Antonio You Don't Know (But Should)". visitsanantonio.com. Retrieved March 22, 2013.
  • Texas Monthly (1980). Shrines and Familiar places (Jun 1980 ed.). Texas Monthly.
  • Untiedt, Kenneth L. (2008). Death Lore: Texas Rituals, Superstitions, and Legends of the Hereafter (2008 ed.). University of North Texas Press. ISBN 9781574412567. - Total pages: 275
  • Williams, Docia Schultz Williams (2000). History and Mystery of the Menger Hotel (2000 ed.). Taylor Trade Publications. ISBN 9781556227929. - Total pages: 250

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Coordinates: 29°25′25″N 98°29′11″W / 29.4236°N 98.4864°W / 29.4236; -98.4864

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