Saint Joseph's Catholic Church

Here follows the inscription written on this roadside historical marker:

Saint Joseph's Church
1915-1990
— Alexandria, Virginia —

Under the guidance of the Most Reverend Denis J. O'Connell, Bishop of Richmond, Saint Joseph's Church was built by Father Joseph J. Kelly, of the Society of Saint Joseph (the Josephites) with the assistance of many benefactors, among them being the Drexel and Morrell Families of Philadelphia, for the Glory of God and the good of the African American people of Alexandria, Virginia.

Erected 1990 by Saint Joseph's Church.


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Here follows an excerpt from the church's website:

Our History and Founding:
The story of St. Joseph Church in Alexandria, Virginia, began long before the ground-breaking ceremony in 1915. Before 1915, Black Catholics attended St. Mary’s Church in Alexandria and were ministered to under the segregated conditions of the era. Father Charles F. Hannigan, SSJ, journeyed when possible from Richmond, Virginia, to minister and taught Catechism to Black Catholics who assembled at St. Mary’s Lyceum.

It became evident that Black Catholics in Northern Virginia needed their own church. In 1913, Mr. Thomas Blair, a sexton at St. Mary’s referred to by many as the “Father of Saint Joseph’s Church,” formed a committee that developed plans and obtained permission from Richmond Bishop Denis J. O’Connell to establish and build a parish church.

Potential members of the new parish were among the poorest of Alexandria’s residents. But community spirit was strong, and they worked long and hard to raise money, holding various fund-raising activities, from bake sales to dances.

In the meantime, Father Hannigan caught the interest of Mother Katharine Drexel, founder and Superior General of the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament, Philadelphia, PA., who devoted her life and money to supporting Black and Indian missions in the South and West. Through a generous contribution from Mother Katharine, the construction of the new church became a reality.

In 1914, the property was purchased at the corner of North Columbus and Wythe Streets as the site for the new church. On June 11, 1915, the Josephite Superior General appointed Father Joseph J. Kelly, SSJ, as the first pastor of St. Joseph’s Parish, thus officially establishing the new parish in Alexandria.

The ground was broken for the new church on October 8, 1915. Six weeks later, Bishop O’Connell laid the cornerstone for the English Gothic-style church building. On May 14, 1916, the bishop dedicated the church under “Saint Joseph.” The dream of a parish for Black Catholics in Northern Virginia had come true.

Father Kelly lived in what is now the work sacristy until the rectory was built in 1921.

Services were held in the main church, while the basement was a parish hall in which a temporary school was opened in October 1916.

The four-room school building was dedicated on October 23, 1931, and the Oblate Sisters of Providence, who staffed the parish school until it closed in 1969, commuted daily, under trying conditions, from Washington, DC, until 1949, when they moved into a house on the north side of the school. The parish will be forever grateful to the many Oblate Sisters of Providence who sacrificed so much as they staffed the school and educated many people of the parish and the City of Alexandria.

This record of achievement is a testament to the dedication of the parishioners and their support to Father Kelly during his 21 years as pastor.

In 1967, St. Joseph’s was re-designated from an ethnic parish for Black Catholics to a parish with territorial boundaries.

Saint Joseph’s traditionally has welcomed people of all races and nationalities, and many are drawn to the friendly atmosphere and the African-American talent for liturgical expression. The parish persists as an open and warm haven. Regardless of the boundaries, Black Catholics, including descendants of the families who helped build the church, continue to worship at St. Joseph’s.

Saint Joseph’s Society of the Sacred Heart, “the Josephites,” is the only religious community of priests and brothers who have served in this parish since its beginning.


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Here follows an excerpt from the "Parish History Profiles" produced by the Catholic Diocese of Arlington and published on their website:

Founding Pastor: Fr. Joseph J. Kelly, SSJ
Parish Founded: 1915
Church Dedication: 1916

What Makes This Parish Unique?

Saint Joseph is an historically black Catholic parish that maintains its black identity and African American liturgical style and is open to all people of any racial group or nationality. Since Saint Joseph's founding, it has been a welcoming and warm community of faith that treasures its Catholic and African American traditions.

School Information:

Saint Joseph School (Closed in 1969)
Founded: October of 1916
Founding Pastor: Fr. Joseph J. Kelly, SSJ

Parish History:

Because of racial discrimination at Saint Mary Catholic Church in Alexandria, black Catholics petitioned the Diocese of Richmond for their own parish. The bishop granted their request, but they had to raise the money to purchase the property and build the church. Bake sales, dinners and dances provided some money, but not enough, from the already impoverished black community, so parishioners solicited funds from the Indian and Negro Mission Collection Fund, which helped with some money, and from the Blessed Sacrament Sisters' founder, Mother Katharine Drexel, and donors from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, who provided the most money. Mother Katharine's signature appears on the deed to the land. Up to the founding of this new parish, Josephite Fr. Charles F. Hannigan traveled when possible from Richmond to Alexandria to minister to and teach catechism to the black Catholics who assembled at Saint Mary's Lyceum building. Mr. Thomas Blair, a sexton at Saint Mary, organized the black Catholics in 1913 to petition for their own parish. No sooner was the church opened than a school was started in the church basement in October 1916, staffed by the Oblate Sisters of Providence of Baltimore, who would commute by bus everyday from Good Shepherd Parish in Washington. The permanent four-classroom school was built in 1931. The first pastor, Father Kelly SSJ, lived in the work-sacristy of the church until the present rectory was built in 1921. Since its founding, Saint Joseph has welcomed all people, regardless of race or nationality, and has maintained its African American style of liturgical expression and a warm friendly embrace of all. The Josephite Priests and Brothers founded the parish and have served it ever since.

Saint Joseph has no parish cemetery, but some members' relatives are buried in the Alexandria's Contrabands and Freedmen's Cemetery.