The Bahamas

St. Joseph Church

Nassau, N.P. Bahamas

“A Catholic Community Called by God, to Love, Witness, Evangelize and To Serve.”

Cathedral of the West

St. Joseph Church, fondly called “Cathedral of the West,” started humbly on donated land in a deserted location of New Providence. Hundreds watched the laying of the cornerstone of St. Joseph’s in December 1933. The first Mass was celebrated on January 28, 1934. In 1937, St. Joseph’s School was built on the parish grounds.

During the 40s and 50s, both the parish community and school grew rapidly. In 1959, a rectory was built and an extension project doubled the size of the existing church, which originally was seventy-five feet in length and twenty feet wide. Fr. Preston Moss, the first Bahamian priest assigned to St. Joseph’s, was joyously received by the parish, whose numbers were steadily increasing.

Laity Involvement Takes Hold

With the changes that came after Vatican II, deeper involvement of the laity took hold. During the 60s, the St. Joseph’s Parish Council was established and other church-based organizations were strengthened or established: the credit union, the Catholic Benevolent Association, and the Legion of Mary.

During the 70s, St. Joseph’s parish was entrusted to the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary. Frs. John Sullivan, ss.cc., Michael Kelly,ss.cc., and later Fr. Ben Folger, ss.cc., encouraged even more involvement on the part of parishioners.

In 1977, Fr. Michael Kelly was assigned as the pastor. He and the SS.CC.’s who would follow him as pastor worked untiringly on behalf of the St. Joseph parish community.

The participation of the laity continued to blossom throughout the 1980s:

Eucharistic Ministers were commissioned.
Church Ministries were fostered.
A two year program for lay leadership was instituted.
Eucharist followed by community-get-togethers got started.
Seminars, Workshops, and Missions to enhance participation took place.
RCIA, Care for the Needy, and other outreach programs were revitalized.
Worship space was renovated.
Parish Council created a constitutional booklet based on diocesan guidelines.
Beautification of parish property was undertaken.

“Catholic Community Called by God, to Love, Witness, Evangelize and Serve.”

Nearly one thousand people took part in St. Joseph’s 70th Anniversary in January 2004.

During the liturgy celebrating the anniversary, Fr. Martin Gomes, ss.cc., the current pastor, invited parishioners in his homily to share their hopes as the parish approached its golden anniversary in 2009.

Parishioners voiced their dreams of yet further involvement in their children’s spiritual development and passing on their faith to their children. Many hoped for a pastoral program for children, teenagers, and young adults to ensure that the church would maintain a strong presence in these young lives.

Later in the day, as the 70^th Anniversary celebration drew to a close, the faith community was asked to reflect on St. Joseph’s parish motto. Together the Church remembered the past and the people who had brought them this far. And in prayerful reflection, many pledged to strive to be a Catholic community called by God to love, witness, evangelize and to serve.