Timeline of St. Joseph's Parish History

1883 - The current Historic Church was built.

1915 - School house built at the present corner of Old St. Augustine & Loretto Roads.  Since St. Joseph's Academy became a state-funded school requiring segregation of white and black students, this school house became a place where the Sisters of St. Joseph's could continue to educate African-American students.
 

1955 - Brick school building erected on the northside of Loretto Road.  This building was later demolished in 2008.
 

1973 - Metal school building added to meet growth.  Though this building was intended to be temporary, it served St. Joseph School until 2008.
 

1974 - Old school building refurbished and moved to St. Joseph's School.  This refurbished building served as classroom space and later as the Library and Art Room until it was demolished in 1992.

1976 - Parish Center / Gymnasium constructed

1980 - New parish church constructed to meet growth.  This building served as the "Main Church" from 1980 until 1999.  The building was demolished in 2002 to be replaced by the Cody Enrichment Center.

1985 - Rectory and Administration Building completed
 

1988 - Historic Church re-opened due to growth.  St. Joseph's Weekend Mass Schedule grows to 5:30, 8:00, 10:00 and 12:00 in the Main Church and 9:00 and 10:15 in the Historic Church to meet the demands of a rapidly growing parish population.

1988 - New school building and St. Joseph's Chapel constructed.  Beginning two years prior, St. Joseph's School added an additional class for the Kindergarten Class of 1986-1987.  As that class grew, an additional class was added each year for each grade level as the class advanced.  By graduation in 1995, St. Joseph's School had grown to 2 classes per grade, K - 8.

1989 - Expansion to St. Joseph's Parish Center to include a new cafeteria, gallery and meeting rooms.

1991 - As an outreach to the needy in Mandarin, St. Joseph's opened the Mandarin Food Bank.  Below is the original building as constructed in 1991.
 

1992 - Two-story classroom building opened.  The new building included six classrooms for Grades 6-8, a Media Center, art and music rooms, nursery and science lab.
 

1996 - An expansion project doubles the size of the Mandarin Food Bank to meet the growing needs of the Mandarin area.

1997 - construction began on a new Main Church on the southeastern corner of Old St. Augustine and Greenland Roads.

1999 - Construction on the Main Church concluded; the Main Church was dedicated by Bishop John J. Snyder on Sunday, April 11, 1999.  (see the church tours section to visit the online tour book)

2001 - The Sisters of St. Joseph's closed the convent adjacent to the Historic Church and sold the property to St. Joseph's Parish.  The former convent became a temporary meeting space until it was replaced by the new Divine Mercy House.

2002 - Demolition of the old Main Church (known as the "Middle Church" from 1999 to 2002).  See the Church Tours section for a photo album of the demolition.

2004 - The new Cody Enrichment Center opened.  This building serves as the centerpiece of ministries and activities at St. Joseph's Parish.  Included is the Frank Tally Auditorium, several large and small meetings spaces, conference rooms, offices and the focal point, a Prayer Center.

2007 - The New Divine Mercy House opened on Loretto Road.  The Divine Mercy House, a ministry of St. Joseph's Parish for unwed mothers who choose life, began in 1996 with the hope of reaching out to young women in need of assistance from pregnancy, birth and early childhood.  The first Divine Mercy House was opened in 1999 on private property in St. Johns County.  That temporary home closed in 2002; however, there was still a need for this ministry to continue.  Construction on a permanent home on the parish property began in 2006 and concluded in June 2007.
 

2008 - The final expansion of the Mandarin Food Bank opened.  A much larger facility was needed to meet the growing needs of the Mandarin community.
 

2009 - A new classroom and administration complex opened at St. Joseph's School.  This new building replaced the original school building (1955) and the metal school building (1973).  It was determined that due to the condition of these buildings and accreditation requirements for school facilities that these two buildings needed to be replaced.
 

2010s - Additional improvements and enhancements to St. Joseph's Cemetery

2019 - Launch of a 6 Million Dollar Capital Campaign to repair and refurbish the roof of the Main Church, Cody Center, in addition to interior renovations of the Main Church sanctuary planned for 2020.  Additional capital improvements included in this campaign: new Gym floor, improvements at St. Joseph School, Historic Church, parking and maintenance enhancements.