St. Joseph Church at 30 Church Street, Laconia, NH 03246 US - A Concise History of Saint Joseph Church
A Concise History of Saint Joseph Church
Nestled in the picturesque Lakes Region of New Hampshire, St. Joseph Parish has a long and proud history. Catholics began to settle in the Laconia region in the 1850’s, and for lack of a more suitable place of worship, held services in private homes, most notably that of John O’Shea. Land for the first St. Joseph Church was purchased in 1866, and was located on the corner of Lyford and Messer Streets. Construction began in 1867, and was completed two years later. There was no resident priest, however, until the Rev. John Murphy was named the church’s first pastor in 1871. At this time, parishioners came from as far away as Lebanon and Hanover to worship at St. Joseph Church. The spire of the church was struck by lightning on 1 July 1877, and the subsequent fire destroyed the remainder of the eight-year old structure. Despite the tragic loss of the first church, $10,000 was rapidly raised for the construction of another on the same site. Under the guidance of Father J. Lambert Schakers, who was originally from the Netherlands, the new church was completed in May of 1881. As pastor, Fr. Schakers had the foresight to purchase a convent and school run by the Sisters of Mercy, as well as a cemetery now known as “Saint Lambert’s” a six-acre plot on Province Street that is still regularly maintained and used today. The Rev. Charles R. Hennon made another notable purchase in 1904. The highly acclaimed Busiel property was the sight of the present-day St. Joseph’s Rectory, built in 1866. This magnificent three-story edifice is one of the finest buildings in Laconia, and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1994. In 1926, Rev. Thomas Redden came to the realization that the church on Messer Street would not be sufficient for the fast-growing parish. Thanks to an anonymous donation of $9,750, construction of a third-generation St. Joseph Church commenced in 1929. Manchester’s Bishop George A. Guertin dedicated the present-day church on 12 September 1930. The edifice is made of granite and limestone, and is exemplary of Gothic style architecture. St. Joseph Church and its surroundings remained relatively unchanged until 1976, when the Rev. Robert J. Kemmery arrived. Fr. Kemmery actively pursued the further development of all church properties, especially the expansion of St. Joseph Parish-hosted Holy Trinity School, a regional Catholic school comprised of grades K-8 today. The early 1980’s saw the coming of Fr. Michael Griffin, a pleasant and humble man whose contributions included the installation of a much-needed restroom in the church. In addition, Fr. Griffin’s simple and prayerful approach to ministry brought many people to a deeper love and appreciation of the Lord and of the church. After Fr. Griffin’s ten years in the parish, the late Rev. William Quirk served St. Joseph from 1992-96, and continued to guide the parishioners with his thought-provoking homilies and a keen awareness of the rich tradition of the parish. The Rev. Gary Kosmowski, arrived in the summer of 1996 to June 2009 and Fr. Gary Kosmowski became, at the time, the youngest pastor in the state of New Hampshire at the age of 33. His 13 years at St. Joseph had been marked with numerous pragmatic and aesthetic improvements to both the church and rectory, including a new furnace and carpets for the former, and fresh exterior painting and interior improvements to the latter. As part of the clustering process of the 3 Laconia Churches the Bishop assigned Fr. Marc Drouin, current Pastor, and Fr. Matt Mason, Associate Pastor, to serve St. Joseph, Sacred Heart and Our Lady Of The Lakes parishes. (Fr. Matt is one of the two youngest priests, at 27 years old, serving in NH.)
Fr. Marc, supported by Fr. Matt, and the 2 Deacons currently assigned to the Lakes Region will be facilitating the merger of the three Laconia parishes to transition the Loconia Catholic community to meet it's needs for the future.
The vibrant history of St. Joseph Parish, complemented by the kind, responsible and altruistic nature of its staff makes our church a truly beautiful place to make new acquaintances and participate in a dynamic community celebration of the Eucharist.