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Parish
History
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Beginnings
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The beginning was small but the
commitment and dedication were grand. During the 1920s the Catholic
community that was to become the parish of Starkville consisted of the
Ed Lucke and Sam Phillips families and about 50 students from the
near-by Mississippi Agricultural and Mechanical College. A small lot
was purchased on Maxwell Street in 1929 to build a very modest, frame
chapel. The congregation was organized as a mission of the Church of
the Annunciation of Columbus, MS, and Sunday Mass was celebrated at
7:00 a.m. by Father Vincent Haigle, O.S.B., who drove from Columbus to
Starkville on Saturday evening and slept on a cot in the back of the
chapel. Father Haigle celebrated the first Mass in the new chapel in
November,1929 and it was dedicated by Bishop Gerow on May 4, 1930. The
chapel building still stands on Maxwell Street, recognizable as a
“church” but now used for other purposes.
The history of the Catholic community in Starkville and the “College”,
renamed Mississippi State College in 1923, is marked by the commitment
and dedication at its humble beginnings to a vision of what the Church
needed to be to serve the multiple needs of a small town and university
based congregation. Milton Robelot, a lay apostle, was assigned to the
Mississippi State College (Mississippi State University, “MSU”, since
1958) for well attended weekly devotional services. During the World
War II years, the number of Catholic students increased sharply as many
military-related studies and programs at MSU brought in young men from
the large urban areas throughout the country. Mass was celebrated
Sunday mornings in MSU’s Lee Hall Auditorium by Father Clarence Meyer,
O.S.B. On-campus Mass continued in MSU’s Chapel of Memories until
February 1999.
As the country, Starkville, and MSU adjusted to the peaceful years
following World War II, St. Joseph Church, the Starkville mission of
Columbus’s Church of the Annunciation, was assigned its first resident
priest. Father John T. Martin, a diocesan priest and assistant to the
Columbus pastor, took up residence in Starkville on November 5, 1946.
Since the congregation was fast outgrowing the small Maxwell Street
chapel, one of Father Martin’s priority tasks was location of an
appropriate site for a larger, “parish” church. During his first year
(1947) in Starkville, Father Martin found a suitable lot with a
standing house for sale on University Drive, the site of the previous
and present St. Joseph Churches. The lot and house were purchased May
31, 1947 for $15,000. The house became the rectory and services
continued at the Maxwell Street chapel. |
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St. Joseph
Becomes a Parish Church
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congregation
continued
to
grow
and
organize.
The
Altar
Society
was
formed
in
November,
1946,
and
a
Newman
Club
for
MSU’s
Catholic students
in 1947. Decisions and events during the next five years completed the
transformation of the Starkville/Campus Catholic community and St.
Joseph church from a mission with inadequate facilities on a side
street to a full-fledged parish with a spacious and beautiful new
church in a favored location. The parish of Starkville was established
August 28, 1948, comprising all of Oktibbeha and Webster counties and
part of Choctaw county. Work began on the new church on the University
Drive property with much ceremony on December 11, 1949. The church cost
$60,000 and was dedicated by Bishop Gerow. Father Martin celebrated St.
Joseph’s first midnight Mass on Christmas, 1951, and Bishop Gerow
administered the Sacrament of Confirmation for the first time in April
1952. The ceremony was followed by another event, which while
non-sacramental, was immensely satisfying to Bishop Gerow, Father
Martin, and the congregation—the burning of the parish mortgages on its
properties!
Father Edward L. Cratin assistant pastor of St. Peter’s in Jackson and
an MSU engineering graduate, was installed as the second pastor of St.
Joseph in 1953. In the same year the parish was expanded to include
Clay county as well as Oktibbeha, Webster, and Choctaw counties and the
sanctuary of the new church was enhanced with the installation of
beautiful stained glass windows provided by Mrs. Florence Brink in
memory of her husband and brother. Three Sisters of Mercy conducted the
first religious vacation bible school, jointly with West Point, in the
summer of 1954. A Holy Name Society was organized in 1959. |
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The 1960s
and 1970s: Growth and Maturation
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The
CYO
was
organized
in
1961.
Father Joseph Koury was named third pastor
of St. Joseph in March 1963 and by September of that year, Father John
Scanlon succeeded him as the fourth pastor. The need for a Parish
Center was realized in 1966 with the purchase of the Midway Tea Room, a
very convenient next-door property, for $52,000. The Midway Tea Room
was quickly converted and put to use as a meeting place for CCD
classes, CYO meetings, and various adult groups.
Father Thomas Delaney became St. Joseph’s fifth pastor in 1967, and
Father Charles Van Duren was named chaplain for MSU students. St.
Joseph became, in effect, a two pastor church! Later in the year the
cycle came full turn: St. Joseph which began as a chapel serving a
small mission congregation adopted Noxubee County as a mission and
Sunday Mass began to be celebrated in Macon, MS. The Corpus Christi
Catholic Church in Macon continues as St. Joseph’s mission to the
present day.
Father John Egan was appointed the sixth pastor of St. Joseph in 1968
and was soon involved in a full time schedule of renovations and
construction to meet the needs of the growing congregation. In 1969 the
old rectory was converted to a community day care center, a new rectory
was constructed and dedicated by Bishop Brunini, the church was air
conditioned as a memorial to the parents of Mr. and Mrs. McInvale, and
Father Bernard Farrell joined the parish as associate pastor. The
interior of the church was extensively remodeled in 1971 into a
strikingly austere and contemplative hall for worship. During this
period Msgr. Paul Canonici took up residence to undertake graduate
studies at MSU. He earned a doctorate and served as a much loved
assistant in many of the parish’s sacramental, educational and social
activities. Father Meyrl Schmit was named St. Joseph’s seventh pastor
in September, 1973, and in January, 1974, Father Jack Smith was
appointed associate pastor. A Moller pipe organ was purchased in August
1975. In connection with our country’s Bicentennial Celebration in 1976
a copy of the 1976-77 St. Joseph Directory was placed in a time capsule
at the county courthouse to be opened in 2076.
Father Charles Bucciantini was assigned in September 1978 as associate
pastor of St. Joseph parish which then comprised Oktibbeha County
(Starkville and MSU campus) and the Macon mission in Noxubee county. ON
December 10, 1978, Father John T. Martin, the founding pastor of St.
Joseph, died in retirement.
The present Parish Center was constructed on the site of the old center
west of the Rectory in 1981 following successful funding drives during
the period of 1978-80 and the award of a substantial grant from the
Catholic Church Extension Society. The cost was $189,679. The new
center was dedicated by Bishop Brunini in December 1981 following a
Mass celebrated by Father Meyrl Schmit, Father Charles Bucciantini and
Father Tony Smyth.
Father Henry Shelton was assigned as St. Joseph’s eighth pastor in
January 1983. During his tenure the parish continued to grow with
increases in the population of Starkville, the enrollment in MSU, and
the diversity of the townsfolk, faculty and students. By 1987 the
parish which began as a small Catholic community consisting of the Ed
Lucke and Sam Phillips families and about 50 college students had grown
to 274 families (801 men, women and children) and 1000 MSU students.
Masses were nearly always crowded and overflowed during the Easter and
Christmas seasons. CCD, CYO other youth and adult activities filled the
Parish Center and spilled-over into the Rectory. Discussions on
expansion of the Church were initiated and various plans began to be
considered. Father Bucciantini left St. Joseph in 1986 for assignment
in Leland MS.
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The
1990s: Plans, Sadness, Renewal and Fulfillment
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The
path
that
led
to
the
fulfillment realized in the last years of the 90’s was set in 1989 with
the appointment of Father Mike O’Brien as St. Joseph’s ninth pastor.
Father Gerry Hurley joined St. Joseph in January 1990 as associate
pastor and left in 1993 to take up duties as the pastor of Annunciation
Catholic Church in nearby Columbus, MS. A long range planning committee
was established in 1993, and after much study and discussion
culminating in an open parish meeting, the decision to build a new
church was made in 1994. Initial plans were to build the new church
behind (north of) the rectory and existing church. These plans were
dropped with recognition that the new church would be essentially
hidden by the existing structures. Decision was taken to demolish the
Rectory and position the new church between the old church, which would
be converted into a parish hall, and the Parish Center. Two financial
campaigns, 1993-96 and 1996-99, obtained pledges of more than $1.1
million demonstrating a strong desire and commitment to provide the
parish with an adequate physical plant for its sacramental,
educational, and social activities. A house conveniently located north
of St. Joseph, which was purchased in 1987, was renovated in 1996 to
serve as the Rectory.
Plans for the new church were developed by architect Skip Wyatt and
intern architect David Burt. David had just graduated from MSU and had
been an active member of the CSA. Sneed Construction was awarded the
construction contract. Work on the new church began in the spring of
1997 with the leveling of the Rectory on Holy Thursday, March 27th.
Very early (12:30 A.M.) on March 28th, Good Friday morning, disaster
struck the 46 year old St. Joseph Church. The church burned beyond
salvaging. Everything was lost. The entire parish and community were
shocked and saddened. Subsequent investigations discovered that the
fire was caused by a defective electrical cord found on the
refrigerator in the Sanctuary. Following the fire, St. Joseph parish
was invited to take up temporary quarters in the old movie theater in
downtown Starkville and Masses were celebrated there for the next year
and a half.
The plans for the new church were then revised and expanded to take
into account the space available on the site of the old church. The old
church was completely demolished and construction begun of the new
church. The new St. Joseph Catholic Church was completed in the fall of
1998 and dedicated by Bishop William R. Houck on November 8, 1998. The
new church building is in cruciform—the ancient and most sacred of
Christian symbols—with ample space for gathering, worship, celebration
of sacraments, and reservation of the Blessed Sacrament. The total cost
of the church was approximately $1.6 million. Since the old church
intended to serve as a Parish Hall was completely lost, construction of
a new Parish Hall financed with approximately $0.5 million payment from
the insurance on the old church was begun in September, 1998 and
completed in the summer of 1999. |
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January 2001
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There have been and
continue to be other events and milestones in the parish that
contributed to the fulfillment realized in the last years of the 90’s
and prepared the church and congregation for this new millennium. The
congregation has continued to grow in number and involvement. In
January of 2001 Fr. Mike O’Brien was reassigned to Assumption Church in
Natchez, MS. We were excited to welcome Father Jeffrey Waldrep, a
native of West Point, MS as our tenth pastor in January of 2001. Fr.
Waldrep, along with Fran Lavelle Youth/Campus Minister and Gerry Orgler
Office Manager/Coordinator of Religious Education are working hard to
lead St. Joseph Parish into the new millennium. Their leadership, along
with many other parishioners are helping St. Joseph Parish and our
Catholic MSU students to continue to grow. We now have a congregation
of over 400 families continually witnessing the faith in our many
ministry opportunities. Examples include 32 CCD teachers committed
weekly to over 160 students. There are approximately 140 lay people
that rotate on a weekly basis to provide ministry assistance to both
our Church and extended community. We have approximately 20 people
entering the Church through RCIA yearly. Over 500 students, 48% of our
Catholic MSU students, are active at St. Joseph. The High School and
Jr. High School programs are expanding. All exciting ways, through the
intercession of St. Joseph, that we are able to meet the challenges
both spiritually and socially for this new millennium.
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