St Joseph's Church, Edinburgh facts for kids

Quick facts for kids St Joseph's Church
St Joseph's Roman Catholic Church, Sighthill
Location	Broomhouse, Edinburgh
Denomination	Roman Catholic
Website	http://www.stjosephsbroomhouse.org.uk/
History
Founded	Easter Sunday 1950 (built 1953)
Dedication	St Joseph
Administration
Deanery	St Giles' City of Edinburgh
Archdiocese	St Andrews and Edinburgh
Province	Augustinian Province of England and Scotland

St Joseph's Church, also known as St Joseph's Broomhouse, is a Roman Catholic church in Broomhouse, a part of Edinburgh, Scotland. It serves a large area, including Broomhouse, Parkhead, Saughton, Sighthill, and Gorgie.

History of St Joseph's Church

How the Church Started

After the restoration of the Scottish Catholic hierarchy in 1878, Edinburgh had only five Catholic churches. As the city grew, more churches were needed. By the late 1800s, St Cuthbert's Church opened in Slateford to serve the west side of Edinburgh.

However, Edinburgh kept getting bigger. Many Catholics found it too far to walk to Mass, especially before cars and regular buses were common. So, people decided a new church was needed even further west than St Cuthbert's.

Plans for the new church were put on hold during wartime. From 1942 to 1950, Mass was held at Murrayburn Primary School. Priests from St Cuthbert's took turns leading the services there.

Building the Church

At first, the new church was planned for a different spot. But after a lot of discussion, building began at the current location in Broomhouse. The church was named after St Joseph. It officially opened on Easter Sunday in 1950.

The main church building and the nearby priory (where the priests live) were finished in 1953. Father Peter Higgins became the first Parish Priest that same year. The current church building was actually meant to be temporary. It was planned to be the church hall, with a bigger, purpose-built church to follow later. However, these plans never happened. Still, some building work did take place, like adding a wall and extending the priory.

In 1970, a new church called St John Ogilvie's opened in Wester Hailes. This changed the boundaries for St Joseph's Church in 1977. St Joseph's then began to serve the Stenhouse area.

The Augustinian Priests Arrive

In 1995, the Order of Saint Augustine took over running St Joseph's Church. They are a group of priests who follow the teachings of St Augustine. Father Kevin Lowry OSA was the first Augustinian Parish Priest.

Later in 1995, Father John Reid OSA became the Parish Priest. He stayed for 14 years, which is the longest time any Augustinian priest has served at St Joseph's.

In 2000, the church celebrated its 50th birthday! A special stained glass window was added to the back of the church to mark the occasion. This window was a gift from St David's Church, showing the good friendship between the two churches.

A very special event happened in 2001. For only the second time in the church's history, a priest was ordained (officially made a priest) there. Brother Stefan Park OSA chose St Joseph's for his ordination.

In 2005, a new church hall was built. This happened because some of the church's land was used for new houses. This project also led to a complete makeover of the church's outside, including a new front door and porch.

In 2016, the church hosted the University of Notre Dame Folk Choir. They visited for a week during their tour of Scotland and Ireland. Their visit ended with a concert inside St Joseph's Church.

After Father John left in 2009, several different priests served for short times. But in 2017, the Augustinian community at Broomhouse was fully restored. Father Paul Graham OSA is now the Parish Priest. He works with Father Ian Wilson OSA and Father Sean Quinlan OSA.

Church Groupings

In 2017, the churches in the Archdiocese of St Andrews and Edinburgh were put into "clusters." This helps them share resources and work together better. St Joseph's is part of Cluster 7 in the St Giles' Deanery. It works with St Cuthberts, St John Ogilvie's, and Our Lady Mother of the Church in Currie.

There are plans for St Joseph's Church in Broomhouse and St John Ogilvie's Church in Wester Hailes to join together as one parish in the future. However, both church buildings will stay open for services.