On June 23, the parish celebrated the 60th anniversary of the church's opening in 1964 with a communal Mass and picnic celebration. As many enjoyed various home-cooked meals provided potluck style and as kids enjoyed fun and games in the outdoors, a handful of foundational members of St. Joseph's were recognized alongside the 60-year-old building itself, including the family of the original general contractor and St. Joseph’s current music director Theresa Whalen-Witjes, who was the first baby to be baptized after the dedication of the church.
“The event marked a good time of fellowship, friendship and fun for all the families. To be able to celebrate a great 60 years of devotion to the church was simply beautiful,” said Fr. Cosmas Ajawara, pastor at St. Joseph’s.
Though the 60th anniversary was celebrated, St. Joseph’s actually has roots in the city as far back as the Second World War when then Archbishop J.A. O’Sullivan identified the need for a new parish within the Kingston community.
While a temporary church structure was erected in the city’s west end on May 1, 1950, giving 150 local families their first church and community centre, it was not until years later that St. Joseph’s truly arrived as the iconic landmark that many Catholics in Kingston continue to recognize today.
“To avoid confusion, what we are celebrating this year is the 60 years of dedication to St. Joseph’s in its current form, as it was newly constructed and formally reintroduced in 1964,” said Ajawara.
Well over half a century later, the Church continues to see sustainable growth within the parish community, something Ajawara has taken notice of since his arrival in August of 2022.
“We continue to take in new families and given the waves of immigration, the colours are changing in the church. You can stand inside the chapel and see people from different ethnic and cultural backgrounds all uniting,” he said. “That diversity is a representation of Kingston itself, and it is beautiful to see in our parish.”
Upon being assigned as the sixth-ever pastor at St. Joseph’s almost 20 years after arriving in Kingston, Ajawara says the traditional layout the 800-capacity church holds as Kingston’s first post-Vatican II church is what first caught his attention.
“This is the first church (in the city) to have the main altar facing the congregation, we have the stained glass windows donated by Archbishop O’Sullivan along with the high ceilings and the larger-than-life crucifix on the sanctuary. These are all things you cannot miss when you visit and combined with occupying a central place within the city, we have such a vibrant community,” he said.
There's been an influx of young families and young adults, and Ajawara said on June 30, 26 new families will be welcomed to the parish, all of whom have joined in the last year.
Looking to capitalize on all of 2024 to recognize and celebrate the historic parish, St. Joseph’s is planning a handful of other events including ongoing Eucharistic revival, a pilgrimage to St. Joseph's Oratory in Montréal and various faith formation programs in September and a Mass dedicated to deceased members of the parish in November.