St. Joseph

Introduction

Saint Joseph's Church in Pontefract, within the Diocese of Leeds, was built in 1806 and has undergone 20th-century alterations.

History

Saint Joseph's replaced the mission church of St Michael on Carleton Green, which had been founded in 1685 by Father Hammerton, S J, of Purston. In 1866 improvements were made and two statues of Our Lady and Saint Joseph were placed on either side of the sanctuary. In 1890 the church was handed over to the secular clergy. In 1917 Father Fové provided a new high altar for the church and at the same time inserted two small windows in the blank north wall. Originally the church had no windows on the street side and strong doors covered with sheet iron; later, additional windows and a carved oak Lady Altar were added.

Architecture and furnishings

The church is a first-floor church of six bays above a presbytery and former schoolroom, with a staircase wing at the north-west end and a lower two-storey three-bay presbytery addition at the east end. The church is clad in artificial stone with Welsh and stone slate roofs. The south side has six first-floor keyed round-arched windows, and to the right on each floor a casement window, with ashlar coping and a Welsh slate roof. At the east end, the presbytery has three bays of casement windows with wedge lintels voussoired and with fluted keystones, and a hipped stone slate roof.

The interior entrance hall contains an open-well staircase with a wreathed handrail and cast-iron acanthus balusters, leading up to the church and continuing to the west gallery. The west gallery has a panelled front, C20 infilling below to form a confessional, and the upper west wall has two blind round arches in architraves. The east end has a segmental-arched sanctuary apse with pilasters with fluted capitals and round-arched panels, and in the domical ceiling above, a dove in a patera. The ceiling has a dentil cornice and three decorative features of acanthus leaves in scalloped paterae. The church contains late C19 benches.

Parish life

The parish organises courses for First Sacraments, Baptism, Marriage and RCIA at appropriate times throughout the year. The parish came into existence by decree in 2008, made up of 5 former independent parishes served by 6 priests. The parish holds an annual Enrolment Sunday for children's sacramental preparation, preceded by a parents' meeting.

Sacraments and pastoral care

Parents must sign up for the whole three-year schedule of children's sacramental preparation. A child not enrolled by the current Enrolment Sunday must wait until the following year to start the process. The parish expects couples to undertake at least six months of supervised marriage preparation with the Parish Priest and a marriage-course coordinator. Adults who have never received Baptism are invited to speak with the Parish Priest and undertake a supervised period of formation before being baptised and receiving Confirmation and Holy Communion. The 'Journey of Faith' is tailored to the needs of the individual, with details possibly printed in the bulletin.

Notable people and events

Father Francis Creedan came in an emergency to take over at Saint Joseph's in 1907 when Father De Cuypers was taken ill and then moved to Allerton Park.