About Us

About St Joseph's Church

Origins and History


The parish of St. Joseph began on Grafton Street, around the corner from its current site, in 1868.  The school chapel was opened on Friday 26th May.  Then, in response to the growing number of Catholics in this part of Bradford, St. Joseph's Church was built on Pakington Street.  It was opened on 14th September 1887, the Feast of the Triumph of the Cross.  The Church was consecrated on the same feast day fifty years later, 14th September 1937.


At the beginning of the twentieth century, the Sisters of the Cross and Passion came to the parish to run the school.  After the Second World War, many people came from different parts of Europe to settle in England.  There was a large Polish Community at St. Joseph's until the 1960s, when the Polish Church on Edmund Street was opened.  At this time many new immigrants were arriving from the West Indies and became part of the Catholic Community at St. Joseph's.

The Parish Today


The Parish Community has responded to the many changes in our society.  We see this in the composition of today's congregation, which is richly diverse.  It seems as though people from every country in the world have made their home at St. Joseph's!  This is a wonderful reminder of God's loving call to all people to live in the unity and peace that is His gift.


In 2016, the parish became the site of the Catholic Chaplaincy to the University of Bradford and Bradford College.  The students are warmly welcomed into the community, many of whom have come to study in Bradford from abroad.


Within the parish is the Church of St. Patrick on Westgate.  Since 2005 this has been the home of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal, who live in community and serve the poor.  In 2018, the Bishop of Leeds established St. Patrick's Mission.  It runs independently of St. Joseph's Parish, offering Holy Mass and Confessions each day (except Sundays).  The Friars also organise prayer groups and faith formation courses, alongside their ministry to the poor and needy.


Also in 2016, St. Joseph's became the stable home for Holy Mass offered in the Extraordinary Form.  This is celebrated in Latin according to the Missal of 1962.  In 2021, the Bishop moved the home Extraordinary Form Mass to St. Patrick's Mission on Westgate.  The EF Mass is celebrated at 1pm on Sundays at St. Patrick's.

Share by: