St. Joseph The Worker Parish

St. Joseph the Worker Parish was established in 1960 when Little Flower Parish established a ‘chapel of ease’ at the new St. Mark’s School to serve the growing Catholic population of the Glen Elm subdivision. By October 1962, plans were begun to establish the parish of St. Joseph the Worker, with the new church ready for worship by the end of June and the official blessing by Archbishop O’Neill taking place on September 2, 1963.

During the early years, the parish was served by Msgr. F. Gerein and his assistants from Little Flower, but by 1966, the house across the street had been purchased for a rectory and Fr. Pat Murphy became the first resident pastor. He was followed by Fr. John Mulcahy, Fr. Louis Kubash and Fr. Leon Savoie.

The Catholic Women’s League and a Men’s Club were quickly established in the parish and the number of young people celebrating sacraments grew every year.

With the growth of the Glencairn subdivision in the 1970’s, St. Joseph the Worker was no longer large enough for the needs of the entire area and Holy Child Parish was established. Early in 1985, plans were made to join the parish communities of Holy Child and St. Joseph the Worker with one pastor, Fr. Joe Balzer. Fr. Rick Krofchek, as well as several seminarians doing their internship, also served the parish at the time. With the untimely death of Fr. Joe Balzer on May 1st, 1998, the feast of St. Joseph the Worker, Fr. John Weckend was called to serve the Holy Child/St. Joseph Community until 2008 when Fr. Lorne Crozon was welcomed as the new pastor. After three short years, Fr. Lorne Crozon was transferred to another parish. In 2011 Fr. Danilo Rafael became our parish priest, assisted by Fr. Alejandro Cabonelas. Fr. Art Vandendriessche and Fr. Gene Schaffer, also, have assisted in the parish, as retired priests.

St. Joseph the Worker continued to thrive with a faithful community from various parishes attending weekday morning mass as well as regular attendance at the 4:30 p.m. Saturday vigil Mass from September through May. Many St. Joseph members were also involved in various ministries and activities at Holy Child. For several years the basement served as a gathering centre for parish life, and it was also used for marriage preparation classes for the Regina area. During its later years the basement was the home of "Little Rascals Preschool".

The 50th anniversary of St. Joseph the Worker Church was celebrated on the weekend of September 7/8, 2013 with an anniversary Mass on Saturday, September 7 and a special banquet and time of remembering held at Holy Child hall on Sunday, Sept. 8. Many former parishioners joined in this joyful celebration.

With the Archdiocese wishing to reduce the number of church buildings in the city of Regina, Holy Child/St. Joseph the Worker Parish Community was asked to close St. Joseph the Worker. With heavy hearts, the parish council complied with the wishes of the Archdiocese, and at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, July 5, 2014, Mass was held for the last time at St. Joseph the Worker, including a ceremony for closure of a church. The statue of St. Joseph the Worker led the procession out of the church and it now is a part of Holy Child Church. Joining Archbishop Bohan for this celebration was Bishop Don Bolen, Fr. Danilo Rafael, Fr. Lorne Crozon, Fr. Pat Murphy, Fr. Peter Nijssen (who presided at the first wedding at St. Joseph the Worker as an assistant at Little Flower), Fr. Art Vandendriessche, Fr. Norm Marcotte, Fr. Brad Fahlman, Fr Azike and newly ordained Deacon Thuy Nguyen. After experiencing one of the hottest days of the summer with fans and open windows at St. Joseph the Worker, the almost-full assembly then gathered for food and fellowship at the newly renamed St. Joseph the Worker Hall at Holy Child, complete with air conditioning! The building was soon cleaned out and sold to the Redeemer Church of God, who took possession on August 15, 2014.