Galveston: St. Joseph Catholic Church

Small white wood frame church with a short bell tower in front

St. Joseph’s German Catholic Church (N. Saum CC BY-SA 3.0

Small white wood frame church with a bell tower and spire in front

Church pre-1900 (Galveston Historical Foundation)

Detail of church following hurricane damage showing large crucifix on back wall leaning backwards in the open air

St. Joseph’s after the 1900 hurricane. (Rosenberg Library)

Restored interior of church showing large crucifix behind altar next two statues of the Virgin Mary and another woman, with three additional statues on each side of the altar

St. Joseph’s today. (Galveston Historical Foundation)

By 1860, German Catholics constituted roughly half of Galveston’s ethnic population. Seeing a need for German-language masses, Bishop Jean Marie Odin authorized the construction of St. Joseph’s Catholic Church. Incredibly, the wood-frame church building survived the devastating hurricane of 1900 with only minor damage and was repaired, enlarged, and redecorated within a year of the storm. The church was an active congregation until 1968 and is now owned by the Galveston Historical Foundation.

St. Joseph Catholic Church

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