Saint Joseph (Roscoe)

Open Date: 1904
Close Date: 2016
Presently Located: Saint Katharine Drexel (Bentleyville)

Parish History

St. Joseph was founded in 1903.  Before the parish was established, local Catholics traveled to Coal Center to attend Mass.  In 1903, the pastor of St. Thomas Aquinas in Coal Center decided to build a mission church in Roscoe.  Land was purchased for the church and construction began in 1903.  On January 31, 1904, the church was dedicated.  The parish remained a mission of St. Thomas Aquinas until January 17, 1909 when a resident pastor was assigned to the parish. 

The parish remained active for over a century.  However, beginning in the 21st century, the reduction of population in the area and the number of priests in the diocese led to a re-examination of the number of parishes in the area.  A study begun in 2015  considered the future of parish life in Washington County.  As a result of the study, the decision was made to merge St. Joseph with four other parishes to form the new St. Katharine Drexel Parish.  This merger took place on January 8, 2017.  Although St. Joseph Church was not chosen to be the new parish church, the building was retained and will be used for occasional worship.

Photos From the Diocesan Archive: