St. Joseph Catholic Church

St. Joseph was the first Catholic parish in the Saginaw Valley when it was founded in 1850-51 by missionary Joseph Kindekens. Dedicated on March 19, 1911, this building is the third to serve St. Joseph. During the late nineteenth century St. Joseph church served French Canadians who were drawn to Bay City’s lumbering and fishing industries. Local architects Pratt and Koeppe designed the church, basing it on the plan of the Church of Ste. Anne de Beaupré in Quebec City, Canada. In 1882 the Dominican Sisters joined St. Joseph as teachers. By 1888, however, the church faced closure. The Holy Ghost Fathers, an order committed to helping troubled parishes, came to St. Joseph and saved the parish. They served until 1995.