St. Joseph’s Roman Catholic Church, Riverhead, Harbour Grace.
History
Starting during the Napoleonic Wars, many Irish settlers came to Conception Bay. Many settled at the head of Harbour Grace, forming a distinct Irish community, today known as Riverhead. The time at which the families settled at Riverhead is rather hard to pinpoint, but most families appeared between the year 1804 and 1815. They brought with them the still-familiar names: Delaney, Jordan, Mackey, McCarthy, Russell, Ryan, Shannahan, etc. Later these families were joined by the Galways from Upper Island Cove, the merchant William Guilfoyle, and a Collins family in the 1830s. Most participated in the sealing industry and the Labrador fishery prosecuted by the Harbour Grace merchants. Riverhead, an Irish enclave, also had a strong Roman Catholic presence.
The Right Reverend Dr. Ronald MacDonald, third Bishop of the Diocese of Harbour Grace, arrived on September 29, 1881. During his episcopacy, he opened St. Joseph’s Church, Riverhead, on November 13, 1886, as a mission of the Immaculate Conception Parish of Harbour Grace. The reason for his decision was because of the due increase of Roman Catholic citizens in Harbour Grace and surrounding areas. The boundaries for the Riverhead church were to Lee’s Lane in Harbour Grace and included Harbour Grace South, Bryant’s Cove, the Thicket, and the surrounding communities of Upper Island Cove and Spaniard’s Bay. The May 3, 1890, edition of The Colonist states that 20 carpenters were engaged under the superintendence of Michael Tobin, and the Romanesque architectural style was being finished according to the plan of Bishop MacDonald.
Land had been purchased for a cemetery on Hard Path, Riverhead, but the graveyard was never established The people who attended St. Joseph’s Church were buried in the Harbour Grace Roman Catholic Cemetery. In 1929 an all -grade school was built next to the church. The school was converted to a church hall and later torn down, to make way for a parking lot.
Originally, the church was heated with a pot bellied stove, but in the 1930s a furnace replaced the stove.
Up until 1984 there were two priests stationed in the parish. One was assigned to Riverhead, which included daily mass and one weekend mass.
The church was painted in 1973; during renovations the marble altar, attached to the back wall, was removed. A full length carpet was placed over the wall to cover up the imprints of the altar. The church wasn’t painted again until 1988, with the help of the parishioners. They installed new carpet throughout the church. The lights that are present now have been there since they installed them years before. In 1987 they replaced the windows and wooden siding with vinyl siding. The church was further renovated in 2017-18.
The Roman Catholic church in Riverhead, Harbour Grace, is over 110 years old and the wooden frame building is typical of the design for that era. It has a high roof supported on built-up wood columns, which share the load of the wing on either side of the main body. The original roof framing was carried out in limber on the round, whereas the extension used saw lumber. The interior has classic Roman details in the vernacular with an interesting diaper pattern ceiling.
The two-ton bell was donated by the Dwyer family in 1886 when the church first opened. The bell tower was replaced in 1994, but the original bell remains in the new tower. The new tower cost $15,000, its purpose to improve the look and maintenance of the church. The church was modernized with a wheelchair ramp and another exit that same year.
In the 1987 census, approximately 100 years later, there were more Catholics in Riverhead than anywhere in the Immaculate Conception Parish.
As the years have gone by more and more objects have been donated to the church, such as Holy Water fonts and Baptismal font, both donated by the Coombs family.
After the closing of Immaculate Conception Church in 2014, St. Joseph’s became the central church for the Immaculate Conception Parish. The interior of the church was renovated in 2018.
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- St. Joseph’s Church & Hall, ca. 1929
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- St. Joseph’s Church & Hall, 1966
Location:
GPS Coordinates: 47.667373, -53.260922
Street Address: 2 Fisherman’s Rd, Riverhead, Harbour Grace, NL
Contact Information:
Parish Priest: Father Emmanuel Osuagwu SDV – Administrator
Parish Secretary: Margaret Smith
t: (709) 596-6182
Parish Pastoral Council Members: Philip Snow (Vice-Chair), David Northcott (Finance), Mary Ann Sheehan (Secretary), Pat Pembroke, Pat Haire, Sharon Whalen-Reeves
Immaculate Conception Parish Website | Newfoundland & Labrador Tourism
Historical pictures are always welcome! Send (with attribution) to matthewmccarthy@www.hrgrace.ca.