Origins

The Basilica of St. Joseph is a Catholic church located in Alameda, California at 1109 Chestnut Street. Its history dates back to early settlement of the City of Alameda

Alameda

Alameda is a Spanish word that means "A place full of poplars", and may refer to:-Colleges and universities:* College of Alameda, a two-year community college located in Alameda, California, in the United States-Music:...

, California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

. The foundation of St. Joepsh's can be traced to Catholic mission in Alameda, created in 1873 by San Francisco Archbishop Jose Sadoc Alemany to serve the growing Roman Catholic population of Alameda. The mission was served by Father William Gleeson and the priests of St. Anthony's Church in Oakland. While still under "mission status," in 1881, the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur

Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur

The Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur, is the name of a Roman Catholic order of religious sisters, dedicated to providing education to the poor.The order was founded in Amiens in 1803, but the opposition of the local bishop to missions outside his diocese led to the moving of headquarters to then...

 started in Alameda, the Notre Dame Academy for Young Ladies.

Early Pastors

Father Michael McNaboe served ten years as pastor of St. Alphonsus in Suisun

Suisun

Suisun may refer to:Geography*Suisun Bay in California in the United States*Suisun City, California, in the United States*Suisun Marsh in California in the United StatesOther places*Suisun Valley AVA, California wine region in Solano CountyShips...

, when in 1882, Archbishop Alemany recalled McNaboe from rural Solano County to San Francisco. Father McNaboe in 1885 was instructed by the new Archbishop Patrick William Riordan

Patrick William Riordan

Patrick William Riordan was a Canadian-born clergyman of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of San Francisco from 1884 until his death in 1914.-Early life and education:...

 to erect in Alameda, the St. Joseph's Parish. The mission church built in 1873, was used as a place of worship for over twenty years. The original parish boundaries, the City of Alameda. Father Michael McNaboe died on March 1, 1892. Archbishop Riordan called on Father John J. Sullivan, the pastor of the Old Saint Mary's Cathedral

Old Saint Mary's Cathedral

Old Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Immaculate Conception is a proto-cathedral and parish of the Roman Catholic Church in San Francisco, California. The cathedral is located on the corner of Grant Avenue and California Street...

 of the Immaculate Conception in San Francisco, to go to Alameda in April 1892, as the second pastor of St. Joseph's. Father Sullivan at once saw the need for a larger church. The laying of the cornerstone was August 12, 1894; Archbishop Riordan dedicated the gothic wooden church, January 20, 1895. Father Sullivan's illness forced him to resign as pastor of St. Joseph's in January 1898. Archbishop Riordan selected Father Patrick A. Foley, the pastor of All Hallows in San Francisco, as the new pastor of St. Joseph's. After fifteen years in Alameda, Father Foley was sent by Archbishop Riordan as the new pastor of St. Raphael's Church in San Rafael

San Rafael

San Rafael is a common place-name in areas where that tongue is or was spoken:-Towns, cities, municipalities, etc.:*Argentina**San Rafael, Mendoza**San Rafael Department*Bolivia...

, California.

Father J. Bernard Praught

Father Lawrence Serda, Pastor of Sacred Heart Church in Oakland suggested to Archbishop Riordan his able assistant Father James Bernard Praught should be made a pastor in the Archdiocese of San Francisco. The archbishop agreed and sent Father Praught, as pastor of St. Joseph's Church in Rio Vista. After seven years in Solano County, Archbishop Riordan on January 14, 1913 assigned Father Praught as pastor of St. Joseph's Parish in Alameda. He founded the St. Joseph Elementary School for boys and girls in 1916. The old wooden St. Joseph Church, the night of September 29, 1919, burned to the ground. Father Praught decided to build a new Church in the California Mission design a copy of the old mission in Monterey. The new church cornerstone was set on August 22, 1920 by San Francisco Archbishop Edward Joseph Hanna

Edward Joseph Hanna

Edward Joseph Hanna was an American clergyman of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of San Francisco from 1915 to 1935.-Early life and education:...

. Few churches are consecrated on August 17, 1935, St. Joseph Church was consecrated by Archbishop John J. Mitty.

Archbishop Hanna divided Alameda with the creation in 1925 of parishes of St. Phillip Neri, Father Maurice O'Keefe (who attended from St. Joseph) as pastor and St. Barnabas with Father Patrick McGrattan, as pastor.

In 1935, Father Praught asked Father Joseph Tetzlaff of the (Marianists), Brothers of Mary to staff a Boys High School in Alameda. St Joseph Boys High School opened August 26, 1935. The first faculty of the Boys High School were Brother Matthew Betz, S.M. as principal and Brother Charles Weiss, S.M. Brother Weiss would remain at St. Joseph Boys High School until his death in December 1968.

In 1943, after thirty years at St. Joseph's Parish. Father Praught asked San Francisco Archbishop John J. Mitty permission to retire. Archbishop Mitty sent fifty-six year old, Father Robert J. O'Connor (pastor of St. Phillip Neri, in Alameda - since 1928) as pastor of St. Joseph's. Father J. Bernard Praught served as Pastor Emeritus until his death October 22, 1949. Father Robert J. O'Connor died September 17, 1957.

Monsignor Alvin P. Wagner

Archbishop Mitty decided to send Father Alvin P. Wagner, the pastor of St. Francis of Assisi Church in San Francisco to Alameda. He had served as associate pastor at St. Peter in San Francisco and administrator 1952-1954 of St. Mary, Immaculate Conception in Oakland. At fifty, Father Wagner arrived in Alameda with an antiquated Girls High School and Convent. The parish had the Boys High School (1935) and Elementary School (1922). The old girls high school was razed in 1960. Built were the new Notre Dame Girls High School and Notre Dame Sisters Convent. The new structures were dedicated by San Francisco Auxiliary Bishop Merlin Guilfoyle.

January 13, 1962, Pope John XXIII divided the Archdiocese of San Francisco and created the Diocese of Oakland.
The auxiliary bishop of Cleveland, Ohio Floyd Lawrence Begin

Floyd Lawrence Begin

Floyd Lawrence Begin was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of Oakland from 1962 until his death in 1977.-Early life and education:...

, became the first Bishop of Oakland.

September 8, 1962, Pope John XXIII honored Father Wagner as a Monsignor

Monsignor

Monsignor, pl. monsignori, is the form of address for those members of the clergy of the Catholic Church holding certain ecclesiastical honorific titles. Monsignor is the apocopic form of the Italian monsignore, from the French mon seigneur, meaning "my lord"...

. In a ceremony at St. Joseph Church, Monsignor Wagner was formally installed as a Domestic Prelate by Bishop Begin.

Monsignor Wagner in 1964 built the gymnasium-auditorium. At the conclusion of the 1970 academic year the Brothers of Mary departed St. Joseph Boys High School.

St. Joseph Basilica

Saint Patrick Seminary, Menlo Park

Saint Patrick Seminary, Menlo Park

Saint Patrick's Seminary and University in Menlo Park, California is a Roman Catholic post-graduate seminary whose primary mission is the formation of clergy for Western and Pacific Rim dioceses, orders, religious congregations and secular institutes...

, California - Class of 1932 member Monsignor Alvin P. Wagner had classmates who became bishops. Robert Joseph Dwyer

Robert Joseph Dwyer

Robert Joseph Dwyer was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He was Archbishop of Portland from 1966 to 1974, having previously served as Bishop of Reno .-Early life and education:...

 and James Thomas O'Dowd.

Monsignor Wagner had attended sessions of Vatican II and sought a teaching order to replace the departing Brothers of Mary. During his search for a teaching order in Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

, Wagner became close to Pope Paul VI

Pope Paul VI

Paul VI , born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church from 21 June 1963 until his death on 6 August 1978. Succeeding Pope John XXIII, who had convened the Second Vatican Council, he decided to continue it...

.

In 1972, Paul VI made St. Joseph Church, a minor basilica. A ceremony held by Bishop Begin and Msgr. Wagner created St. Joseph Basilica. With an umbrella to be put in the basilica. Monsignor Alvin P. Wagner retired in 1983 and died January 31, 1989.

Oakland Bishop John Stephen Cummins

John Stephen Cummins

John Stephen Cummins is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of Oakland from 1977 to 2003.-Early life and education:...

 replaced the diocesan priests with The Fathers of the Congregation of the Sacred Heart. Father Patrick A. Goodwin, SSCC merged the two single sex high schools into a coeducational, St. Joseph Notre Dame High School

St. Joseph Notre Dame High School

St. Joseph Notre Dame High School in Alameda, California is a coeducational Roman Catholic high school. It is one of the few Catholic high schools in the world to possess an on-campus minor basilica, the Basilica of St. Joseph, Alameda. It is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and...

.

The diocesan priests in 2007 were returned by Oakland Bishop Allen Henry Vigneron

Allen Henry Vigneron

-References:-External links:[Oakland Diocese Biography http://www.oakdiocese.org/notes.htm]...

with temporary parochial administrators, Fathers Anthony Herrera and Ray Zielezienski. Father Fred Riccio was named pastor in 2008.

Pastors of Saint Joseph Church/Basilica

• Father William Gleeson, (1829-1903)
  1873-1885
  Mission of St. Anthony, Oakland
• Father Michael McNaboe, (1843-1892)
  1885-1892
  Parish erected May 1885
• Father John J. Sullivan, (1857-1920)
  1892-1898
• Father Patrick A. Foley, (1853-1923)
  1898-1913
• Father J. Bernard Praught,(1866-1949)
  1913-1943
• Father Robert J. O'Connor,(1887-1957)
  1943-1957
• Monsignor Alvin P. Wagner,(1907-1989)
  1957-1983
• Father Patrick A. Goodwin, SSCC
  1983-1993
• Father Jeremiah Holland, SSCC
  1993-2001
• Father Richard Danyluk, SSCC
  2001-2007
• Father Anthony Herrera
  2007-2008
• Father Ray Zielezienski
  2008-2008
• Father Fred Riccio
  2008-

External links

• Oakland diocese website accessed 11/12/10