St Joseph
Catholic Parish
OUR HISTORY
St. Joseph Catholic Parish in Guelph was established in 1952 with 300 families as parishioners. The original parish rectory was located at 310 Paisley Road. At that time mass was celebrated at St. Joseph School. In 1953 a prefab church was erected on the land donated by the Schario Family. The present rectory was completed in 1954 and the office and construction where completed in 1985. The present church was opened in 1964 at a cost of $300,000. In 1980 the Church was remodeled and in 1987 came the installation of an Electronic Carillon.
In 1989 a handicapped access was provided to the church hall. In 1990 a new electronic-pipe organ was donated to the church. In 1991 a new long-term roof was installed and in
January 2002 a major interior renovation took place that included a large stained-glass window depicting St. Joseph, Our Patron Saint. By Easter 2002, air conditioning, new lighting, carpet and other decorative features were completed.
St Joseph Parish serves four Elementary Schools, St. Joseph’s, St. Peter’s, St. Francis of Assisi and Mary Phelan along with Our Lady of Lourdes High School. We offer Religious Education Classes on Tuesday evenings for children who attend Public Schools and a Children’s Liturgy Program during the 10:15am Mass Sundays from September to May.
St. Joseph’s is the largest parish in the City of Guelph with 4910 registered families, comprising of 13,927 souls and 2600 average Sunday Eucharist attendance.
St. Joseph’s is very proud of our many hardworking volunteers that make us a very active, warm and welcoming parish. Without all our volunteers we could not do all the things we do!
CLERGY & STAFF
Fr. Lourdu was born in the southern part of India. After finishing school, he joined the African Missionary Society and worked as a missionary after his ordination. He worked especially in the field of primary evangelization, which is bringing the Gospel to those who have never heard about Christ. He worked with the Fulani tribe (a Muslim‐dominated culture) for about eight years in Benin, West Africa. He was then called back to do his Master's in Counselling Psychology (M.Sc.) and worked as a psychological counselling therapist in schools and universities. Later, he was asked to study and practice Indian civil law. He holds an Indian Advocate Association License and has practiced law in tribunals and in the High Court in India. In 2018, he was sent on mission to northern Ontario, and during COVID he was called back to India to practice his law proficiency. Later, he was sent to work in France, and in 2024 he was sent to the USA for a special mission. Afterwards, he was once again sent to Canada. As a missionary, Fr. Lourdu has had quite number of experiences in missions and has announced the Gospel wherever he seized the opportunity for the greater glory of God.
Tracy Bolzon
Office Administrator
Zofia Gadzinska
Bookkeeper