Saint Joseph's Church is one of the 5 churches of Good Shepherd Parish located at 178 Elm Street in

Biddeford Biddeford ( ) is a city in York County, Maine, United States. It is the principal commercial center of York County. Its population was 22,552 at the 2020 census. The twin cities of Saco and Biddeford include the resort communities of Biddefo ...

Maine Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...

. It is also the tallest building in Maine.

History

The church was ordered from a decree from Bishop David W. Bacon of the Diocese of Portland to be made on May 13, 1870. The church was to be made for the influx of

French-Canadian French Canadians, referred to as Canadiens mainly before the nineteenth century, are an ethnic group descended from French colonists first arriving in France's colony of Canada in 1608. The vast majority of French Canadians live in the prov ...

Roman Catholic immigrants coming from

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

. The church was dedicated in 1883. The building is also known for its stained-glass windows, organ, art, and size. The church also had its own school, St. Joseph's School. The school was later merged, along with other schools, to the existing Saint James School, which is the only Catholic School under the Good Shepherd Parish.

Description

The very entrance from the church begins with the

narthex The narthex is an architectural element typical of Early Christian art and architecture, early Christian and Byzantine architecture, Byzantine basilicas and Church architecture, churches consisting of the entrance or Vestibule (architecture), ve ...

. In here, to the right and left are staircases to the choir loft. Immediately past this, there is a hallway to the right and a hallway to the left leading to the restrooms. Then, there is a set of doors into the

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

. There is then 29 rows of pews. with four columns of each row (except the farthest on the left and right has only 24 rows). The ceiling and the walls next to the ceiling is adorned with 8 large murals depicting Jesus' life. The arches between the columns also contain patterns. The green carpet then leads into the sanctuary. Immediately before the sanctuary, to the left, another staircase leads to the a side entrance and also Sainte Anne's Chapel in the basement. Before the sanctuary, to the right, is the choir section. Here, there are a: piano
a 3-manual Allen Organ console
and two rows of pews for choir members. The sanctuary, which is above the rest of the church, contains an altar, tabernacle, pulpit, lectern, and

kneeler A kneeler is a cushion (also called a tuffet, hassock, genuflexorium, or genuflectorium) or a piece of furniture used for resting in a kneeling position during Christian prayer. In many churches, pews are equipped with kneelers in front ...

s for lay readers and altar servers. On the sides of the church are seven large stained-glass windows. Between each stained-glass window is two large stone sculpture attached to the wall, with each depicting a Station of the Cross. The choir loft, which is above the narthex, houses an organ console, and also contains spare music, ladder to the belfry, and also all the pipes and reeds organ. The organ was expanded and the pipes supplemented with digital voices in 2001, when the Allen Organ console was installed. The Church technically contains two organs, the console in the choir loft interfaces with the original pipes, including chimes. The Allen console contains both the electronic voices, with speakers located behind the tabernacle up front, as well as behind the pipes in the choir loft. The Allen console also interfaces with the pipe organ, allowing both organs to be played seamlessly.

History

Description

References

See also