St. Joseph’s parish dates from 1868. Of course, there had been
French people living in Cohoes for over forty years by then. The first
French came to Cohoes in 1831. Their number must have been quite small
since, by 1847, the total Catholic population of Cohoes numbered about
300. This included both the French and Irish residents of the city. The
year 1847 marks the arrival of the first priest in Cohoes, a French-speaking
Belgian named Bernard Van Reeth. Father Van Reeth built the first St.
Bernard’s church. While Father Van Reeth was in Cohoes, the French
population hoped that St. Bernard’s would be their church. However,
when he left to return to Belgium in 1853, the next pastor didn’t
speak French. Not being able to understand the language, the French slowly
stopped attending. Father Keveny, the pastor at St. Bernard’s, learned
that retired Bishop Pinsonneault of Ontario was visiting his friend, Father
Bayard, in Troy. He invited the bishop to come to Cohoes to preach a retreat
for the French-speaking population of Cohoes. In the course of the retreat,
Bishop Pinsonneault suggested that the French build their own church.
They conducted a census of their people and found that there were 387
families, totaling 2,209 individuals. They applied to Bishop Conroy of
Albany and on June 18, 1868, St. Joseph’s French Catholic Church
of Cohoes, New York, was incorporated. On August 23 of that year, Father
Joseph Saugon was named pastor.
A church was built and was ready for use on December 12, 1869. Father
being too sick to say the first Mass, Father Keveny celebrated the opening
of the new church. On December 19, 1869, Father Saugon died. He was replaced
by Father Joseph Octave La Salle who became pastor of the new parish.
Under his leadership, the parish built a rectory. By 1873, the parish
debt was paid. It was time to think of what to do about the church. It
seems that it had been built more with enthusiasm than sound construction
method. The building was so dilapidated that it was decided to demolish
the church and build all over again. The result was the present church.
The new church was completed in 1875. Four years later, in 1879, Father
La sale died, due no doubt to the hard work that had taken a toll on his
health. The third pastor of St. Joseph was Father Dugas, later to be named
a monsignor. One of the first things that he did was to build a school.
Actually, there were two schools, one for the education of the girls of
the parish under the direction of the Sisters of Ste-Anne; the other for
boys under the care of the Clercs de St-Viateur (the Clerks of St. Viator,
a teaching order of brothers). The school opened in 1880 with 300 pupils.
By 1883, 500 children attended the parochial school, a number that grew
to 710 pupils in 1890.
In the course of time, three other French parishes were established:
Sacred Heart of Jesus on Van Schaick Island, Mater Misericordia, popularly
known as Ste-Marie (present Holy Trinity) in the Vliet Boulevard area,
and Ste-Anne in the Northside section of Waterford (now closed. The church
has been sold to a Protestant congregation) Of the seven French parishes
in the capital district, St. Joseph is the only one which still carries
on some of its French traditions, especially the singing of the French
hymns once familiar to every parishioner. Every Christmas eve and throughout
the Christmas season, one can still hear the familiar French carols sung
by St. Joseph’s choir. At least once a year, a French Mass is celebrated
for the feast of St. John the Baptist.
Much has changed over the 136 years that St. Joseph’s has existed.
True to its mission, the parish continues to minister to its people. Many
of our parishioners no longer speak French and we welcome everyone, regardless
of ethnic background to join with us in the celebration of our common
Catholic heritage.
