Rosebery Community

St Joseph’s Parish was established in the post-war year of 1949 when it separated from Waterloo Parish. However, St Joseph’s school existed from about 1888 and, until 1927, was situated in Alexandria bef­ore it was moved to the current Church site. The Parish flourished under the pastoral guidance of several dedicated Priests including Fr. Cullen, Rosebery’s first Parish Priest who presided over the Rosebery community until 1982. The school was run by the Sisters of Mercy who lived onsite until 1986 yet they still taught at the school until it closed in 1992.

Fr. Christopher Sheehy was the Pastor of St. Josephs for 30 years in conjunction with his important work of being the Director of the Sydney Office of the Marriage Tribunal. Fr. Chris enriched the Rosebery community with his leadership and outgoing personality. He also saw St. Josephs through a fire and the 1999 hailstorm when the interior of the Church revived a makeover.

It was this hailstorm that led to Rosebery welcoming the Verbum Dei Missionaries to the Parish in 1999 where they remained until May 2016. They lived in “Logue House”, named after Sr. M Cleophas Logue who began teaching at St Joseph’s in 1933.

St Joseph’s Parish was established in the post-war year of 1949 when it separated from Waterloo Parish. However, St Joseph’s school existed from about 1888 and, until 1927, was situated in Alexandria bef­ore it was moved to the current Church site. The Parish flourished under the pastoral guidance of several dedicated Priests including Fr. Cullen, Rosebery’s first Parish Priest who presided over the Rosebery community until 1982. The school was run by the Sisters of Mercy who lived onsite until 1986 yet they still taught at the school until it closed in 1992.

Fr. Christopher Sheehy was the Pastor of St. Josephs for 30 years in conjunction with his important work of being the Director of the Sydney Office of the Marriage Tribunal. Fr. Chris enriched the Rosebery community with his leadership and outgoing personality. He also saw St. Josephs through a fire and the 1999 hailstorm when the interior of the Church revived a makeover.

It was this hailstorm that led to Rosebery welcoming the Verbum Dei Missionaries to the Parish in 1999 where they remained until May 2016. They lived in “Logue House”, named after Sr. M Cleophas Logue who began teaching at St Joseph’s in 1933.

St Joseph’s Rosebery was administered by a neighbouring parish and Fr. Martin Monaghan for two years after the sudden death of former Parish Priest Fr. Christopher Sheehy in August 2011.

In December 2013, Rosebery welcomed Fr. Greg Morgan, a priest of the Verbum Dei Missionary Fraternity, as our Pastor, to continue the dedicated tradition of pastoral guidance in this Parish.

2014 and 2015 were years of renewal for the parish. It re-focused its youth program, now called JOEYs (which stands for “Justice, Outreach, Evangelisation for Youth”), restarted its RCIA program and brought in a number of new initiatives including movie afternoons, bingo nights and other events designed to reinforce the community feel of the parish.

In 2017 Archbishop Anthony appointed Fr Paul Smithers to lead the new Catholic Community of City South which included Rosebery, Redfern and Waterloo. The aim of the coming together of the three parishes was to enhance the mission and faith in this area which was rapidly changing. After much consultation the three parishes were merged on 30 April 2021 and became the Parish of Sydney City South under the patronage of Our Lady, St Joseph and St Vincent de Paul.

In 2020 it was announced that the site would be dedicated to evangelization of the young with the building of a Preschool and long Day Care service and a primary school.

Can you add to our history? Do you have some photographs of St Joseph’s throughout the ages? Get in touch with us.

There are many opportunities open to parishioners to participate in enriching one’s own Faith and extending that Faith to others.

• Ministers of Holy Communion and assistance with Eucharist distribution to the housebound (if you know anyone who is in need of this service please contact the parish office)
• Musicians and singers
• Readers at Mass
• Catechists
• Altar Servers
• Counters & Collectors
• St Vincent de Paul Society – Rosebery Conference
• Youth ministry
• Property Maintenance Ministry – have a trade? A plumber or a carpenter? Painter to gardener? We need your expertise!

Please contact the Parish office for more information & guidance on how to serve in these important ministries.

The Patron of the Universal Church 

Christian tradition places Joseph as Jesus’ foster father. Therefore, much of what we know about him comes from scripture.

We know he was a carpenter, a working man, for the skeptical Nazarenes ask about Jesus, “Is this not the carpenter’s son?” (Matthew 13:55). Despite his humble work and means, Joseph came from a royal lineage. Luke and Matthew disagree somewhat about the details of Joseph’s genealogy but they both mark his descent from David, the greatest king of Israel (Matthew 1:1-16 and Luke 3:23-38).

We know Joseph was a compassionate, caring man. When he discovered Mary was pregnant after they had been betrothed, he knew the child was not his but was as yet unaware that she was carrying the Son of God. He planned to divorce Mary according to the law but he was concerned for her suffering and safety.

We know Joseph was man of faith, obedient to whatever God asked of him. When the angel came to Joseph in a dream and told him the truth about the child Mary was carrying, Joseph immediately and without question or concern for gossip, took Mary as his wife. When the angel came again to tell him that his family was in danger, he immediately left everything he owned, all his family and friends, and fled to a strange country with his young wife and the baby.

We know Joseph loved Jesus. His one concern was for the safety of this child entrusted to him. Not only did he leave his home to protect Jesus, but upon his return settled in the obscure town of Nazareth out of fear for his life. When Jesus stayed in the Temple we are told Joseph (along with Mary) searched with great anxiety for three days for him (Luke 2:48).

Since Joseph does not appear in Jesus’ public life, at his death, or resurrection, many historians believe Joseph probably had died before Jesus entered public ministry. Joseph is the patron of the dying because, assuming he died before Jesus’ public life, he died with Jesus and Mary close to him, the way we all would like to leave this earth.

Joseph is also patron of the universal Church, fathers, carpenters, and social justice. He also knew what it was like to live in exile. He undertook the life of an immigrant and came to a new country as an immigrant. In the same way, St. Joseph’s Rosebery welcomes all people who have, like many in our community, been an immigrant in the same way as Saint Joseph.

We celebrate two feast days for Joseph: March 19 for Joseph the Husband of Mary and May 1 for Joseph the Worker.

Source: CatholicOnline 

JOEYs Youth is a vibrant youth program run out of St Joseph’s Catholic parish in Rosebery. through a variety of activities, outreach opportunities and social activities we are offering young people an opportunity to build a personal and relationship with Jesus. JOEYs Youth is also an opportunity to meet, share, and celebrate our Catholic faith with other young people.