St. Joseph's Church (Fall River, Massachusetts)
St. Joseph's Church is a historic church located at 1355 North Main Street in Fall River, Massachusetts. It was built in 1880 in the Gothic Revival style and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. It was designed by notable church architect Patrick C. Keely.
St. Joseph's Church (Fall River, Massachusetts)
Reverend Father William H. Bric, the first pastor and founder of Saint Joseph's parish was born in Tralee, County Kerry, Ireland, in 1841, and made his preparatory studies for the priesthood at Killarney, in the beautiful and historic lake section of the Emereld Isle, and then at Cambrai, in Southern France, after which he came to this country and was sent by the then Right Reverend Bishop McFarland to the Seminary of Saint Sulpice at Baltimore, Md., where he was ordained to the priesthood. After curacies at Woonsocket, R.I., and at the Providence Cathedral, he was named as pastor for Harrisville and Slatersville, R.I., remaining in charge there for four years. Then it was that he was selected by Right Reverend Bishop Hendricken to form and get into being the new Saint Joseph's parish in this city, where his tasks were large and his labors unceasing for a period of seven years. He had long suffered from rheumatism, and when this painful disease touched a vital spot on Saturday, August 7, l880, he was called away from earthly activities and summoned to the higher life. Apart from his priestly duties and responsibilities, he had served two full terms of three years each as a member of the Fall River School Committee, being regarded far and wide in the community as a man of scholarly attainments and broad-minded views.