St. Joseph’s Catholic Church of Marshall is celebrating 150 years serving the community this week, with a large mass and celebratory program planned for Sunday, April 21 at the Marshall Convention Center.
The church was originally established in 1874 with Father Thomas Loughery, who established the church in Marshall and oversaw the construction of the original church building.
The first building was adjacent to the lot that currently houses the church, which was able to grow and expand with the new building that still houses the church today. It officially dedicated in 1926.
“We have our records going back to when the church first began,” said current head of church Msgr. Zacharias Kunnakkattuthara, “We have records of our very first baptism.”
The church’s records to show families as members of the congregation going back to its origins in 1874, with the first baptism on record in June 1875.
Many families of the church still have strong familial roots at St. Joseph’s, including one parishioner Melanie Hughes, who said that her family has been attending the church for generations.
“We have our history going back in those records as well, we have been here in Marshall attending St. Joseph’s for a long time,” she said.
Kunnakkattuthara said that he joined the church eight years ago in 2016 with a focus on closing St. Joseph’s Catholic School that the church used to run and focusing on the Sunday school and working more closely with those students.
He said that the church is working on building an additional structure on the campus located on Alamo Street, with hopes to build something new to house Sunday school students closer than the current school building.
“I would like to be closer to them, and have more time to work with the staff and our students there,” he said.
He has kept with the history of the church as well, with Father’s at St. Joseph’s historically known to serve as chaplains in local hospitals, notably the historical T&P Hospital in Marshall. Today, Kunnakkattuthara said that he continues this tradition by serving as a chaplain in the local hospital, sometimes even being called to serve the community in Longview when no other priests are available.
“There are only the three Catholic churches in Longview; sometimes they are out of town or busy, so I get called up to serve in Longview as well,” Kunnakkattuthara said.
Additional to plans for the future, the church has been busy for the last 150 years building up a reputation of service within the Marshall community.
The church runs a number of nonprofit groups, including its own chapter of the Knights of Columbus and a chapter of the Lady’s Catholic Diocese of America.
“They do regular dinners, they give out scholarships, they do so much throughout the year,” Kunnakkattuthara said.
The church also hosts a free community soup kitchen every Tuesday for those in need, along with a senior citizens luncheon every third Wednesday of the month.
“What every ways we can give back to the community here, we try to do,” Kunnakkattuthara said.
The church also helps support groups like Mission Marshall, with special food drives and acting as a host for food collection throughout the year for the organization.
The church is planning a large celebration this Sunday at 3 p.m. the Marshall Convention Center, kicking off with a mass followed by a program outlining the church’s history over the years. A special dinner will then be held to celebrate the event, with many former pastors and bishops among other special guests planning to attend.
Kunnakkattuthara said that the church offers three services every Sunday, with two offered in English and one in Spanish for the whole community to come out and enjoy. Information on services along with other ways to contact St. Joseph’s Catholic Church can be found on the group’s website at www.stjosephmarshall.org.
