ELK GROVE ~ St. Joseph Parish
The community --- In 1850, Elk Grove was established as a hotel stop and
a transfer stop for the stage. Located about 15 miles south of historic
Sutter’s Fort, and the state capitol for California, it became a crossroads for
business, entertainment, mail service and agriculture, and acted as home
base for gold miners in nearby communities. After playing a role in the early
gold rush and statehood history in California , a close-knit community
evolved with a distinctly rural and western lifestyle, with a very mixed racial
populace.
Elk Grove is among the fastest growing cities in the United States .
According to the U.S. Census, these are the population benchmarks:
(1980) - 11,812 people, (1990) -- 17,483 people, (2000) -- 59,984 people,
(2002) -- 74,193 people, (2005) -- 130,874. In 2005, there were 40,699
households, of which 81% were occupied by the owner; nationwide, the
owner-occupancy rate is 52%. The growth rate from 2000 to 2005
averaged 12.7% per year. The median household income in Elk Grove is
$72,357 ( Sacramento County is $52,264 while the United States is
$49,137), with a median age of 33 (while the median age in California is
34.4; and nationwide, it is 36.6).
The Catholic Parish of St. Joseph --- On January 11, 1918, Bishop
Thomas Grace purchased property on Grove Street in Elk Grove for a new
Catholic church. It was built and dedicated to “ St. Joseph ” that same year
as a mission church of the parish in Galt (St. Christopher’s). Priests of
other parishes donated the altar, original organ, and a stained glass
window of St. Joseph , which was restored in 1985 and now adorns the
north side window of the “new” church since its recent renovation. After
forty-two years as a mission of Galt, St. Joseph became its own parish, with
its own resident pastor, in 1962, serving the entire city of Elk Grove --- then
numbering approximately 1,100 people. In December of 1972, the old
church was sold, and a new church was built on six acres --- the existing
parish site on the Elk Grove-Florin Road across from the county (and now
city) park. Bishop Alden Bell dedicated the new church in 1973. With the
huge population increases of the last 15 years, a new Catholic parish was
created west of St. Joseph Parish in July of 1993 (Good Shepherd Parish).
A social hall was dedicated in January of 1997, and the “old” new church
was expanded in November of the same year. A mission of St. Joseph was
established in Rancho Murieta in 1987, with a new church constructed
there in 1999 for the three hundred families of that area.
St. Joseph is now a parish of 3,800 families, with faith formation serving
approximately 1,300 children (1,100 children in our faith formation
sessions, and 159 students in our parish school). In the past year, we have
registered 320 new families.
The community --- In 1850, Elk Grove was established as a hotel stop and
a transfer stop for the stage. Located about 15 miles south of historic
Sutter’s Fort, and the state capitol for California, it became a crossroads for
business, entertainment, mail service and agriculture, and acted as home
base for gold miners in nearby communities. After playing a role in the early
gold rush and statehood history in California , a close-knit community
evolved with a distinctly rural and western lifestyle, with a very mixed racial
populace.
Elk Grove is among the fastest growing cities in the United States .
According to the U.S. Census, these are the population benchmarks:
(1980) - 11,812 people, (1990) -- 17,483 people, (2000) -- 59,984 people,
(2002) -- 74,193 people, (2005) -- 130,874. In 2005, there were 40,699
households, of which 81% were occupied by the owner; nationwide, the
owner-occupancy rate is 52%. The growth rate from 2000 to 2005
averaged 12.7% per year. The median household income in Elk Grove is
$72,357 ( Sacramento County is $52,264 while the United States is
$49,137), with a median age of 33 (while the median age in California is
34.4; and nationwide, it is 36.6).
The Catholic Parish of St. Joseph --- On January 11, 1918, Bishop
Thomas Grace purchased property on Grove Street in Elk Grove for a new
Catholic church. It was built and dedicated to “ St. Joseph ” that same year
as a mission church of the parish in Galt (St. Christopher’s). Priests of
other parishes donated the altar, original organ, and a stained glass
window of St. Joseph , which was restored in 1985 and now adorns the
north side window of the “new” church since its recent renovation. After
forty-two years as a mission of Galt, St. Joseph became its own parish, with
its own resident pastor, in 1962, serving the entire city of Elk Grove --- then
numbering approximately 1,100 people. In December of 1972, the old
church was sold, and a new church was built on six acres --- the existing
parish site on the Elk Grove-Florin Road across from the county (and now
city) park. Bishop Alden Bell dedicated the new church in 1973. With the
huge population increases of the last 15 years, a new Catholic parish was
created west of St. Joseph Parish in July of 1993 (Good Shepherd Parish).
A social hall was dedicated in January of 1997, and the “old” new church
was expanded in November of the same year. A mission of St. Joseph was
established in Rancho Murieta in 1987, with a new church constructed
there in 1999 for the three hundred families of that area.
St. Joseph is now a parish of 3,800 families, with faith formation serving
approximately 1,300 children (1,100 children in our faith formation
sessions, and 159 students in our parish school). In the past year, we have
registered 320 new families.
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| 9961 Elk Grove Florin Road, Elk Grove, CA 95624-2560 Phone: (916) 685-3681 - Fax: (916) 685-7254 |
| St. Joseph Parish St. Joseph Catholic Church, Elk Grove St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church, Rancho Murieta |
