The History of St. Joseph Parish of Colbert

The beginning of the Catholic community in this area was in the late 1800s. The Jesuits were our first priests to serve, with a circuit rider coming on horseback. This priest took care of all the Catholic families south of the Canadian border. The Masses were said in the homes at that time. These Jesuits built our first church in Colbert in 1910, with a great deal of help from early families. Many of these families have descendants living in our parish at the present time.

St. Joseph Parish then became a mission served by a Franciscan priest stationed at St. Francis of Assisi Parish in Spokane. In 1958 we were attached to Deer Park? St. Mary's Presentation Parish with a Franciscan pastor.

In 1969 the Franciscan Fathers asked Bishop Topel to relieve them of the responsibilities of the Deer Park and Colbert parishes, as they were withdrawing from the mission field. The priests at Mater Cleri Seminary, the diocesan high school seminary, were assigned to serve the area, although still officially attached to Deer Park Parish. A parish council was formed and asked Bishop Topel that St. Joseph be made a separate parish. On Holy Thursday of 1970, Bishop Topel celebrated Mass here and announced that the Parish of St. Joseph, Colbert, had been created. All the facilities of Mater Cleri were made available to the parish. Following these developments, the parish council decided to sell the old church.

Mater Cleri Seminary was opened in 1963 and closed as a seminary in May 1974. At that time the parish council was put in charge of the building operation, to make it a place of prayer and reflection.

In June 1986, after much study, a decision was made by the parish to purchase the Bishop Topel Center facility from the Diocese. This decision effectively changed the parish from tenants to owners of the facility. The parish also continued the services of Bishop Topel Center as a parish ministry.

In May 1989 the Diocese received an offer to purchase Bishop Topel Center. Again, meetings were held to determine the impact this would have on the parish. In July of 1989, diocesan and parish leaders met and decided to accept the purchase offer. The building committee went to work in August of 1989. Construction began in October 1990 and the new building was ready for use on June 30, 1991. The church was dedicated by Bishop Skylstad on October 29, 1991.

Recently the parish Building Committee presented to the diocese a 10 year expansion plan. This plan includes additional classrooms and meeting space, relocating and expanding the Eucharistic Chapel, remodeling the offices and a gym / multi-purpose space with a new kitchen. The first 3 classrooms were completed in December 2001. The second 3 classrooms were completed in February 2005.

The parish has grown from 80 families to about 760 families. Many new organizations have been formed to involve as many people as possible in serving the community, building the parish as the people of God and realizing the full potential of all persons in the life of the parish.