St Joseph's Church, Cardiff

Early history

The Rosminians arrived in Cardiff in 1854.^[2][3][4] They first established St Peter's Church, Roath,^[2] and St Alban's Church, Splott.^[2] The first church building of St Joseph's used parts from an iron church at St Alban's parish, which received a new building in 1911.^[2][5] This opened on shrubland in Gabalfa on 1 June 1913, served by priests from St Peter's parish.^[2][3][4] In 1921, it became an independent parish, serving around 1,000 Catholics.^[2] The presbytery building was completed later, in 1927.^[5]

The current church building received funding in 1934 from an £11,000 donation from Thomas Callaghan after the death of his wife Edith.^[2][5] It was designed by the architect F. R. Bates, with rounded arches and red-brown brick construction.^[6] This opened on 28 October 1936.^[2] It has a baptistery, bell tower, choir loft, and aisled nave.^[5]

Modern history

The interior of St Joseph's Church was changed significantly after the Second Vatican Council.^[2] The church hall was added in the late 2000s.^{[citation needed]}

Organ

The organ at St Joseph's was built in 1947 by Conacher and Co, with six ranks of pipes.^[7] This organ remained in the church until 2008, when water damage meant that the organ was scrapped. It was replaced with an electric organ in 2008.