I've been to St. Joe's on a couple of occasions. A wedding (more details below), a funeral, and for regular masses. The church is really quite beautiful. I'm not sure how old the church actually is, but it looks new. There is plenty of seating - both traditional seating in front of the altar in addition to lots of side seating. The baptismal fountain is at the very back and quite interesting. Oh and most importantly, the women's room is to your left and the men's room is to your right as you walk into the front lobby. :) They also have a columbarium (kind of like a mausoleum for cremated ashes) and a meditation labyrinth. They also have quite a few ministries, from ethnic groups to prayer groups to community service groups. For more information, see their website, it's pretty comprehensive. The priests that I've seen have given pretty excellent homilies. The priest that did the homily for my cousin's wedding actually did the homily for a family member's funeral. He did a great job using both Scripture readings and anecdotes without overstepping or being too silly. The music is okay. I'm used to a full band in Boston, so here just a cantor and a piano can seem kind of bland. Don't get me wrong, the pianist and cantor I've heard are okay just not the full burst of energy that I like to have at mass that a band (and a drum kit) can provide. For those planning a wedding, the woman that helps is really on the ball. She knew where everyone had to go during rehearsals and she was just on it. A bit curt, but definitely on it. They are very mass focused, so if you have videographers and photographers, they're only allowed to go only so close to the altar. This parish is pretty serious about this. During the wedding mass if the videographers/photographers go past where they're supposed to be, one of the church workers will tell them to back off. Seems kind of strange, but I get it. When people are pledging forever and ever to each other in the presence of God and their families, you don't really want to see people walking around in the background distracting the congregation. They have a side room, right near the women's bathroom (sweet), where the bridal party got changed. In this "suite", there's a bathroom, a small main room, then a room off to the side that has a ledge, chairs, and a long mirror. Us bridesmaids got ready in there and ate in there, just so there wouldn't be any accidents with the wedding gown in the main room. http://www.stjosephcc.net/ read more

"I'm an Anglican, but since I was in the Garland area 2 yrs ago during the demise of my beloved mother, as i come from Sierra Leone, and this church was closest to me, I decided to attend the 6:00 a.m. & 6:00p.m. Mases on everyday. I absolutely loved everything i came in contact with during my stay. it was & still my intention to be baptized in this particular church, by the grace & power of almighty lord God, read more

I'm an Anglican, but since I was in the Garland area a couple of weeks ago and this church was closest to me, I decided to attend the 11:00 a.m. Mass on Sunday. I absolutely loved the experience--it was warm, welcoming, and deeply authentic. Most importantly, I could truly feel the presence of the Holy Spirit, and I was moved to partake in Holy Communion. The clergy and congregation were wonderful and very open to answering my theological questions, for which I'm sincerely grateful. I wholeheartedly recommend attending this church, especially if you're Catholic and live in the Richardson area! read more

I have been a member of St Joseph Catholic Church for about 8 years. It's been a tremendous blessing to me. Honestly, I'm not a fan of the more modern interior but the parishioners and staff are what drew me and keep me drawn to this parish. I am involved in several ministries and that has led to deep friendships. There are so many ministries that there is one for everyone. If yall come to the 530pm Mass on Sundays, you'll more than likely see me at the door. Come on and let me welcome yall to my parish. read more

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When we first moved to Texas we lived with our daughter in Richardson and St Joseph's was the closest church. I liked it a lot because it has a 730 Mass that has no music. All parishes should have one Mass without loud organ music. Even though as a child I was a member of the choir I was taught music enhanced the liturgy and did not take it over. With the 'new' mass that attitude seemed to change. We moved out of the area to our own home and I am not particularly fond of the our new parish. When we can we drive out to Richardson to attend the 730 Mass. They seem to have a very active parish but Mass is why I go there. read more

I recently attending a beautiful wedding at this venue. The church is quite wonderful and the clergyman presiding over the ceremony was a hoot. He was able to bring traditional scriptures and add in a fun young twist to match the couple. He made the ceremony go by quickly and enjoyable. The church is very well kept and the seats were comfortable. Also, lots of parking in the back. read more

My husband and I have been parishioners here for eighteen years. Over the last couple of years we have been attending another church for various reasons one being the song choices for the Saturday night mass have gotten so bad especially when the choir goes rogue and sings a "revival" type song during communion. We have aired our frustrations about this to numerous people via email, social media posts, questionnaires and face to face talks. Nothing has changed in that regard. Yes, there are other Mass times but that's not really the point. There are other churches though. read more

Our family loves the environment and people of St. Joseph Catholic Church. We have many opportunities available to encounter Christ at St. Joseph's. This community is a blessing to us and many! read more

I got married here when Father Don Fischer was the priest and since then, mass just doesn't feel the same. Other priests have come and gone and I just got back into attending Sunday mass more frequently. I have 3 younger children and they do not attend the Sunday classes because I use to send my, now 19 year old when she was younger and it does cost to attend. It's a little too much to be paying for 2 children to attend so they attend mass with us. We go in the very back room, that way if we have any issues, it's more of a convenience with taking them out so it's not so disruptive as being in the main sanctuary. The only thing I do not like is that they close the doors so we can't really hear the priest. There is a speaker in the room but it's not always on and this can be frustrating since the parishioners in that room would like to hear what is going on too. Not to mention, we need to know when to stand, sit and kneel, so it just seems like a room that gets over looked. I know the ushers are aware people are in there because they come pass around the baskets for tithing when the time comes. This past Sunday I was appalled at mass! They were doing construction, so mass was in the gym. We intentionally sat at the very end with our family of 6 ( 3 really young kids, including my almost 1 year old) and for some reason our row seemed like the only row this usher kept coming too. I didn't understand why she kept coming in our row to sit others down if two rows ahead of ours had several empty seats at the end. She literally sat a couple in the middle of our row to the left of my oldest daughter and it was a major distraction and so complicated for that couple to go sit down during mass. Well, its church, so why is this lady in front of me literally doing a intense turn around stare when she hears my son talking? He's 4, it's not like I'm allowing him to act up or talk on purpose and on top of the stare, mass was barely 10 minutes underway. I think it's very rude when people do this acting as if parents don't want to listen to mass too and it feels as if they don't want to relate to how difficult it can be handling children. The usher lady also mentioned to me when I was standing with my 11 month old that I needed to understand when the aisle filled with people, I couldn't be standing there. Again, this was not even 10 minutes into the mass and I was thinking to myself, "ok, doesn't she mean when we go take the communion, I can't be there?" Why would it be a problem right now when we haven't even come to that point? Tell me right before, if I'm still standing there and I'm blocking anyone. I know how church goes and I know when communion comes so I wouldn't have been standing with my son when that time came, which is at the last 15 minutes remaining in the mass. These experiences really take out the love of attending mass and the purpose. It's such a shame that I couldn't feel the peace and love from others and a huge disappointment when I hold this church very sacred, mainly for getting married here, but also because it's Gods home and it's a place to receive him whole heartedly. I absolutely love the ambiance and just the way I feel when I go to pray or have gone to confession. I use to meditate a lot outside when my daughter would be at church class during the week. I also love the outside labyrinth that you can walk for a prayer journey or just special intentions. Over all, I drive over 30 minutes just to attend this church. It means that much to me that my family and I attend regularly and the Christmas mass is just so beautiful. I love how the choir changes up who sings. They will have all adults, then teenagers and even grade school singing on different occasions and mass times. It's wonderful seeing how everything comes together! read more

St Joseph Catholic Church - May peace be a part of each of us - Churches Near Me - Richardson, Texas

Do the speakers give good sermons? I don't know since I either can barely hear them or when I do I can't understand them. The issue is not entirely that some of these sermons are delivered by speakers with English as a second language. The issue is mostly the sound system. In my advanced years my hearing isn't what it used to be, but as I ask others regarding these sermons, some not so advanced in years, their responses reinforce my claim. In addition, I have recently been to numerous other Catholic churches where sermons were delivered, sometimes by ESL speakers, and I had no problem whatsoever in understanding them. read more

Nice church in the Richardson area. Everyone seems friendly there even though I haven't quite gotten involved with anything there yet. The priests give good sermons and it isn't too hard to find a place to sit if you get there at least 5 minutes early. The church is also very modern looking with a lot of natural light while still maintaining the traditional elements. Definitely a place worth checking out. read more

New to the area and looking for a church home, my daughter and I tried St. Joseph first, as it is closest to our home, I had looked online and was more than a little disturbed at the pastor's letter to the parishioners "assuring" them about the advantages of the new Hispanic outreach program. Though we aren't Hispanic ourselves, we came from a culturally diverse church in our former state of residence so this assurance smacked of elitism to me. The building itself is very impressive but the two nails in the coffin for us were 1) the pastor spoke like a television evangelist with lots of over-dramatic pauses, changes in pitch, and too much like an old fire and brimstone preacher., 2) when it was time to offer the sign of peace, the couple in front of us (The wife was a reader at this Mass), steadfastly kept their backs to us though they shook hands with everyone to their front and side. We left never to return though thankfully now have found a wonderful parish. read more