The Story of Stepps

St Joseph's Church, Cardowan

Back in 1871, long before even the Union Hall was established at Stepps for Protestant worshippers, about 1,000 Roman Catholics, from the nearby villages of Garnkirk, Heathfield, Cardowan and Moodiesburn (all in the Catholic parish of Coatbridge) and Hogganfield, Provanhall, Queenslie, Cardowan West and The Beeches (all in the Catholic parish of Eastmuir), had petitioned the Archbishop of Glasgow for his agreement to erect a more geographically convenient Catholic chapel and school for their use. The most numerous local groupings were said to be at Garnkirk (392 Catholics), Hogganfield (260), Heathfield (109), Provanhall (100) and Cardowan (81). At that time they were said to live "at an average of four miles from a chapel and a Catholic school". All of the estimated 1,000 were considered to live within one-and-a-half miles of Stepps, so Stepps was believed to be the best place for the proposed chapel. Father O' Keeffe and Father McBrearty, parish priests of Coatbridge and Eastmuir, respectively, were said to have given their "hearty sanction" to the petition.

St Joseph's Church

The petition was favourably received by the Archbishop, and he directed the Finance Board of the Archdiocese to look for a suitable site in the Stepps area, with the help of Father O' Keeffe of Coatbridge. After an unsuccessful attempt to acquire a site on Cumbernauld Road, at Stepps, a suitable location at Cardowan was identified and a church and chapel house erected there. Formal opening of the church took place on 14th November 1875, when His Grace Archbishop Eyre of Glasgow was present at Mass. The newly-appointed parish priest, Father Francis Hughes, took up residence in Mossvale House, Muirhead, until the presbytery was completed in 1877. Father Hughes remained as priest at St Joseph's until October 1886, when he was appointed Missionary Rector of Sacred Heart, Bridgeton. During the period 1892-1902 the extremely devout Father John Black was parish priest. It is said that he carried out the Lenten and Holy Week Services in their entirety, and when people went to church on Good Friday night they jokingly said they would take their "pieces" with them, as they didn't know when they would get home again. Father Black was the author of a book of poems, On Calvary's Mount.

The 1877 edition of The Catholic Directory had noted that the mission at Cardowan was "a very scattered and laborious one comprising twelve villages with a Catholic population of about 1,100 souls" and that a "day school is urgently required". This confirmed that although a church had been opened in 1875, the intended Catholic school had not yet materialised. As an interim measure it was decided to use the church itself for the purpose. After morning Mass a curtain was drawn across the sanctuary and the church transformed into a school. Classes began, on this basis, on 2nd August 1880 "under government inspection". A proper school building was not provided until 1901, during Father Black's time.

St Joseph's 2003

To succeed Father Black, Father Denis McBrearty was appointed in 1904. One of his achievements was to substantially reduce the parish debt "by very judicially playing one part of the parish against another" in an effort to raise funds. To succeed him, in 1908, Father Charles Webb, a native of Brighton who had previously served as an Anglican clergyman, was appointed. Father Webb composed his own Book of Prayers to the Blessed Sacrament, said to be of extreme devotion and beauty. St Joseph's next parish priest, Father Patrick Diamond, was appointed in 1921. He improved the church and presbytery, including the provision of a permanent stone sacristy, and built a parochial hall on ground opposite the church. During his time the parish celebrated its Golden Jubilee, when on 5th December 1925 the church was visited by Archbishop Donald Mackintosh of Glasgow. Benediction was given to a crowded congregation and the Archbishop delivered a brief address. At that time St Joseph's still fell within the Archdiocese of Glasgow, but on 4th April 1948 the new Diocese of Motherwell was established, and the Parish has been part of that Diocese ever since.

The incumbency of Father Gerald O'Callaghan, parish priest from 1958 until 1965, was notable for the range of improvements carried out to the church buildings. Faulty stonework was replaced and the remainder cleaned with a kango hammer. The church roof was entirely re-slated. Inside, the church was re-wired and redecorated; seats in the side aisles were cleaned and varnished, while all seats in the centre of the church were replaced. The parochial hall was rebuilt and re-roofed and a new wing containing toilets and a kitchen added. Father O'Callaghan's successor, Rev. Patrick Walsh (1965-1972), also carried out many improvements. New stained glass windows were fitted in the sanctuary; a new baptismal font, new organ, new altar and tabernacle were provided. Windows bearing the names of various Scottish saints were specially designed for the main part of the church by Father Ninian Sloan of Pluscarden Abbey. Flooring was renewed and the aisles carpeted. Father Walsh also did much to pull the various, disparate areas of the parish together, and so improve attendances at Sunday Mass and other church activities.

Father Herbert Flack was appointed as Parish Priest of St Joseph's in 1972, and has remained in office down to the present time, much respected and revered by his parishioners. Perhaps the most important event during his time has been the Centenary Mass of 16th November 1975, where the Principal Concelebrant was the Right Rev. Francis Thomson, STL, MA, Bishop of Motherwell.

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