St. Joseph the Worker Parish, Fallsington, was established on October 1, 1956 by the Most Reverend John F. O'Hara, C.S.C., Archbishop (later Cardinal) of Philadelphia. The Reverend Paul J. Cahill, a native of Philadelphia, who was ordained to the priesthood in 1935, was appointed the first pastor.

Reverend Paul J. Cahill

On October 7, 1956 the first Sunday Mass was offered in the Manor Elementary School on Penn Valley Road, Levittown. Two weeks later, Masses began to be offered each Sunday at the school, courtesy of the Pennsbury School District.

A written history of a parish cannot begin to tell the story that is written in the minds and hearts of all (priests, religious and laity) who form the parish family and who live, work and worship as members of the parish community. The Masses and prayers, the Sacraments, the births and deaths, the marriages, the friendships, the good times and the bad times, as well as the parish buildings (church, school, hall, rectory and convent) make the history. What is written is only a feeble effort to enable others to know the facts.

The first and newest member of the parish to be baptized was Paul Wolstenholme. The rite took place on November 14, 1956 in Holy Trinity Church, Morrisville. The following Sunday four infants were baptized in the parish rectory. On October 29, 1956 daily Mass began to be offered in the rectory, a home located on the parish property. The transformation of a barn, also on the parish property, into a chapel was begun on November 4, 1956. The building began to be used for daily Mass, baptisms and other devotions in February, 1957.

On Palm Sunday, April 14, 1957, Reverend John Nugent, Vicar Forane of Bucks County, officiated at groundbreaking ceremonies for both the church and school.

The following month the first assistant pastor, Father Edmund J. Rafferty, was appointed to assist Father Cahill. The cornerstone of the church was laid on November 1, 1957.

The year 1958 was highlighted by the arrival of The Bernardine Sisters of St. Francis in August. The Sisters were to teach the parish school children. With their arrival the rectory on the parish property was converted into a convent, and the pastor, Father Cahill, moved into a home at 214 Thornridge Drive, Levittown. The opening of the parish buildings took place with a Solemn High Mass in the parish church on December 25,1958.

January 2, 1959 saw the shining, happy faces of children grades one through four enter the new school for the first time. The First Holy Communion Class received the sacrament in May of the same year and later in November, Confirmation ceremonies were held in the parish church. The present brick rectory was completed and priests moved into the building in August, 1959.

Plans for an auditorium/gymnasium were formalized, and in January 1961 the grand opening took place.

Father (later Monsignor) Paul Cahill, the parish's first pastor was transferred to St. Stanislaus Parish, Lansdale in March of 1961. He was succeeded by Father Thomas P. Pryor.

Father Thomas P. Pryor

On July 11, 1962 a group of parish women formed the St. Martha Guild. St. Martha is the patroness of cooks, and the members of the guild began to raise money for the parish. They equipped a large kitchen which was a part of the parish hall, and over the next nineteen years raised $54,000 in revenues. Although the St. Martha Guild no longer exists, the kitchen has been improved, and both men and women continue to operate the kitchen and raise funds for the parish.

With the need for additional space in the school, the parish added a third floor to the school, providing eight new classrooms to the original two-story school. In October, 1967 -- just eleven years after the founding of the parish -- the original mortgage on the parish property was burned. The afternoon event on the parish grounds was followed with a buffet and evening social. Bingo Games, held every Thursday and Saturday evenings, were a great financial help in paying off the debt and in building the new classrooms. In June 1971, having served the parish for ten years, Father (later Monsignor) Thomas Pryor was appointed pastor of St. Bernard Church, Philadelphia, and Father John N. Kelly became the third pastor of St. Joseph the Worker Church.

Monsignor John N. Kelly

Father Kelly began the Legion of Mary in the parish as well as a 7 PM weekday Mass to make attendance more convenient. When His Holiness, Pope John Paul II visited Philadelphia in October 1979 and offered Mass on the Parkway, the priests, religious and laity participated.

During the Summer of 1980 various committees were formed to celebrate the Silver Anniversary of the establishment of St. Joseph the Worker Parish the following year. During the year of celebration, Father Thomas F. Daley, assistant pastor since his ordination in 1977, became ill and, after several months of treatment, died on August 7, 1981. The statue of Our Lady of the Smiles on the parish property was erected in his memory.

Father Thomas F. Daley

The observance of the Silver Jubilee of the parish was observed on October 4, 1981 with a Mass of Thanksgiving offered by Auxiliary Bishop Martin N. Lohmuller as the principal celebrant. A dinner dance followed at Kings Caterers II on New Falls Road in Bristol Township. On May 29, 1983 Father John N. Kelly, pastor, was made a Domestic Prelate of our Holy Father, Pope John Paul II, with the title of Right Reverend Monsignor. January 19, 1989 marks the date of the death of Monsignor Kelly.

Father John J. Foster, a native of Coaldale, Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, and pastor of St. Matthew Church, Conshohocken, was installed as pastor on March 12, 1989.

In November, 1989, the window of the crucifixion over the main entrance to the church, in memory of Monsignor Kelly, was blessed and dedicated by Bishop Martin N. Lohmuller.

On Friday, October 19, 1990 the Most Reverend John J. Graham, D.D., Retired Auxiliary Bishop of Philadelphia and former pastor of St. Helena Church in Philadelphia, became a resident in St. Joseph the Worker Rectory.

On the morning of the final day of the parish Forty Hours Devotion, May 7, 1991, it was discovered that during the night an unknown person or persons broke into the church, pried open the tabernacle, dumped the Blessed Sacrament on the floor and, after chewing six consecrated hosts, spit them on the floor. Three chalices and three ciboria were stolen.

There was no exposition of the Blessed Sacrament in the church that day. At 7 PM that evening, the church was blessed and a Mass of Reparation was offered in place of the devotions that ordinarily closed the Forty Hours.

In September 1991, the Bernardine Sisters of St. Francis, who had staffed the parish school since its beginning, withdrew because of the shortage of vocations. Mrs. Barbara M. Suwala, principal of Mother of Divine Grace School, Philadelphia, became the first lay principal, and the former convent became the Parish Effatha Center for meetings, days of recollection and retreats.

God brought good out of the evil that occurred in May 1991 when, after the desecration and destruction of the church tabernacle, a new tabernacle was blessed and installed in December of that year. On March 25, 1992, the Solemnity of the Annunciation, a perpetual adoration chapel, dedicated to Our Lady of the Eucharist, and a chapel for reading and private prayer, dedicated to Mary, Mother of the Word of God, were made available in the Parish Effatha Center to parishioners and others who would want to come and pray. The chapels are open twenty-four hours a day every day of the year except Good Friday and Holy Saturday to those who wish to visit and pray.

In 1995 St. Joseph the Worker Elementary School was certified by the Middle States Association. On the first Sunday in October, the parish quietly observed the 40th Anniversary of its founding. The death of Nancy Alexis, librarian in the parish school, brought an outpouring of donations and gifts amounting to more than $5,000 that made it possible to enlarge our school library, which was dedicated on March 12, 1997.

In April 1997 the Effatha Center ceased to exist as a place for meetings, days or recollection and retreats, and four Grey Nuns of the Sacred Heart took up residence in the former convent; however, the perpetual adoration and prayer chapels remained. The following year four more Grey Nuns brought the number of residents to eight, and one of the Sisters joined the school faculty as a Computer teacher.

In September 1997 the parish embraced Stewardship and Tithing as a way of life in an effort to bring about greater involvement on the part of more parishioners. It marked the beginning of an effort to eliminate a $350,000 debt and to make necessary improvements on the parish buildings and grounds.

The response was more positive than expected. Enrollment in the parish school has grown from 204 in 1992 to 240 in 1998. More younger families are moving into the parish. In 1998 the carpeting in the sanctuary was replaced with a hardwood floor. In 1999 much needed improvements were completed, including the replacement of the badly worn carpet throughout the church.

The year 2000 brought about many changes to our parish. Much needed renovations to the parish rectory were completed and a new sound system was installed in the Church. The parish house was sold and was renovated to become the new home for the St. Joseph Home for Boys. Most importantly we welcomed our newest pastor.

On July 9th, 2000 Father Donald G. Birch was installed as Pastor of St. Joseph the Worker.