About St. Joseph · Grand Isle, Vermont
St. Joseph is a small Roman Catholic mission church in Grand Isle, Vermont, situated in the Champlain Islands along Lake Champlain's northwestern shore. It is one of four worship sites that make up Our Lady of the Lake Parish in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Burlington. The parish serves the island communities of South Hero, Grand Isle, North Hero, Isle La Motte, and Alburgh. Sunday Mass is celebrated at 9:00 AM, with a Friday morning Mass at 8:30 AM followed by adoration and the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
- Established
- 1854
- Patron
- St. Joseph (patron saint of Canada)
- Rector
- Fr. Joseph Sanderson
- Diocese
- Roman Catholic Diocese of Burlington
Why belong here
St. Joseph in Grand Isle offers a quiet, volunteer-run Catholic home on Lake Champlain's islands, where French-Canadian Catholic heritage is still very much alive. The parish's long-standing food-distribution work (in partnership with Hannaford and the Healthy Roots Gleaning Program) serves 150–200 people each month across the Champlain Islands, and its annual Thanksgiving and Christmas food drives distribute roughly 200 full-dinner boxes each holiday season. For Catholics in the islands and visitors alike, St. Joseph is a welcoming mission church where small acts of faith and neighborly charity are the daily rule.
Mass times at St. Joseph
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Friday 8:00 AM – 8:30 AM (before Mass)
Adoration times
- Friday 8:00 AM – 8:30 AM
Welcome to Our Lady of the Lake Parish
St. Joseph in Grand Isle is one of four Catholic churches that together form Our Lady of the Lake Parish in the Champlain Islands of northwestern Vermont. The cluster, in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Burlington, also includes St. Rose of Lima in South Hero, St. Amadeus in Alburgh, and a second St. Joseph church in Isle La Motte. Together the parish covers South Hero, Grand Isle, North Hero, Isle La Motte, and Alburgh — a string of communities along Lake Champlain with deep French-Canadian Catholic roots.
- St. Rose of Lima — South Hero
- St. Joseph — Grand Isle
- St. Amadeus — Alburgh
- St. Joseph — Isle La Motte
History of St. Joseph, Grand Isle
Catholic life on Grand Isle dates back to 1854, when Burlington Bishop Louis deGoësbriand bought a home on the island intending to convert it into a church for local Catholic families. The current St. Joseph church building was constructed in 1932, and the parish is one of the oldest Catholic presences in the Champlain Islands. Early parishioners came largely from Quebec, which is the most widely cited reason both Grand Isle and Isle La Motte chose St. Joseph — patron of Canada — as their patron. Both island churches remain volunteer-run.
- 1854 — Bishop deGoësbriand acquires a Grand Isle home for church use
- 1932 — Current St. Joseph church constructed
- French-Canadian immigrant heritage
- Two St. Joseph churches in one cluster, both volunteer-run
Clergy & Parish Staff
The parish is served by Fr. Joseph Sanderson, Pastor, with Dcn. Phil Lawson serving as Executive Director of Pastoral Ministries and Administrator. Laura Limoge serves as parish secretary for the Our Lady of the Lake cluster. Parish offices operate out of St. Rose of Lima (South Hero) on Thursdays and St. Amadeus (Alburgh) on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
- Fr. Joseph Sanderson — Pastor
- Dcn. Phil Lawson — Executive Director of Pastoral Ministries / Administrator
- Laura Limoge — Parish Secretary
Office Hours & Contact
Parish business for the whole cluster is handled at two office locations and a single mailing address and phone line.
- Office Phone: 802 318 7990
- Email: [email protected]
- Mailing Address: PO Box 49, Alburgh, VT 05440
- South Office (St. Rose of Lima): Thursday 9:00 AM–5:00 PM
- North Office (St. Amadeus): Tuesday 10:00 AM–6:00 PM; Wednesday 10:00 AM–6:00 PM
Religious Education & Faith Formation
Our Lady of the Lake Parish runs a cluster-wide Religious Education program. Families interested in enrolling are invited to reach out directly to the parish office to be connected with Fr. Joseph. The registration page on the parish website directs families to begin the process by contacting the pastor.
- Cluster-wide Religious Education
- Registration by contacting Fr. Joseph through the parish office
Parish Outreach: Feeding the Islands
Our Lady of the Lake Parish is widely known across the islands for its food-distribution ministry. Working as the lead organization, the parish coordinates with Hannaford Supermarket in Swanton and the Healthy Roots Gleaning Program in Grand Isle to supply three Alburgh distribution sites — St. Amadeus Church, Island in the Sun Senior Center, and Pine Manor Senior Center — reaching roughly 150 to 200 people each month. Volunteer couples such as Ron Straight and Judith Tremblay pick up food twice a week, and the parish's holiday food drives distribute around 200 full Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner boxes each year.
- Monthly food distribution serving 150–200 people
- Three distribution sites in Alburgh
- Partnerships with Hannaford Supermarket (Swanton) and Healthy Roots Gleaning
- Thanksgiving & Christmas food drives (~200 holiday boxes each year)
- St. Amadeus Clothes Closet (adjacent to food site)
The Two St. Joseph Churches
Our Lady of the Lake Parish is unusual in having two churches with the same patron: St. Joseph in Grand Isle (built 1932) and St. Joseph in Isle La Motte (built 1966). Vermont Catholic magazine explored the likely French-Canadian origin of both dedications, and noted the pride parishioners take in their volunteer-run island churches.
- St. Joseph, Grand Isle — built 1932
- St. Joseph, Isle La Motte — built 1966 of fieldstones gathered by parishioners
- Black-marble altar in Isle La Motte, quarried on the island
- Both run entirely by volunteers
Sacraments
The parish celebrates the usual sacraments of a Catholic mission church. Reconciliation is offered Friday mornings before Mass; other sacraments are arranged through the parish office.
- Reconciliation — Friday 8:00–8:30 AM
- Baptism — contact the parish office
- Marriage — contact the parish office
- Anointing of the Sick — by arrangement