About St. Joseph · Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania
Saint Joseph Catholic Church is a large Roman Catholic parish serving Mechanicsburg, Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, in the Diocese of Harrisburg. With about 2,750 registered families and roughly 65 baptisms a year, it offers three Sunday Masses plus a Saturday Vigil, daily Mass, an American Sign Language-interpreted liturgy, Eucharistic Adoration, and an attached parish school (Saint Joseph School, K-8). Pastored by Very Rev. John B. Bateman, JCL, VF, with a parochial vicar, a deacon, and a staff of parish and school leaders, the parish combines a rich local history — dating back to a young Irish-American girl named Mary Brindle's prayers in the 1860s — with the wide roster of ministries and devotions expected of one of the biggest parishes in the Diocese of Harrisburg.
- Established
- 1879
- Patron
- Saint Joseph
- Rector
- Very Rev. John B. Bateman, JCL, VF
- Diocese
- Diocese of Harrisburg
Why belong here
Saint Joseph Mechanicsburg offers Sunday worship in three forms (Saturday Vigil, three Sunday Masses including an ASL-interpreted/livestreamed liturgy at 9:45 AM), daily Mass Monday through Saturday, and three scheduled weekly confession times. Families raising children will find both Saint Joseph School (K–8) and a robust Religious Education Program (Preschool through 8th grade), plus middle-school and high-school youth ministry that, among other things, takes teens to the Steubenville Youth Conference. Adult parishioners can join the Sanctuary Choir, the Knights of Columbus Council 12788 (which runs the Sunday Coffee Club and the annual Silver Rose Pro-Life Prayer Service), and a 'Becoming Catholic' (OCIA/RCIA) process — making it a parish with room both to belong and to serve.
Mass times at St. Joseph
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Wednesday 9:00 AM – 9:30 AM (after 8:30 AM Mass)
- Friday 7:00 PM – 7:30 PM
- Saturday 2:30 PM – 3:30 PM
Adoration times
- Wednesday: Exposition following the 8:30 AM Mass
- Friday 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM (noon) (per parish homepage listing)
Parish History
Saint Joseph Catholic Church grew out of one young girl's decades-long persistence. Beginning in the 1860s, Mary Moriarty Brindle — the fifteen-year-old daughter of an Irish immigrant and a Presbyterian mother and the only Catholic in Mechanicsburg — hosted devotions in her home and wrote to the bishops of the Harrisburg Diocese for twenty-one years before the first local Mass was finally celebrated in 1879. It took another twenty-one years (1900) for a permanent chapel on Arch Street seating 125 to open, after the diocese paid $350 for a plot that sat unused for a decade. The little mission grew into weekly Mass by 1936; became its own parish in 1950 with a 200-seat church and school dedicated in 1953; and finally, in 1980, broke ground for the present-day church on East Simpson Street that seats about 1,000. Two sister parishes — Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton (1977) and Saint Katharine Drexel (originally Blessed Katharine Drexel, 1989) — were carved out of Saint Joseph as the local Catholic population continued to grow.
- 1860s — Mary Moriarty Brindle begins hosting home devotions
- 1879 — First Mass in a local Mechanicsburg home (16 attendees)
- 1900 — Permanent chapel on Arch Street opens (125 seats), named for Saint Joseph, patron of laborers
- 1910 — Mission of Carlisle; monthly Mass
- 1936 — Weekly Mass finally achieved
- 1950 — Saint Joseph becomes a parish in its own right
- 1953 — New church and school dedicated (200 seats)
- 1962 — Social hall becomes oratory to add 300 more seats
- 1977 — Sister parish Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton created
- 1980 — Ground broken for the present East Simpson Street church (~1,000 seats)
- 1989 — Second sister parish, Blessed/Saint Katharine Drexel, created
Clergy and Parish Staff
Saint Joseph is staffed by a Pastor, a Parochial Vicar, and a Deacon, with additional lay leadership in religious education, family ministries, music, youth and evangelization, school administration, and parish operations.
- Very Rev. John B. Bateman, JCL, VF — Pastor
- Rev. Matthew G. Smith — Parochial Vicar
- Deacon Steven Auchey — Deacon
- David D. Maceiko — Parish Manager (also Director of Development for SJS)
- Rebecca Bamberger — School Principal (Saint Joseph School)
- Mark A. Rebuck — Coordinator of Religious Education ([email protected]; 717-766-2472)
- Becky Davis — Family Ministries Coordinator (Baptism, First Communion workshops)
- Daniel Menezes — Youth & Evangelization Coordinator ([email protected])
- Justin Myers — Pastoral Musician ([email protected])
Religious Education Program (REP)
The Saint Joseph Religious Education Program supplements families' catechesis and serves youth from preschool through 8th grade, including sacramental preparation for Reconciliation, First Holy Communion, and Confirmation. Sunday preschool-kindergarten sessions are held during the 9:45 AM Mass; first through eighth grade classes meet Mondays in two sessions (4:30 PM and 6:30 PM). Students must attend at least 80 percent of classes, and a parent/guardian workshop on Reconciliation and the Eucharist is required before any child receives First Holy Communion at the parish.
- Coordinator: Mark A. Rebuck, 717-766-2472
- Preschool–K: Sundays during the 9:45 AM Mass
- Grades 1–8: Mondays, 4:30–6:00 PM and 6:30–8:00 PM
- High School program: Wednesday evenings (mentioned as part of REP)
- Children's Liturgy of the Word (CLOW)
- Sacramental preparation: Reconciliation, First Eucharist (parent workshop required), Confirmation
Saint Joseph School (SJS)
Saint Joseph School, located at 420 East Simpson Street right next to the church, is a parish-affiliated Catholic elementary school serving preschool through 8th grade in the Diocese of Harrisburg. It is supported by five parishes (Saint Joseph, Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, Saint Katharine Drexel, Our Lady of Lourdes, and Good Shepherd) and was named a National Blue Ribbon School in 2015. The school is led by Principal Rebecca Bamberger, with David D. Maceiko serving as both Parish Manager and the school's Director of Development.
- Address: 420 East Simpson Street, Mechanicsburg, PA 17055
- Grades: Preschool (PK) – 8
- Enrollment: ~416 students
- Student–teacher ratio: 16:1 (approx. 26 teachers)
- Recognition: National Blue Ribbon School, 2015
- School website: https://sjsmch.org
- Uniforms: Flynn & O'Hara
Youth Ministry
Saint Joseph runs both a Middle School Youth Group (6th–8th grade) and a High School Youth Group (9th–12th grade), open to teens from public and private schools. Events include fellowship, engaging discussions, fun events, and service projects; the parish also organizes an annual trip to the Steubenville Youth Conference (June 26–28, 2026). Adult volunteers with Youth Protection clearances are encouraged to help.
- Youth & Evangelization Coordinator: Daniel Menezes ([email protected])
- Open to 6th–12th graders
- Annual Steubenville Youth Conference trip
- Middle School and High School Youth Groups meet on selected Sundays
Knights of Columbus Council 12788
Saint Joseph Council 12788 is described as 'the foundation of Columbianism in our parish,' and now includes the Columbiettes auxiliary. The Knights support parish activities, recruit new members, and host visible parish life at the Sunday Coffee Club. They also present the annual Silver Rose Pro-Life Prayer Service (typically in September) and have earned the Star Council Award in recent years.
- Meet monthly on a weekday evening
- Open to all Catholic men of the parish aged 18+
- Sunday Coffee Club after Masses on most Sundays during the school year
- Silver Rose Pro-Life Prayer Service (annual)
- Star Council Award (recent years under Past Grand Knight Warren Stephens and current Grand Knight Clayton Keefer)
- Contact: Dave Kern
Sanctuary Choir and Liturgical Music
The Sanctuary Choir is Saint Joseph's traditional SATB choral ensemble for adult parishioners and high school students. Rehearsals are held Thursday evenings from 7:15–9:00 PM in the church, late August through Pentecost, and the choir generally sings at either the 9:45 or 11:30 AM Sunday liturgy, plus Christmas Eve, Tenebrae, Holy Thursday, the Easter Vigil, and other special celebrations. No audition is required and music reading is helpful but not required.
- Pastoral Musician: Justin Myers
- Rehearsals: Thursday 7:15–9:00 PM in the church
- Season: Late August through Pentecost (May/June)
- Open to adults and high school students
Becoming Catholic & Sacraments
Adults who are not yet Catholic are encouraged to explore the Becoming Catholic program (the parish's OCIA/RCIA equivalent). The parish welcomes about 65 infant baptisms each year; baptisms are celebrated at a Sunday morning liturgy or privately on a Sunday afternoon, with preparation coordinated through Family Ministries Coordinator Becky Davis. First Holy Communion (second grade) requires a parent/guardian workshop on Reconciliation and the Real Presence. Those married outside the Catholic Church are invited to explore Convalidation, and marriage preparation is handled through the parish office.
- Becoming Catholic (OCIA/RCIA) — encouraged for non-Catholic adults
- Baptism — by appointment through Becky Davis, Family Ministries Coordinator
- First Holy Communion — second grade, parent workshop required
- Confirmation — high school program
- Matrimony — contact parish office
- Convalidation — for those previously married outside the Catholic Church