Shown here are glimpses of life in St. Joseph Seminary going back to the early 1900’s. Special thanks to Jim Blanchard (Class of 1971), Angela Yondo of the diocesan archives office and especially to Norb Bufka (Class of 1961) for their work on this effort!
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Videos
These two videos were prepared by the late Bob Lesinski (Class of 1961) and present snapshots of the 1950’s and early 1960’s.
1900’s – 1960’s Faculty & Students (Group Photos)
The first class of St. Joseph’s Seminary, 1909. Seated (left to right) are Rev. Salvatore Cianci, Mgr. Anthony Volkert, Bishop Henry Richter, Rev. (later Bishop of Detroit) Michael Gallagher, & Rev. John Schmitt
May 1962 Faculty, Students, & Bishop Charles Salatka
Faculty and Students – 1955
Faculty and Students – 1946
Faculty and Students – 1943
Faculty and Students – 1931
1920’s and 1930’s Faculty
1910’s – 1920’s Students
1930’s
Most of the photos shown here were taken from the scrapbook of Fr. Joseph Zaskowski (Class of 1937) and include many of his classmates.
- Shown first are several views of the grounds.
- Next are group and individual shots of many of the years’ classes.
- Then come faculty photos. (Where possible, the faculty photos include the years they were assigned to St. Joe’s. Included are their titles that appear in the scrapbook.)
- On June 5, 1933 the diocese marked the centennial of the first Mass celebrated in Grand Rapids by Bishop Frederic Baraga and the Golden Jubilee of Bishop Henry Richter’s consecration as its first bishop.
- The final set shows a variety of activities that took place during that decade.
Between 1935 and 1938 during the Great Depression, the diocese addressed the cost of sending graduates of the seminary’s two-year college to other seminaries for the final two years of undergraduate studies by expanding the St. Joe college curriculum to four years. Students in the final two years of studies wore clerical cassocks as seen here in some photos and were identified in their Class Photos as Philosophy I and Philosophy II.
1950’s
The photo below was taken during the 1956-57 school year in the faculty lounge. The roster includes their titles at the time and their tenures on the faculty. (Click for a larger view.)
Seated from the left are:
■ Fr. John Thome (1946-65)
■ Fr. Joseph Zaskowski (beginning1946)
■ Msgr. Joseph Shaw (1936-66)
■ Msgr. Edmund Falicki (1930-57)
■ Msgr. Louis Verreau (1933-58)
■ Fr. James Moran (1945-74)
■ Fr. Francis Hackett (1953-57)
Standing:
■ Fr. William Zuidema (1954-57)
■ Fr. Joseph McKinney (1954-62)
■ Fr. Robert Rose (1956-71)
■ Fr. Leo Rosloniec (beginning 1955)
1950’s and 1960’s Faculty
1960s – 1980’s
Many alumni will remember these two events that took place in 1962: St. Joe Alumni Rev. Michael Green (Class of 1941) and Rev. Charles Salatka (Class of 1938) were consecrated bishops that year.
(top left) Bishop Green celebrated a Pontifical Mass at the seminary in 1963. Shown are Fr. Leo Rosloniec, Fr. (later Bishop) Robert Rose, Msgr. Joseph Shaw, Msgr. James Moran, Bishop Green, Fr. Gerard Guzikowski, Fr. Robert Bissot, Msgr. Thomas Martin, and Fr. John Thome. (Photo by Bill Yagerlener)
Bishop Salatka was consecrated at St. Francis Xavier Church on March 6. 1962.
In the top right photo left to right are Bishop Allen Babcock (Grand Rapids), Archbishop Egidio Vagnozzi (Apostolic Delegate), Bishop Salatka, and Bishop Thomas Noa (Marquette). In the bottom left photo are Cardinal John Dearden (Detroit), Bishop Babcock, Bishop Salatka, and Bishop Noa. In the bottom right photo are Msgr. Francis Kupinski, Cardinal Dearden, and Msgr. James Moran. (Photos by Chris Mulcahy)
For more photos of the 1960’s, be sure to check the Class of 1966.
That’s Entertainment
Athletics
The Seminary and Grounds Over the Years
More details about the history of the seminary can be found in Norb Bufka’s book Saint Joseph’s Seminary: Personal and Historical Perspectives.
The first St. Joseph’s Seminary opened in 1909 in a frame building on Sheldon Street just south of St. Andrew’s Cathedral. In 1910 a four-story brick structure was added.
The Burton Street Campus
When the Sheldon Street structure became too small to meet the increasing enrollment, in 1919 the diocese purchased twenty two acres at then rural 600 Burton Street. The main building officially opened in 1921. Over the years many changes took place, including the addition of a garage, convent, an expanded chapel, a renovated kitchen and refectory, an activities building, and a college building (St. Henry’s Hall) in 1957.
In 2019 the Burton Street Campus was added to The National Register of Historic Places.
Here are several photos the campus over a 99-year period that ended on June 22, 1908 when a ceremony was held to mark its closing and celebrate its history.
Document in cornerstone
1920’s Post Card
2008 Closing Ceremony
Saint Joseph’s Seminary: Personal and Historical Perspectives
Norbert Bufka’s book focuses on the time he lived there in 1956-1961 but is primarily about the seminary as an institution with its complete history.
The book is the story of that institution-building from 1909 through its heyday in the 1950’s and its transformation and final sale in 2008. It includes the history woven with personal accounts of the author and others who attended the seminary over the years.
It brings to life what seminaries used to be like and might explain why a pastor acted the way he did. This book is a fascinating account of what the Roman Catholic Church used to be like, what it thought was important, and how that influenced every Catholic. Vatican II (1962-65) was a watershed event for the Catholic Church and the church as been forever changed.
To order the book go to http://bit.ly/2mHWpZ2.
St. Joseph's Seminary 