History of St. Joseph Catholic Church

Our parish communities of St. Joseph Catholic Church and Our Lady of the Lake are the beneficiaries of a rich heritage that was handed down by the early explorers and settlers to Lake County. About 1836, Salvador Vallejo, who had received a land grant from Mexico led an expedition to Clear Lake and eventually there was a settlement established, “St. Turibius Mission,” in what was called Big Valley. 

A few Catholics, of mostly Irish extraction, were among the first settlers and Mass was celebrated for the first time at a district schoolhouse in Big Valley in 1862 or 1863. Those priests, who came to say Mass once or twice a year are no longer known to us but Mass was celebrated in the home of Mr. Peter Clark at Finley. 

Fr. Luciano Osuna began the first permanent missionary work in 1867. It appears from writings of this era that Fr. Osuna’s garb was that of a Franciscan Order. In the years that followed, many more Franciscan Friars and brothers came to assist the needs of the settlers and indigenous people of what would eventually be known as Lake County.

In 1870, St. Peter church in Kelseyville was built, and in 1871, Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary church was erected in Lakeport. In 1881, The Rev. P. Lauth, C.S.C., built St. Joseph church in Lower Lake, and later this church was sold by Fr. Aertker who acquired a school building to serve as the new church on a two-acre plot. This church is no longer in existence. In August of 1887, at the request of the Most Rev. J. S. Alemany, Archbishop of San Francisco, it was requested that the Franciscan Brothers of the Sacred Heart Province of St. Louis take charge of the missions here in Lake County. 

From records dating from 1974, we find that the first Mass at Our Lady of the Lake chapel in Loch Lomond was celebrated in the summer of 1953 on land that had belonged to Ruth and Robert Prather. While president of the Women’s Guild of Our Lady of the Lake, Dorothy Emerson was instrumental in overseeing the design, creation, and installation of the stained-glass windows. The outdoor services were held at Our Lady of the Pines in Forest Lake (Cobb) as far back as 1940. 

St. Joseph’s first church building originally was a school and later a Baptist and Methodist church. Archbishop Hanna of San Francisco purchased the building in 1919 from the Methodists. The Middletown church became a mission of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church in Calistoga. It was not until 1925 that Fr. Thomas McKeon became pastor in Calistoga and said Mass in Middletown on a regular basis, but it was only on Saturday mornings. In 1954, when Fr. Augustine Quinan was pastor in Calistoga, Mass was held every Sunday at St. Joseph’s, often with the help of the priest from the Carmelite Monastery in Oakville.

In 1967, St. Joseph’s became a mission of Our Lady Queen of Peace, Clearlake. Fr. Albert Gray assisted Fr. Vincent Radvina who served themission church. Later Fr. William Hines served until 1972, when St. Joseph’s was made a self-sustaining mission with Fr. Charles Tracy as its first resident administrator. As St. Joseph’s parish grew, the little frame building grew weaker and a new building was constructed to serve as a parish center used mainly for Mass, but also for religious education classes, fundraisers, and social functions. The building was dedicated in February of 1978. Property adjoining the church was purchased. The old house on the property was restored by the parishioners and it now serves as a rectory/parish office. In the early 1970s, Our Lady of the Lake, Loch Lomond, and Our Lady of the Pines outdoor chapel at Cobb joined St. Joseph’s. Formerly, they were served by Lakeport. In March of 1979, Fr. Wilfred Sheehy came to St. Joseph’s and a parish garage and storage area were constructed. The old church building, which was in disrepair, was demolished about this time. In the 1980s a mortgage burning party was held when the debt for St. Joseph’s was paid in full. After Fr. Sheehy retired, Frs. George Risden, Alex McAllister, Fergal McGuinness, Thomas Kieffer, Andrew Metcalf, and Ray Rioux served at St. Joseph’s as administrators. St. Joseph’s was not an official parish at this time but was still a mission church. 

In October of 2002, Fr. James McSweeney joined St. Joseph’s as parochial administrator and formed a “Vision Plan” to lead us into the unfolding of the needs of our Catholic community. In November 2004, St. Joseph’s was officially designated a parish by Bishop Daniel Walsh under the Diocese of Santa Rosa. The parish of St. Joseph’s now consisted of St. Joseph’s Middletown, Our Lady of the Lake, Cobb, and Our Lady of the Pines, Loch Lomond. Fr. James led the parish of St. Joseph’s, uniting the three churches to financial security and growth over the next 16 years. On August 17, 2020, the parish was greatly saddened when Fr. James passed away from a long illness. 

On August 18, 2020, Bishop Robert Vasa appointed Fr. Adam Kotas as parochial administrator of St. Joseph’s parish, along with serving Queen of Peace parish, centered in Clearlake. In July 2021, Bishop Vasa appointed Fr. Marlon Atendido parochial administrator of St. Joseph’s parish, along with serving as administrator of Queen Peace parish. 

In December 2021, Fr. Lawrence Mendoza was appointed as assistant to help Fr. Marlon minister to the two parishes. Then shortly thereafter, Fr. Marlon and Fr. Lawrence were appointed as co-parochial administrators to serve the needs of both the parishes of Middletown and Clearlake. On December 31, 2022, Bishop Vasa appointed Fr. Lawrence Mendoza as a pastor to St. Joseph’s parish serving the three churches, Middletown, Cobb and Loch Lomond.