Through a generous gift of $5,000 by Mrs. Mary K. Walker in memory of her husband, the purchase of 1,400 acres of land on September 29, 1920 was made possible. Subsequently, this church was built as the seminary chapel of the Missionary Servants of the Most Holy Trinity, founded by Father Thomas Augustine Judge, C.M.




​     The first Mass celebrated in the present Chapel was Christmas Eve 1926, and the chapel was formally consecrated by Bishop Thomas J. Toolen on January 10, 1927. It served as the seminary chapel and the site of many profession of vows and other significant events over the years. In the 1960s the seminary moved to Monroe, Virginia. St. Peter Claver Church which had served this local community was relocated to this chapel which now became known as St. Joseph Parish, serving all of rural Russell County.
      

Father Thomas Augustine Judge, the first pastor of St. Joseph's, believed that every baptized person was gifted by the Holy Spirit to be an immense power for good. To use his phrase, "every Catholic an apostle!" People came from all parts of the United States here to Holy Trinity in the early 1900s. Together with the small but growing local Catholic population here in rural Russell County, St. Joseph's and Holy Trinity became a place of safety and welcome for all peoples. Some of those who came initially as volunteers felt called by God to become priests and brothers who would continue this missionary work. Thus the Missionary Servants of the Most Holy Trinity were formally recognized by Rome in 1929. Today they number over 140 priests and brothers throughout the United States and Latin America. Their mission is to help every Catholic become an "apostle in the providence of their everyday lives" with the goal of reaching out to those who are most in need and in danger of losing their faith.

"An American Story"

The video "An American Story" circa 1978 was directed and produced by our very own Fr Victor Seidel, S.T.