St. Joseph’s School celebrates 125 Years as 2025-2026 academic year begins

Bishop Daniel Mary Gorman, Cathedral of St. John Parish priests and Holy Cross Sisters, background, in front of the newly-completed St. Joseph’s School in 1925. The original building, with its distinct red brick, still sits on the original corner of 9th and Fort streets. It had eight classrooms and cost $38,000 to build. (Courtesy photo/St. Joseph’s School)

By Emily Woodham

Staff Writer

Classrooms at Diocese of Boise Catholic Schools began opening up in mid-August and early September for the new school year, accounting for approximately 4,000 Catholic students around the state of Idaho.

Elementary classrooms were decked out in colorful arrays of posters, calendars and other teaching aids.

Parents gave hugs and good-byes to children of all ages as they laughed and ran to greet friends. Priests blessed students and faculty. (See more photos on pages 8 and 9).

Each school year, a series of milestones begins for students from pre-kindergarten through their senior year of high school, from learning the alphabet to preparing for First Communion to submitting a college application.

One milestone of the 2025-2026 school year is the 125th anniversary of St. Joseph’s Catholic School in Boise, the parish school of the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist. St. Joseph’s is the oldest Catholic school in the state.

“We asked faculty and staff to think of things that are younger than St. Joe’s,” said Brittany O’Brien, Dean of Students at St. Joseph’s School. “It was so fun to see the list of the things they came up with, like penicillin. Can you believe that we haven’t had penicillin for 125 years?”

In 1900, Bishop Alphonse Glorieux of the Diocese of Boise opened St. Joseph’s School as an all-boys school in the newly enlarged and remodeled St. Patrick’s Hall at Ninth and Bannock Streets. Sister Lucy, a Holy Cross Sister on loan from St. Teresa’s Girls Academy, was the first principal.

Five years later, Bishop Glorieux decided to move St. Patrick’s Hall and St. John’s Church to their current location at Eighth and Fort Streets.

First Communion 1934. (Courtesy photo/St. Joseph’s School)

However, the church building struck a power line during the move and burned down. A temporary church building was constructed until the Cathedral, made of stone and designed by Hummel Architects, was completed in 1921.

St. Joseph’s School continued in the relocated St. Patrick’s Hall until 1925, when the red brick building on Ninth and Fort Streets was completed. The building cost $38,000. The school also expanded its grades to high school. Holy Cross Sisters continued to lead and educate the students of St. Joseph’s for decades. They were not given a salary for their work, of only $25 per month, until the Most Rev. Daniel Mary Gorman was made Bishop of Boise in 1918.

In 1927, the Most Rev. Edward J. Kelly was made Bishop of Boise. As the enrollment of St. Joseph’s School grew, he decided to make the high school co-educational at St. Teresa’s Academy so that the lower grades could occupy the entire campus of St. Joseph’s. St. Joseph’s gymnasium was not added until 1948.

Five years later, St. Teresa’s campus was changed entirely to a co-educational high school, and St. Joseph’s became a co-educational elementary and middle school.

In 1991, a multi-phase, 20-year expansion and renovation began. This project included the Media Center, additional classrooms, new heating and air conditioning system and energy efficient windows.

In this current photo, St. Joseph’s school has changed very little over the last 125 years. (ICR photo/Emily Woodham)

The school office and library were remodeled, and changes to the office increased school security and productivity.

The 2010s brought more remodeling and expansion to the school, especially through grants by the J.A. and Kathryn Albertson Foundation.

Following the COVID pandemic in 2021, St. Joseph’s installed a new multi-purpose playground and community recreation area through the Playtopia Capital Campaign.

St. Joseph’s theme for their anniversary is “Rooted in Faith.” They are kicking off celebrations on Friday, Sept. 12 with a happy hour for alumni from 6 to 8 p.m. at the school campus. The happy hour will include school tours, light appetizers and drinks.

On Saturday, September 15, at 5 p.m., the school will host its 125th Anniversary Mass at the Cathedral. Following the Mass is St. Joe’s Fall Carnival, from 6 to 9 p.m. Everyone in the community, alumni or not, is invited. The carnival includes food trucks, games, live music and a beer garden.

Visit stjoes.com for more information about the celebrations and upcoming events.