The Saint Joseph Church and Shrine is a historic district

Historic district (United States)

In the United States, a historic district is a group of buildings, properties, or sites that have been designated by one of several entities on different levels as historically or architecturally significant. Buildings, structures, objects and sites within a historic district are normally divided...

 located at 8742 U.S. Route 12

U.S. Route 12 in Michigan

US Highway 12 is a US Highway that runs from Aberdeen, Washington to Detroit, Michigan. In the US state of Michigan it runs for . Previous to the creation of Interstate Highways in Michigan, US 12 ran along Michigan Avenue between Kalamazoo and Detroit, a highway corridor now served by I-94...

 in the Irish Hills

Irish Hills

The Irish Hills is an area of land located roughly in southeastern Jackson County and northwest Lenawee County in the U.S. state of Michigan. Its name comes from the Irish immigrants who settled there from 1830-1850...

 region in rural Cambridge Township

Cambridge Township, Michigan

Cambridge Township is a civil township of Lenawee County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 5,299 at the 2000 census. With the surrounding areas being protected by the Cambridge Township Fire Department and the Cambridge Township Police Department.- Communities :* The village of...

 in Lenawee County

Lenawee County, Michigan

-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 98,890 people, 35,930 households, and 26,049 families residing in the county. The population density was 132 people per square mile . There were 39,769 housing units at an average density of 53 per square mile...

, Michigan

Michigan

Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....

. The district was designated as a Michigan Historic Site

Michigan State Historic Preservation Office

The Michigan State Historic Preservation Office is in charge of the listing of historic resources of local, state, and national interest in the U.S. state of Michigan, including buildings, lighthouses, bridges, historic districts, and many other properties deemed important to the history of Michigan...

 on April 19, 1990 and added to the National Register of Historic Places

National Register of Historic Places

The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...

 on May 4, 2007.

The district consists of a church edifice and a shrine

Shrine

A shrine is a holy or sacred place, which is dedicated to a specific deity, ancestor, hero, martyr, saint, daemon or similar figure of awe and respect, at which they are venerated or worshipped. Shrines often contain idols, relics, or other such objects associated with the figure being venerated....

. The church traces its origins to its founding as a missionary church

Missionary Church

The Missionary Church is an evangelical Christian denomination of Anabaptist origins with Wesleyan, Pietist, and Keswickian influences.-Faith and practice:...

 in 1854 by the area's earliest Irish

Irish people

The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...

 settlers. The district also consists of a cemetery with graves dating back to the 1850s. Originally, the church was a very simple fieldstone church

Fieldstone church

The term fieldstone church denotes a type of church, built using fieldstone of glacial erratics and glacial rubble. Such churches occur mostly in areas where the ice ages have deposited such rock material on the one hand, and where on the other hand there is little or no access to natural rock for...

 with no exterior adornments. The church's tower, sacristy

Sacristy

A sacristy is a room for keeping vestments and other church furnishings, sacred vessels, and parish records.The sacristy is usually located inside the church, but in some cases it is an annex or separate building...

, and stained glass windows were added in 1911. A new roof, transept

Transept

For the periodical go to The Transept.A transept is a transverse section, of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In Christian churches, a transept is an area set crosswise to the nave in a cruciform building in Romanesque and Gothic Christian church architecture...

, and sanctuary were added in 1928. In 1932, the shrine was completed under the supervision of Hispanic

Hispanic

Hispanic is a term that originally denoted a relationship to Hispania, which is to say the Iberian Peninsula: Andorra, Gibraltar, Portugal and Spain. During the Modern Era, Hispanic sometimes takes on a more limited meaning, particularly in the United States, where the term means a person of ...

 architects Leo Ouelette, Dionicio Rodriguez

Dionicio Rodriguez

Dionicio Rodriguez was a Mexican-born artist and architect whose work can be seen in Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, New Mexico, Tennessee, and Texas, as well as Washington, D.C. and Mexico City....

, and Ralph Corona. The first resident priest of the church arrived until 1954. and the church continues to function as a Catholic church.