page_title: Irvington, Baltimore
section_title: St. Joseph Monastery
hierarchical_section_title: Irvington, Baltimore / Significant landmarks / St. Joseph Monastery
caption_attribution_description: English: 3801 Old Frederick Road, Baltimore, MD 21229
context_page_description: Irvington is a neighborhood in the Southwest District of Baltimore, located between Yale Heights neighborhood to the west and the Gwynns Falls neighborhood to the east. It was historically nicknamed "Skulltown" for its three large cemeteries: Loudon Park, Mount Olivet and New Cathedral.
  More than 50 percent of the homes in Irvington were built before 1950. Its population in 2008 was estimated at 4,548.
  The community's boundary with the Gwynns Falls neighborhood is drawn by Caton Avenue and the MARC Penn Line. Its boundary with Yale Heights follows Maiden Choice Run from Frederick Avenue to Loudon Park Cemetery. Irvington's southwest corner encompasses Loudon Park Cemetery, ending at Beechfield Avenue, where it meets the Beechfield neighborhood and Wilkens Avenue.
context_section_description: St. Joseph Passionist Monastery and St. Joseph's Monastery Parish, located at 3801 Old Frederick Road, constructed from blue granite blocks, are among the city's most beautiful historic structures. The Passionist Order was invited to Baltimore in 1865 by Archbishop Martin John Spalding. In 1868, the Passionists built a small wooden church on a tract of land along Frederick Avenue, opposite Loudon Park Cemetery. This building became known as the "Church of the Passion", marking the beginning of St. Joseph's Monastery Parish.
  Construction of a new, larger church began in 1881 and was completed in 1883. Its cornerstone was placed by Cardinal James Gibbons. The original monastery, beside the church, burned down in 1883. A new monastery was completed in 1886.  The monastery chapel is extant and contains an 1887 Niemann pipe organ.
  The congregation of St. Joseph's Monastery Parish outgrew their church building in the following century. In 1931, Archbishop Michael Joseph Curley placed the cornerstone for the parish's current church building. It was completed on October 2, 1932.
  In April 2014, Father Thomas McCann, administrator of St. Joseph's, announced that the Passionist Priests would "no longer shepherd" St. Joseph's Monastery Church after 149 years of residence. The order's departure date was scheduled for June 30, 2014. The Very Rev. Robert Joerger, the provincial of the Passionists, reflected on the advanced age of many members of his religious order, as well as the declining numbers of that order, in the decision to leave Baltimore for other places. The Archdiocese of Baltimore assumed responsibility for St. Joseph's facilities on June 30, 2014.
caption: St. Joseph's Monastery Church, located at 3801 Old Frederick Road
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