St. Joseph was founded as a German ethnic parish in 1888. The previous winter, a delegation of German speaking Catholics from New Castle presented Bishop Richard Phelan with a request for a new parish. The Bishop appointed a committee of three priests in May 1888 to investigate the need for a new church. Based on their recommendation, the first pastor of St. Joseph was appointed on August 11, 1888.
The new congregation purchased an existing church, the First Methodist Episcopal Church located on Jefferson Street. This building, constructed around 1838, had briefly served as the Lawrence County Court House from 1850-1852. The building was remodeled and dedicated on December 18, 1888.
On April 25, 1892, the church was destroyed in a fire. It was rebuilt on the same site. While the church was being rebuilt, services were held at Fleckenstein Hall. On June 11, 1893, the new church building was dedicated. The facade of the church was renovated in the 1930's and the interior was redecorated in the 1940's.
On June 9, 1954, St. Joseph parish boundaries were changed and the parish was designated as a territorial parish. As a result, property for new church facilities was purchased on Cascade St. On May 1, 1955, ground was broken for a school which would also serve as a temporary church. The new building was dedicated on December 11 of that year. The last Mass at the old church was held on September 1, 1958. Shortly afterwards, the church was torn down and the building was sold. On September 18, 1960, ground was broken for a new church. The church was dedicated on April 14, 1962.
With the turn of the century, trends in the Diocese of Pittsburgh began to reveal a decline in Mass attendance and sacramental participation. At the same time, the number of priests available for parish ministry also began to decline.
To address these challenges, Bishop David Zubik announced on April 12, 2015 a new diocesan initiative, On Mission for The Church Alive!, a consultative strategic planning process designed to foster viable, sustainable and vibrant parishes. As part of this process, the Bishop, in consultation with the faithful, began to consider new models of parish life based on pastoral needs, financial and temporal resources and available clergy.
In 2018, following the period of consultation, parishes were grouped together and served by a single clergy team to eventually form one new parish.
During this transition period, St. Joseph the Worker Parish remained an independent parish while sharing clergy and staff and eventually publishing a joint bulletin with the other parishes. This ended on July 1, 2019 when St. Joseph the Worker Parish merged with St. Camillus Parish, Neshannock; St. James the Apostle Parish, Pulaski; Christ the King Parish, Bessemer/Hillsville and the New Castle parishes of Mary, Mother of Hope, St. Vincent de Paul and St. Vitus to form the new Holy Spirit Parish. As part of the merger St. Joseph the Worker Church remained open as part of the new parish. However, due to declining Mass attendance and financial considerations, St. Joseph the Worker Church closed on October 2, 2023.
