Joseph was born February 10, 1936. He attended St. Brigid School in
Canton and
Mount St. Joseph
High School.
After high school and two years at St. Charles College in Catonsville, Archbishop Keough sent him to the Grand Seminary of Saint Brieuc in Brittany, France. He was ordained May 27, 1961 at the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen in Baltimore. His assignments included St. Matthew in
Baltimore
, St. Patrick in
Cumberland
, St. Francis of
Assisi
in
Baltimore
and chaplain at University of Maryland Hospital. He was installed as pastor of Church of the Holy Spirit on December 10, 1982.