With your help, we can make the refurbishment of St. Katharine Hall a reality 

Beyond the St. Joseph Academy Alumnae Garden stands St. Katharine Hall. While in need of refurbishment, this building is the last architectural remnant of the St. Joseph Academy.  Steps are being taken to protect this building from further damage until a time when it can be refurbished. If you would like to know more about this opportunity, contact Fr. David Huemmer at (765) 551-9585. 

Despite the lean years of the Depression, the Sisters found it necessary to build an auditorium as well as indoor facilities for recreation, physical education, home economics and dramatics. The old Assembly had become inadequate to meet the needs of SJA with its increasing enrollment and expanding curriculum. Groundbreaking took place March 1, 1932 and it was blessed by Bishop Noll on July 2, 1932. It opened for school use September 6th of the same year—the class of 1933 being the first to hold commencement exercises inside. 

Plans for the building were arranged by Charles H. Houck, Architect, of Muncie, IN. Bids were assembled from 30 contractors and awarded to Arthur J. Wolfe Construction Company of Logansport, IN. The heating and wiring contract went to Compton & Sons of Tipton. 

This red brick building trimmed with Bedford limestone contains a regulation-sized basketball court with bleachers for 500 spectators and locker rooms, a 30-by-18-foot stage, and a balcony for a ‘moving picture machine’. It also has space dedicated for the domestic science classes with a kitchen, model dining room, and a large sewing room. 

The building was named in honor of St. Catherine of Sienna, patron of Sister M. Katharine Bradley. While Sister Katharine served as Superior and as a member of the Community Council number of years, she is remembered as a competent and enthusiastic teacher in Elwood, Kokomo, Marion, and at the St. Joseph Academy. She took a great interest in the education of the Junior Sisters of the Community and was instrumental in organizing the Teachers' Training School. 

St. Katharine Hall stands as a monument of her dedication to Catholic education. 

Sister Katharine was one of the pioneers of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Tipton. Born April 28, 1872 in Pittsburgh, PA, she was the daughter of James and Katharine Bradley. She had two brothers. She entered the Community of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Tipton in 1892 and made her perpetual vows in 1897. She earned a bachelor’s degree from the Catholic University of America and a master’s degree from the University of Notre Dame. She celebrated her Diamond Jubilee, 60 years as a Sister of St. Joseph of Tipton, in the summer of 1952. Sister Katharine died March 22, 1959 at Good Samaritan Home in Kokomo after a long illness. She is buried in the Sisters of St. Joseph Cemetery on the St. Joseph Retreat & Conference Center campus. 

Her obituary states, "Sister Katharine had just one hobby, and all of her spare time was devoted to it--The Annual Retreat for Lay Women. She forwarded the movement, initiated by Foundress Mother Gertrude Moffitt, when Lay Retreats were almost unknown." 

During the Academy years, St. Katharine Hall was used for Commencement Exercises, school parties, alumni dances, plays, and as a skating rink for the Academy girls and the Sisters! After the Academy closed, it was used for a Migrant Daycare from 1972 to 1991. With all the renovation in the Motherhouse in the 1990s, it became necessary to use St. Katharine Hall as a storage place, which it has remained ever since. 

During the fall and winter of 2019, volunteers boarded the broken windows around the building. In addition, a contractor donated and installed new gutters to alleviate further damage from water and snow. And St. Joseph’s staff have organized items stored inside in preparation for the next chapter of St. Katharine Hall.