St. Joseph Chapel

Building History

St. Joseph Chapel is Milwaukee’s finest example of Romanesque Revival design and is designated as an architectural and historical landmark of the City of Milwaukee. Mother Alfons Schmid, one of the foundresses of the School Sisters of St. Francis, commissioned architects Peter Brust and Richard Philipp to undertake the project of building a chapel to adjoin the St. Joseph Convent motherhouse, erected in 1891. The Chapel took a little over three years to complete and was consecrated on March 19, 1917. The cruciform chapel is 200 feet long and 90 feet wide at its widest point. The dome rises 70 feet above the sanctuary. The chapel can seat up to 500 people and is used today by the sisters for Sunday and weekday Masses, Eucharistic adoration, private prayer, music concerts, and other events appropriate for a sacred space. You can learn more about the community, the chapel, and our history here

Doors Open Weekend

Take a self-guided tour of this stunning 1917 Italian Romanesque Revival chapel featuring 115 stained glass windows, soaring marble columns, intricate mosaics, and one-of-a-kind carvings. Sister docents will be on hand to answer questions and share stories. Lunch and snacks available for purchase from the Chapel Garden Café from 10 am to 3 pm. For those who want to park in the St. Joseph Center lot, free off-street parking in the Sacred Heart lot (enter 28th and Lapham).