LEWISTON – Before he celebrates an anniversary, Bishop Richard Malone digs in the Diocesan archives to see what he’ll find.

“What a history is yours,” he said Friday night, standing before more than 100 people, celebrating the 150th anniversary of St. Joseph’s, the area’s first Catholic church.

Many of the parishioners were aging and graying, every figure small against the enormous white arches inside.

St. Joseph’s was built by Catholic immigrants, he said, “new peoples” from Ireland and Quebec. They provided labor for the canals and hands for the looms, but, “more important, from my perspective, they brought a solid devotion to their faith.”

Before the church existed, in the early 1850s, they celebrated Mass with a visiting priest from New Hampshire once a month, in a vacant room at the Bates dye house.

Malone read from history collected at the church’s 125th anniversary celebration and asked how many people had been here for that. Thirty or so raised their hands.

The Catholic community in Maine has faced many twists and turns over the decades, he said. Church life is changing, “Some of that is discomforting and puzzling.”

One challenge for the future: fewer priests. Changes being made now are being instituted to make sure Mass is still available to everyone, every week, he said. It wasn’t a warning to remind people, so long ago, it was only once a month.

“We’re doing all we can to avoid that, that’s the point,” Malone said. “We are at a crossroads as a diocese…This can feel like the pruning of the tree, which always feels risky when you’re doing it.”

But steps are needed for renewal and strong growth. “May we have the faith, the trust, the obedience, the courage of St. Joseph, our patron,” he said.

A dozen former pastors, parochial vicars and clergymen with St. Joseph’s ties, all dressed in white robes, lead a processional with Malone at the start of the service and sat near during the homily.

The special Mass kicked off a year of Catholic celebration in the community.