At the invitation of Henry Marshall Tory, first president of the University of Alberta, in 1926 the Catholic Community under Archbishop John Joseph O'Leary founded an affiliated College on the University Campus.
Guided by the Christian Brothers, St. Joseph's College housed up to one hundred men in a handsome brick building that included a chapel, dining hall, classrooms, and library. Through its affiliation agreement the College offered university credit courses in Christian apologetics, ethics and philosophy. Beginning with College's first rector, Brother Rogatian, in those early years Christian Brothers on staff taught in several faculties of the University.
In 1963, Archbishop John Hugh MacDonald invited the Basilian Fathers to assume administrative responsibility for St. Joseph's College. During the next decades, its academic offerings were considerably expanded. Further, chaplaincy services assumed a greater prominence on campus. Only recently, its residence gained an annex, Kateri House.
Today, with a core faculty of Basilians, lay women and men and an excellent library, St. Joseph's College offers undergraduate courses for credit in all U of A degree programs. Of particular importance are offerings in religious education for future teachers in the province's Catholic school system. Other areas of instruction include philosophy, science, and religion, history, ethics, and theology.