In July of 2008, the Allentown Diocese decided to merge Our Lady of Pompeii Parish, St. John Capistrano Parish, St. Joseph Parish, St. Stanislaus Parish and SS. Cyril and Methodius Parish into one church, the Incarnation of Our Lord Parish, at the former SS. Cyril and Methodius Church building. Local historians and former church members are concerned that these churches will be sold and demolished.

St. Joseph's parishioners appealed their church's closing to the Vatican and won a partial victory in 2011 that required the church be available for sacred purposes. However, the rumors persist that the property has been sold to Lehigh University and is about to be turned into a parking lot for students.

St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Church, located at 416 East 5th St., was the only church in the Allentown Diocese served by Franciscan priests. Immigrants from the Prekmurje area of Slovenia or upper Hungary organized the church. The parish served the Croatians and Slovenians (Windish) of the area.

Around the year 1900 the Windish were suffering from economic hardship and religious persecution in Slovenia. They migrated to the United States with up to 6,000 arriving in Bethlehem by 1930. They found jobs working for Bethlehem Steel or the Lehigh Valley Railroad.

The Windish were evenly divided in their religious beliefs between Lutheran and Roman Catholic. Priests were in short supply for the Lehigh Valley in the early 1900s. Franciscans, both Slovenian and Croatian, ministered in the parish from its beginnings.

St. Joseph's Roman Catholic Church was established in 1913. It was the only Catholic Church in the United States known as Windish. Benedict Birkel was contracted to build the stone church and the cornerstone was laid in 1914. The church building was completed in 1917.

The first pastor was Rev. Anselm Murn (1913-1921). An elementary school was built on the same block and operated from 1926 to 1977. The Franciscan Sisters from Lemont, Ill., staffed the school. Roman Kirn, the Slovenian ambassador to the United States, has been a guest at this church. Today the Lehigh Valley Day Care program uses the school building.

This church had an active membership which supported the popular Saturday evening bingo games, St. Joe's Sing-along and the St. Joseph's Sick and Beneficial Society. The church celebrated its 50th anniversary in 1964 and its 75th in 1988.