Guide to Kerkschip Sint-Jozef

The ship was built in Rotterdam between 1942 and 1944 on behalf of the German occupier. Constructed from reinforced concrete, it was intended as a supply vessel for the Kriegsmarine, chosen partly due to a severe wartime shortage of steel.

Following the liberation of Antwerp in September 1944, the concrete hull was seized by the Belgian state. It was later sold in 1946 and utilized as a coal storage facility within the Port of Antwerp due to its lack of a motor.

In 1950, the ship was donated to the Archdiocese of Mechelen. It underwent an extensive conversion to serve as a church and social center for inland skippers and their families, officially receiving its mooring at the First Dock on October 1, 1952.

In April 2008, the vessel was rammed by the tugboat Antigoon, resulting in a one-meter crack that caused the ship to list and threaten to sink. Firefighters pumped out leaking oil tanks while a diver successfully repaired the hull with quick-setting cement.

The vessel has been officially recognized and protected as floating heritage since 2011. This status acknowledges its historical significance as a unique concrete ship repurposed for social and religious life.

Due to ongoing port expansions, the ship was relocated in 2012 to the Houtdok at quay 25A near the Mexico Bridge. This move brought the site closer to the city center, allowing it to serve as a religious extension to the Saint Paul's Parish.