For seven years, former Dorchester resident Christine Inman has sought to honor the memory of the late Rev. J. Joseph Kierce, a priest and pastor for fifty years at the onetime St. Kevin’s Church in Uphams Corner. Now, her efforts have finally paid off. This Saturday (Nov.6) at 11 a.m., Inman and fifty invited guests will gather at visit Uphams Crossing, the former site of St. Kevin’s, to dedicate an interior plaque memorializing the history of the parish and an exterior bench dedicated to the memory of Father Kierce.

Inman said she began her quest after she learned that St. Kevin’s Church and School would be demolished and replaced with affordable housing. As the Boston Archdiocese’s Planning Office for Urban Affairs (POUA) developed plans for the site, Inman started a petition to name the apartments in a way that reflected the history of St. Kevin’s Church.

She felt blindsided by POUA’s decision. “They had a secret meeting that none of us were involved in and came out after a couple of months and said, ‘We’re going to call it Uphams Crossing,’” she said. “We wanted it to be called the Kierce Apartments or the Kierce residences. They finally agreed to honor both what St. Kevin’s was in its heyday and Father Kierce’s work there for 50 years. They agreed to do this timeline inside the community center,” a task that required a tremendous investment of time on Inman’s part.

“I ended up doing all the research and putting the timeline together for them,” Inman said, with collaborative help the archdiocese headquarters, the Halifax Sisters of Charity, and many current and former Dorchester residents.

Her efforts and those of other members of her Facebook group have not gone unnoticed. Robert Gillis and Diane Welby, two former Dorchester residents and students at St. Kevin’s, remember Father Kierce fondly.

“He was larger than life,” Gillis said. “He stands out because he was just extraordinary. He had the nickname “Jumping Joe” because he was always moving. He walked everywhere and he visited all the neighbors. He saw the whole world as his ministry. What I remember most about him were his Masses. He had so much energy and passion and love for being a priest, and he just wanted to share that. You would see him walking around Uphams Corner smiling, always happy, always wanting to talk to people. He had an enthusiasm and a love that’s rare.”

One memory in particular stood out to Gillis. “When there might be an instance of violence in Dorchester, Father Kierce would not only visit the victim, he would also visit the family of the person who committed the violence, because he understand that they were hurting, too.”

After raising the $6,000 to pay for a stone bench through a Facebook GoFundMe campaign, Inman planned Saturday’s dedication ceremony involving several short speeches, the unveiling of the timeline and bench, and 50 invited guests, including members of the Kierce family. In her words, “It has been a lot of work.”