St. Patrick's Church

Here's a bit of history to go with the pictures.


St. Patrick's Church: An Irish landmark.

The influx of Irish settlers saw the establishment of the city's first churches, including a church named St. Patrick's.

Irishman and Holy man, Bishop P.F. Crinnon (Hamilton's second Bishop) purchased the swamp like property in 1875 for $10,000. Hamilton then was only a wee city with the population of 32,000 people. The area east of Victoria Ave. was forest and pastures at the time it is now considered part of downtown.
Building operations started in the spring of 1876 and was a difficult task indeed. The swampy land made digging the foundation a real challenge. A depth of eight feet through mud needed to be reached for the bottom stones. At one point during the building of the walls the swamp filled the church basement, meaning draining it out through a neighbouring creek.

The corner stone was laid in 1876 by Bishop Crinnon, and was dedicated in 1877 by Rt. Rev. George Conroy.

The Architect was Irishman Joseph C. Connolly in the 13th Century French Gothic style. (see more from Connolly on Irish Hamilton's Famous Irish Pages)

The Bell tower was to have a steeple on the top but was never built. Three bells were installed in the bell tower, they were christened St. Patrick, St. Brigid and St. Columbcille.

The Organ was originally a reed organ but has changed many times over the years and is now a 23 stop organ.
The interior of the church reminds us of a cathedral, done in Victorian gothic revival style. The stained glass windows are amazing and will have the odd parishioner mesmerized in their beauty. The artwork is also very appealing with icons in eastern tradition of Our Mother of Perpetual Help and St. Jude. The statue of the Infant of Prague comes from the great Irish devotion to the Infant Jesus. The statue of St. Patrick at the rear of the church, is of Italian craftsmanship.

The Altar is of marble with a green Celtic cross on the face and five incised crosses. The back of the Altar has niches for ten statues: St. Patrick, St. Theresa of Avila, St. Augustine of Hippo, St. Teresa of Liseaux, St. George, St. Joan of Arc, St. Francis of Assisi, St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Vincent De Paul, and St. Ann.