I have a deep sentimental attachment to churches named to honor Saint Patrick, the legendary patron of Ireland. While I welcome the opportunity to attend Mass and receive the Eucharist–or just pray– in any church, the holy spaces dedicated to Patrick are special to me. It doesn’t matter if they are grand cathedrals such as those in New York and Dublin, or more humble worship spaces, such as Old St. Patrick’s in Pittsburgh — my personal favorite — which I’ve been visiting since the 1970s. Full list below the photo.
New St. Patrick statue blessing in the Monastery Garden at Old St. Patrick’s Church, Pittsburgh, October 2018.
My pilgrimages to St. Patrick’s churches
Arlington Catholic Herald, March 11, 2022. Distributed by Catholic News Service. This story appeared on the CNS website, and the dioceses of Rochester, N.Y., Kansas City, Salt Lake City, and Seattle. Sadly, CNS’s domestic operation closed Dec. 31, 2022.
Top 10 St. Patrick’s posts
From this blog
Readers are welcome to send photos and links of other St. Patrick’s churches around the world. Churches are listed in alphabetical order by city. Those that I have written about are marked with an asterisk* , others are linked to church and history websites. See more images below.
- Baltimore, Maryland
- *Belfast, Northern Ireland
- *Charlotte, North Carolina
- *Chicago, Illinois
- *Cumberland, Maryland
- Derry, Northern Ireland
- *Downpatrick, Northern Ireland
- Dublin, Ireland (Church of Ireland since 1537)
- Fredericksburg, Virginia
- Galveston, Texas
- *Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
- Kilkenny town, Ireland (Image below)
- Lafayette, Louisiana
- *London, England
- Maynooth, Ireland (St. Patrick’s College chapel closed at my 2016 visit.)
- New Orleans, Louisiana (Image below)
- Newry, Pennsylvania
- New York, New York:
- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- *Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, 2013; Second post, 2018 (Image above)
- Rockville, Maryland
- *Rome, Italy
- San Francisco, California (Visited by my wife.)
- Tampa, Florida
- *Washington, D.C.
- Wexford town, Ireland
St. Patrick’s in Kilkenny town, Ireland, on St. Patrick’s Day 2023.
St. Patrick’s in New Orleans, November 2015.