HISTORIES OF SAINT PATRICK

In 1831, immigrant laborers, many of them Catholic, settled in the Borough of Norristown, PA to work constructing a railroad between Philadelphia and Reading. With no Catholic church in Norristown, worshipers had to travel to Manayunk, some ten miles away. In 1834, Bishop Kenrick gave Father David Mulholland permission to start a parish in Norristown. And when a Mr. Patrick Flynn came up with the $100 needed to complete the startup costs, a grateful pastor announced that the church would be placed under the patronage of St. Patrick.
The first church was completed in 1839 on Washington Street above Cherry Street, on land donated by Bernard McCready. In 1840, Bishop Kenrick came to administer the Sacrament of Confirmation for the first time in the parish. Bishop John Neumann, later canonized a saint, administered Confirmation in 1852 and 1855.
During the Civil War, the parish continued to grow. A new church site was selected at Lafayette and Cherry Streets. Groundbreaking was held in 1859 and construction was completed in 1864. St. Patrick School opened in September, 1875, staffed by the Sisters Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
During these years, the Pennsylvania Railroad had laid tracks in front of the Church, resulting in depreciation of the church property, along with the noise and dirt associated with the steam engines of the time. After a suit against the Railroad that lasted several years, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, in 1889, awarded St. Patrick's $24,000 to recompense the parish. This allowed Father Shannon to purchase land at 700 DeKalb Street to begin construction of a school and a new church for the still growing parish. The school was completed and blessed in 1895. Parishioners gathered for the groundbreaking of the new church in 1905, and in 1907 for the dedication of the new St. Patrick Church. The statue of Saint Patrick in front of the church was installed and blessed in October, 1920. The painting of the Crucifixion above the main altar is a copy of the original painting that graced the Layfayette Street church and had been destroyed by fire.
As Norristown grew over the years, the boundaries of St. Patrick's gave birth to new parishes: Holy Saviour in 1903; St. Helena's in 1919; St. Francis of Assisi in 1923 and St. Paul's in 1963.
The 150th anniversary of St. Patrick's was celebrated in 1985 and we continue as a strong parish serving God and community into the 21st century!