About St. Patrick · Madison, Wisconsin
St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Church is a historic parish in downtown Madison, Wisconsin, located at 404 East Main Street four blocks east of the State Capitol. Founded in 1888 to serve Madison's Irish Catholic community east of Capitol Square — carved out of the territory of St. Raphael's — the Romanesque Revival church was designed by pioneer Madison architect John Nader and dedicated on St. Patrick's Day, 1889. The parish long maintained a strong Irish identity, ran a Catholic school staffed by the Sinsinawa Dominican Sisters (1907–1977), and in 2008 merged with Holy Redeemer and St. Raphael's to form the Cathedral Parish of St. Raphael; today its building is part of Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish in the Diocese of Madison, where daily noon Mass continues to be celebrated.
- Established
- 1888
- Patron
- St. Patrick
- Diocese
- Diocese of Madison
Why belong here
St. Patrick's remains an unusually convenient downtown Madison church — just four blocks east of the State Capitol on E. Main Street — where daily noon Mass (12:10 PM, English, Monday–Friday) makes it a spiritual anchor for state workers, downtown residents, UW students, and visitors. Its deep Irish heritage and its 1888 John Nader Romanesque Revival building (a Madison Landmark and National Register of Historic Places listing) give it a strong sense of rootedness, while its present incorporation into the multi-site Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish guarantees access to Spanish-language Masses and a broad sacramental and faith-formation network across downtown Madison.
Mass times at St. Patrick
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- 30 minutes before every Mass (including daily and Sunday Masses) at Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish churches
Adoration times
- Perpetual Adoration: Holy Redeemer Church (120 W. Johnson St.)
- Tuesday 7:30–8:30 AM: St. James (1204 St. James Ct.)
- Thursday 6:00–7:00 PM: St. Joseph (1905 W. Beltline Hwy.)
- Friday 7:30–8:30 AM: St. James (1204 St. James Ct.)
Parish Identity and Patron
St. Patrick's parish was carved out in 1888 from the east half of St. Raphael's, Madison's first Catholic parish, specifically to serve the Irish Catholic families of the East Main Street and Tenney-Lapham neighborhoods. The parish took its patron from the heritage of those founding families, and the new church was deliberately dedicated on the patron's feast day — St. Patrick's Day, 1889. The parish retained a strongly Irish identity for more than a century and became so associated with the Irish-Catholic community that the Isthmus newspaper notes it has been 'strongly identified with Madison's Irish ever since.'
- Patron: St. Patrick
- Feast Day: March 17
- Dedication: March 17, 1889
- Ethnic heritage: Irish Catholic founders
History
From its 1888 incorporation through its 2008 merger, St. Patrick's served as a downtown anchor parish. The 1888–1889 construction by architect John Nader was followed by a 1902 nave widening and the 1907 founding of a Sinsinawa Dominican-staffed school. Mid-century suburbanization reduced rolls and led to the school's 1977 closure; subsequent diocesan priest shortages prompted the July 1, 2008 merger with Holy Redeemer and St. Raphael's into the Cathedral Parish of St. Raphael. In 2024 the Diocese of Madison's new cathedral question was resolved with the elevation of St. Bernard Parish, leaving St. Patrick's as part of the multi-site Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish.
- 1888: Parish incorporated; Fr. Patrick Knox named pastor
- 1889: Church dedicated on St. Patrick's Day (Archbishop Heiss of Milwaukee present)
- 1902: Nave widened 10 feet on each side
- 1907: School opened, staffed by Sinsinawa Dominican Sisters
- 1957: Major stabilization renovation
- 1972: Madison Landmark designation
- 1977: School closed
- 1982: Listed on National Register of Historic Places
- 2008: Merged into Cathedral Parish of St. Raphael
- 2024+: Site incorporated into Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish
Architecture
St. Patrick's is a Romanesque Revival brick church designed by Madison pioneer architect and civil engineer John Nader. The building is rectangular in plan with a large gabled wing housing the sanctuary and a one-story central entrance pavilion on the front facade; a single 100-foot tower projects from the right-hand side of the facade and a smaller turret echoes it on the left corner. The structure shelters a two-story nave. The combination of vertical brick massing and the 100-foot tower has made St. Patrick's one of Madison's defining skyline elements, especially as one approaches from East Washington Avenue or the Capitol Square.
- Architect: John Nader (also designer of Madison's 1885 sewer system and St. Mary's in Oregon, WI)
- Style: Romanesque Revival
- Materials: Brick with stone detailing
- Tower: 100 feet, on the right-hand side of the front facade
- Madison Landmark designation: March 6, 1972
- National Register of Historic Places listing: September 16, 1982
- Wisconsin State Register listing: January 1, 1989 (AHI #16109)
- Major renovation: 1957
Ministries and Parish Life
Through Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish, St. Patrick's participates in a wide-ranging set of ministries. A bilingual (English and Spanish) faith community forms the parish's spiritual core; Hispanic ministry is supported by multiple Spanish Masses each week. The parish school at St. James (1204 St. James Ct.) serves the parish's families. The former St. Patrick's school and convent buildings continue to serve the broader community through the Salvation Army and Catholic Charities USA.
- Bilingual (English/Spanish) Catholic community
- Multiple weekly Spanish Masses for Hispanic ministry
- St. James School (parish school at 1204 St. James Ct.)
- Sacramental preparation (Baptism, First Communion, Confirmation, Marriage)
- Hispanic ministry / evangelization
- Outreach through Catholic Charities USA (former convent site)
- Community service via the Salvation Army (former school site)
Clergy and Pastoral Leadership
Pastorate over St. Patrick's has shifted with the parish's evolution. The founding pastor was the Irish-born Fr. Patrick (P. B.) Knox, formerly of Our Lady of Consolation in Oregon, Wisconsin. By the time of the 1982 National Register of Historic Places nomination, Rev. Msgr. Francis E. Doherty was the pastor of St. Patrick's Parish. After the 2008 merger into the Cathedral Parish of St. Raphael, and later incorporation into Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish, pastoral leadership is exercised by the pastor of Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish (Diocese of Madison directory).
- 1888–: Rev. Patrick (P. B.) Knox, founding pastor
- —1982: Rev. Msgr. Francis E. Doherty (pastor at NRHP nomination)
- 2008+: Pastoral leadership under Cathedral Parish of St. Raphael
- Present: Under Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish (Diocese of Madison directory)
Historic and Civic Significance
St. Patrick's is among Madison's oldest surviving Catholic churches, the third oldest Catholic parish in the city, and a key landmark of the East Main Street corridor. The building's local landmark and National Register listings make it a protected architectural and cultural resource for the City of Madison. The parish also occupies a pivotal place in the Diocese of Madison's cathedral history, having been merged into the post-2005 Cathedral Parish of St. Raphael before the diocese's 2024 establishment of St. Bernard of Clairvaux as the new cathedral.
- Third oldest Catholic parish in Madison
- Madison Landmark (1972)
- National Register of Historic Places (1982)
- Wisconsin Historical Society AHI #16109
- Direct successor to Madison's 19th-century Irish-Catholic community
- Tied to the Diocese of Madison's 'cathedral question' through the 2008 merger into the Cathedral Parish of St. Raphael
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Rev. Patrick (P. B.) Knox1888–
Irish-born (Limerick) founding pastor; previously pastor of Our Lady of Consolation, Oregon, WI. Commissioned architect John Nader and led construction of the church dedicated March 17, 1889.
- Rev. Msgr. Francis E. Doherty—1982
Listed as pastor of St. Patrick's Parish at 404 East Main Street on the 1982 National Register of Historic Places nomination form.