About St. Patrick · Memphis, Tennessee
St. Patrick Catholic Church is a historic downtown Memphis parish of the Catholic Diocese of Memphis, located at 277 South Fourth Street in the heart of the city. Founded in 1866 to serve the growing Irish working-class population south of Union Avenue, it has proclaimed the Gospel for over 160 years and today runs an unusually robust outreach ministry (food pantry, clothes closet, affordable housing, and a Jubilee School) in one of the poorest ZIP codes in the United States. The parish is led by Fr. Robert Szczechura and two permanent deacons, and welcomes a diverse congregation from across the city to three Sunday Masses.
- Established
- 1866
- Patron
- St. Patrick
- Rector
- Fr. Robert Szczechura
- Diocese
- Catholic Diocese of Memphis
Why belong here
St. Patrick's is a historic downtown parish with a Gospel-centered mission of 'unconditional love, healing and reconciliation,' welcoming a diverse, multigenerational congregation to three Sunday Masses (8:30 am, 11:00 am, and 5:15 pm). It is a place where faith formation goes hand in hand with extraordinary outreach — a food pantry and clothes closet open Tuesday through Thursday, affordable housing, and a Jubilee School serving the neighborhood — so parishioners don't just attend Mass but encounter Christ in the city's poor. Lifelong Catholics and newcomers alike find a real community here through Bible study, youth group, the St. Vincent de Paul Room in the Inn ministry, and intergenerational fellowship after Sunday Mass.
Mass times at St. Patrick
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Sunday 8:00 – 8:20 AM (in the 'Quiet Room' near the main church entrance)
- Sunday 10:30 – 10:50 AM (in the 'Quiet Room')
- Sunday 4:45 – 5:05 PM (in the 'Quiet Room')
- By appointment — call the church office at (901) 527-2542
About St. Patrick Catholic Church
St. Patrick Catholic Church is a historic downtown Memphis parish of the Catholic Diocese of Memphis, proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ in the heart of the city for over 160 years. Its mission is to 'proclaim and live the Gospel message of unconditional love, healing and reconciliation through prayer, celebration, and action on behalf of justice as a sign of hope for all God's people,' and the community is blessed to have St. Patrick as patron — 'an enduring voice who calls us both to continuing conversion and to reach out to others in charity and compassion.' The parish is located at 277 South Fourth Street (at Linden), in the shadow of the FedEx Forum, and serves a diverse congregation of all ages, ethnicities, and backgrounds.
History
Founded in 1866 by Very Rev. Martin Riordan, V.G., to minister to Irish immigrants and other working-class Catholics south of Union Avenue, St. Patrick's is the third Catholic church in Memphis. The original brick church was dedicated September 3, 1869, after Bishop Patrick Freehan of Nashville laid the cornerstone on November 18, 1866. The parish survived the yellow fever epidemics of 1873, 1878, and 1879 — which killed Father Riordan in 1878 and his successor Father Edward Doyle in 1879 — and grew to about 300 families by the late 1880s. A larger Romanesque church, dedicated November 12, 1905, replaced the original under the direction of Bishop Thomas S. Byrne. The Paulist Fathers have staffed the parish since 1954, and chose to stay at Fourth and Linden in the 1960s when most downtown congregations relocated east — just a few blocks from the Lorraine Motel where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in 1968.
Reaching Out to the Neighborhood
In the late twentieth century St. Patrick's became one of the most progressive churches in Memphis. From the 1990s it has partnered with the City of Memphis Division of Housing and Community Development to provide affordable housing, and its learning center hosts after-school care, youth sports, and a senior program.
- Food pantry and clothes closet — Tuesday through Thursday, 1:00–2:30 PM
- Sunday community meal at 1:00 PM
- Affordable housing program with the City of Memphis
- Jubilee School educating neighborhood children
- Youth sports program
- Senior program
Clergy and Pastoral Staff
St. Patrick's is led by its pastor together with two permanent deacons and a small pastoral team. Together they shepherd the parish, run religious education and youth ministry, oversee outreach, and direct music for the liturgies.
- Fr. Robert Szczechura — Pastor ([email protected])
- Deacon Eugene Champion — Permanent Deacon
- Deacon Frank Williams — Permanent Deacon (Retired)
- Shannon Curtis — Pastoral Assistant ([email protected])
- Mike Beller — Office Manager ([email protected])
- Stephen Juma — Director of Youth Group ([email protected])
- Kristin Korneliussen — Director of Religious Education ([email protected])
- Diego Parra — Music Director ([email protected])
Faith Formation & Religious Education
Faith formation at St. Patrick's uses the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, a globally celebrated model for children ages 3 through 12, and is led by Director of Religious Education Kristin Korneliussen. Adult formation includes Sunday-morning sessions on the day's readings, a Thursday-morning Bible study at Caritas Village in Binghampton, and a Tuesday-evening faith-sharing group.
- Catechesis of the Good Shepherd (ages 3–12)
- Adult Faith Formation — Sundays 9:45 AM–10:45 AM in the Braganza Room
- Thursday Bible study 10:30 AM at Caritas Village (hosted by Jerry and Judy Bettice), with light lunch
- Tuesday evening Faith Sharing, 6:30–8:00 PM at the home of Louise Cayo
- Groups use the Sunday by Sunday publication
Outreach & Charity
Outreach is at the heart of St. Patrick's identity. The food pantry and clothes closet open Tuesday through Thursday afternoons, a community meal is served every Sunday, and the parish partners with St. Vincent de Paul on the Room in the Inn shelter at the Ozanam Center (1306 Monroe).
- Food Pantry & Clothes Closet — Tue/Wed/Thu 1:00–2:30 PM
- Sunday community meal — 1:00 PM
- St. Vincent de Paul / Room in the Inn at the Ozanam Center
- Affordable housing program with the City of Memphis
- After-school and senior programs at the learning center
Youth & Music
Stephen Juma directs the Youth Group at the parish, and Music Director Diego Parra leads the parish's liturgical music program. The parish's 160th anniversary in November 2025 was marked by the blessing of a pipe organ and a first pipe organ concert at the 11:00 AM Mass on the Feast of Christ the King.
- Youth Group (Director: Stephen Juma)
- Music Ministry (Director: Diego Parra)
- Pipe organ blessing and concert — November 23, 2025
Get Involved
St. Patrick's welcomes visitors and new parishioners. Registration forms are available at the table near the main church entrance (or downloadable from the website), and a variety of ministries — liturgical, formation, outreach, and social — always need volunteers. Contact Pastoral Assistant Shannon Curtis at (901) 257-2542 or [email protected] to get connected.
- Parish registration forms at the main entrance
- Contact: Shannon Curtis, Pastoral Assistant — (901) 257-2542
- Active ministries include food pantry, youth group, music ministry, faith formation, and Room in the Inn
Contact & Visit
The parish office is reachable at (901) 527-2542 or [email protected]. Sunday Masses are celebrated in the church at 8:30 AM, 11:00 AM, and 5:15 PM; reconciliation is offered in the 'Quiet Room' before each Mass. Holy Day schedules and last-minute updates are posted in the bulletin and on the parish's Facebook page.
- Address: 277 South Fourth Street, Memphis, TN 38126
- Phone: (901) 527-2542
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: http://www.stpatsmemphis.org/
- Office hours listed in the 2019 parish directory: Monday–Friday 8:30 AM–3:30 PM
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Very Rev. Martin Riordan, V.G.1866–1878
Founder of the parish; first pastor. Established the parish school in 1865 and supervised construction of the parsonage and the original brick church dedicated in 1869. Died in the 1878 yellow fever epidemic.
- Father Edward Doyle1878–1879
Riordan's successor; died in the 1879 yellow fever epidemic.
- Reverend Monsignor Valentine Handwerker
Pastor in the 2019 Catholic Diocese of Memphis parish directory.
- Fr. Tim Sullivan, C.S.P.
Paulist Father previously pastor of St. Patrick Church in Memphis.
- Fr. Robert Szczechura
Current pastor.