About St. Patrick's Old Church (Historic Church) · Chicago, Illinois
Old St. Patrick's Church (commonly known as "Old St. Pat's") is a historic Roman Catholic parish in Chicago's Near West Side, founded by Irish immigrants on Easter Sunday, April 12, 1846 as the first English-speaking Catholic parish in the city. Its current Romanesque brick church — designed by architects Asher Carter and Augustus Bauer and dedicated on Christmas Day 1856 — is the oldest public building in Chicago and one of only a handful of structures to survive the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. Long described as the "cornerstone of Irish culture" in Chicago, today it is a thriving urban parish of more than 3,000 households with a reputation for exquisite liturgy, robust young-adult ministry, and a deep commitment to Catholic social teaching through its North Lawndale Kinship Initiative.
- Established
- 1846
- Patron
- St. Patrick
- Rector
- Fr. Pat McGrath, S.J. (18th Pastor, installed July 31, 2022)
- Diocese
- Archdiocese of Chicago
Why belong here
Old St. Pat's is a rare combination: the oldest Catholic church in Chicago — a 168-year-old Romanesque landmark decorated with Celtic Revival stained glass — and a 3,000-household, mid-21st-century urban parish that runs five Sunday Masses, a robust young-adult and youth program (Encounter, Foundations), an acclaimed music ministry, and a justice-and-kinship partnership with the North Lawndale neighborhood. Members describe being drawn by 'exquisite worship,' an explicit welcome to LGBTQ Catholics, single adults and young professionals, and a parish vision that puts Catholic social teaching into action through ministries like the North Lawndale Kinship Initiative, St. Vincent de Paul, and the Bill & Mary Aronin Center for Social Concerns.
Mass times at St. Patrick's Old Church (Historic Church)
Weekly Mass schedule
Confession times
- Wednesdays 11:30 AM – 12:10 PM (before the 12:10 PM Mass)
- By appointment (email [email protected])
Adoration times
- Lenten Evenings of Adoration & Contemplative Music (typically Wednesdays 7:00 PM during Lent; check bulletin)
- Other seasonal/special adoration events as announced in the parish bulletin (e.g., 24-hour adoration days)
History & Heritage
Old St. Patrick's was founded by Irish immigrants — including Bishop William Quarter, the first Bishop of Chicago — on Easter Sunday, April 12, 1846 as the first English-speaking Catholic parish in Chicago. A permanent Romanesque brick church, designed by Asher Carter and Augustus Bauer and built of yellow Cream City brick from Milwaukee, was dedicated on Christmas Day, 1856. The building is the oldest public building in the City of Chicago and one of only a handful of structures to survive the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. In 1885 the two octagonal spires — said to represent the Eastern and Western Churches — were completed by the same architect responsible for Holy Name Cathedral. Between 1912 and 1922 the artist Thomas A. O'Shaughnessy redecorated the interior and installed 15 stained-glass windows, 12 of them modeled on the Book of Kells. The church was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1977.
- 1846 — Parish founded on Easter Sunday, April 12
- 1853 — Cornerstone laid on May 22/23
- 1856 — Church dedicated on Christmas Day by Rev. Denis Dunne
- 1857 — Mozart's 12th Mass performed on St. Patrick's Day; St. Vincent de Paul Society brought to Chicago from OSP (Dec. 31)
- 1871 — Survives the Great Chicago Fire by two blocks
- 1885 — Octagonal spires completed
- 1912–1922 — O'Shaughnessy installs the 15 stained-glass windows
- 1977 — Added to the National Register of Historic Places
Architecture & Art
The church is Romanesque Revival in style, designed by two of Chicago's earliest practicing architects, Asher Carter and Augustus Bauer, and built of yellow Cream City brick from Milwaukee. Its two octagonal spires (1885) are said to symbolize the Eastern Church and the Western Church. The interior was transformed between 1912 and 1922 in the Celtic Revival style by Thomas A. O'Shaughnessy, who designed and personally installed 15 stained-glass windows. The 12 side windows draw on the illuminations of the 9th-century Book of Kells, while the three east-façade windows — the 'Faith, Hope & Charity' triptych, also known as the Terrence MacSwiney Memorial Triptych — are in an Art Nouveau style. The church underwent a major interior and exterior restoration completed in 1996.
- Style: Romanesque Revival
- Architects: Asher Carter & Augustus Bauer
- Material: Yellow Cream City brick (Milwaukee)
- Spires added 1885 (by the architect of Holy Name Cathedral)
- 15 stained-glass windows by Thomas A. O'Shaughnessy (1912–1922)
- Major restoration completed 1996
- NRHP #77000481, listed July 15, 1977
Mass & Liturgy
Old St. Patrick's celebrates Mass five times on Sunday and daily at noon. The 9 AM and 11 AM Masses are the best-attended and feature a choir of professional vocalists, committed volunteers, and skilled instrumentalists; the 7 AM Mass is a quiet, contemplative service with no music; the 5 PM Mass is the gathering point for the young-adult community; and the 8 PM Mass — the latest Sunday Mass offered in downtown Chicago — caters to shift workers with lower lighting and fewer music ministers. Daily weekday Mass is celebrated Monday through Friday at 12:10 PM; the Wednesday Mass is livestreamed. The parish's music ministry is widely regarded as one of the finest in the Archdiocese.
- Sunday: 7:00, 9:00 (livestream), 11:00 AM, 5:00 PM (livestream), 8:00 PM
- Weekdays: Mon–Fri 12:10 PM (Wed livestreamed)
- Wednesday Confession 11:30–12:10 PM
- Lenten Evenings of Adoration & Contemplative Music
- Foundations Youth Ministry hosts the 9:00 AM Mass on the first Sunday of each month
Faith Formation for Children, Teens & Adults
Religious education for children is offered through the Partners Religious Education program (preschool through Confirmation), which meets twice a month on Sunday mornings in the Frances Xavier Warde School classrooms from September through April, with monthly parent workshops. High-school youth are served by Foundations Youth Ministry, which meets most Sunday mornings during the school year and includes five retreats across four years, an annual weeklong summer 'Worktour' service trip, and frequent local service projects. Adults have access to a wide range of opportunities: Encounter Young Adult Ministry (small groups, social events, and a young-adult presence at the 5 PM Sunday Mass), the Book of Patrick adult faith-formation series, the OSP Podcast, and sacramental preparation for adults through the parish office.
- Partners Religious Education (preschool–8th grade; sacramental preparation)
- Foundations Youth Ministry (9th–12th grade; retreats, Worktour, local service)
- Encounter Young Adult Ministry (small groups around the 5 PM Sunday Mass)
- Book of Patrick adult faith formation
- OSP Podcast
- RCIA / adult Confirmation — contact parish office
Music Ministry
Music is a defining ministry at Old St. Patrick's. The parish maintains Sunday Music Ministry programs, Wedding Music, and Funeral Music, drawing on a choir of professional vocalists and committed volunteers together with skilled instrumentalists. The 9 AM and 11 AM Masses typically feature the full choir and instrumentalists; the 5 PM and 8 PM Masses offer a more intimate musical setting; and the 7 AM Sunday Mass is celebrated without music in a contemplative style. The parish also hosts Lenten Evenings of Adoration with live contemplative music, and its visiting clergy include Fr. Jayme Stayer, S.J. — a former professional singer with the choruses of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Boston Pops, and the Cleveland Orchestra — and Fr. Ed Foley, OFM Cap., a retired Professor of Liturgy and Music at Catholic Theological Union.
- Sunday Music Ministry (9 AM, 11 AM choirs; professional vocalists + instrumentalists)
- Wedding Music
- Funeral Music
- Lenten Evenings of Adoration with Live Contemplative Music
Social Action & the North Lawndale Kinship Initiative
Old St. Patrick's Social Action Ministry channels Catholic Social Teaching into direct service, community development, and political advocacy. Its flagship initiative is the North Lawndale Kinship Initiative (NLKI), launched in 2012 as a community-development partnership between people in the predominantly African-American North Lawndale neighborhood on Chicago's West Side and Old St. Patrick's Catholic Church, rooted in a 'spirituality of mutuality.' NLKI programs include Kinship Initiative Partners (one-on-one mentoring with the North Lawndale Employment Network and Lawndale Christian Legal Center), Exposure Experiences (cultural outings and opportunities for North Lawndale neighbors), Racial Equity and Justice Initiative (REJI), Social Justice in Action organizing, and the Bill & Mary Aronin Center for Social Concerns at 703 W. Monroe.
- North Lawndale Kinship Initiative (NLKI)
- Kinship Initiative Partners (mentoring)
- Exposure Experiences
- Racial Equity and Justice Initiative (REJI)
- Social Justice in Action (organizing & advocacy)
- Bill & Mary Aronin Center for Social Concerns (703 W. Monroe)
- Immigrant & Refugee Ministry
Pastoral Care & Family Ministries
Pastoral Care at Old St. Pat's includes a Prayer Ministry, a Ministry of Care & Healing, Annulment & Divorce Support, Grief & Funeral Liturgies, and parish counseling. Family Ministry coordinates Partners Religious Education, Parents & Tots, Children's Liturgy of the Word, Adoption Connections, Interfaith Family Groups, the Special Friends Mass (a monthly Mass welcoming people of all abilities), and SPOKES. Encore: 50+ Active Adults provides social and spiritual programming for older-adult parishioners.
- Prayer Ministry
- Ministry of Care & Healing
- Annulment & Divorce Support
- Grief & Funeral Liturgies
- Parish Counseling (Sarah Thompson)
- Special Friends Mass (monthly)
- Adoption Connections
- Interfaith Family Groups
- Encore: 50+ Active Adults
Frances Xavier Warde School
Frances Xavier Warde School (FXW) is the parish's Catholic elementary school (preschool through 8th grade). It was founded by Old St. Patrick's in 1989 as the first new Catholic grammar school opened in the Archdiocese of Chicago in more than 25 years, and a new FXW building on the Old St. Patrick's campus was completed in 2004. The school partners with the parish on sacramental preparation for First Reconciliation and First Communion.
- Opened 1989 (first new Archdiocesan grade school in 25+ years)
- New building completed 2004 on the OSP campus
- Preschool through 8th grade
- Head of School: Michael Kennedy (312-466-0700)
Clergy, Staff & Visiting Priests
Old St. Patrick's is currently pastored by Fr. Pat McGrath, S.J., the 18th pastor, installed by Cardinal Blase J. Cupich on July 31, 2022. Fr. John J. Wall — pastor from 1983 to 2007 and the visionary behind the modern parish — remains in residence as Pastor Emeritus and continues to preside. The parish is also served by a remarkable roster of visiting priests drawn from the Archdiocese of Chicago and several religious orders, including the Jesuits, Capuchins, Servites, and Franciscans, as well as Msgr. Kenneth Velo and Fr. Tom Hurley. Polly Mulhearn serves as Administrative Assistant to the Pastor. The parish bulletin lists extensive lay staff for Communications, Development, Family Ministry, Liturgy and Music, Social Action, Counseling, and Sacramental Records.
- Fr. Pat McGrath, S.J. — Pastor (18th)
- Fr. John J. Wall — Pastor Emeritus, in residence
- Fr. Tom Hurley — Visiting Priest
- Fr. John Cusick, Fr. Edward Foley OFM Cap., Fr. Paul Novak OSM, Fr. Bill O'Shea, Fr. Michael Simone SJ, Fr. Ed Shea OFM, Fr. Joe Simmons SJ, Fr. Jayme Stayer SJ, Msgr. Kenneth Velo — Visiting Clergy
- Polly Mulhearn — Assistant to the Pastor
Tours & Visiting
Docent-led tours of Old St. Pat's — covering the Romanesque architecture, the O'Shaughnessy Celtic Revival stained glass, and the 19th-century parish history — can be arranged through the parish office. The church welcomes visitors to all of its public Masses; the parish publishes a weekly bulletin ('Crossroads') with current schedules, devotions, and ministry updates. Old St. Pat's is also a popular stop on Chicago's Irish heritage walking tours of the Near West Side.
- Docent-led tours by appointment (parish office)
- Open to the public for all scheduled Masses
- Weekly bulletin: 'Crossroads'
- Featured stop on Chicago Irish heritage walking tours
Pastors & rectors through the years
- Rev. (Bishop) William Quarter1846–1848 (founding)
Irish-born bishop of Chicago who founded Old St. Patrick's as the first English-speaking Catholic parish in Chicago on Easter Sunday, April 12, 1846. (Quarter was also the first Bishop of Chicago.)
- Rev. Denis Dunne1854–
Pastor at the time of the laying of the cornerstone (1853) and the Christmas Day, 1856 dedication of the current Romanesque church; brought the Society of St. Vincent de Paul to Chicago from Old St. Patrick's on Dec. 31, 1857, making OSP the first parish in the city to host a conference of that society.
- (intermediate pastors from the late 19th through 20th centuries)late 1800s–1983
Parish archives and most published histories do not enumerate pastors between the 19th century and 1983; the parish has had 18 pastors through Fr. Pat McGrath, S.J. (2022).
- Rev. John J. Wall1983–2007
Took over a parish of only four registered members and launched the 'church for the marketplace' vision, the Center for Work and Faith, and the World's Largest Block Party; oversaw the 1989 opening of Frances Xavier Warde School and the major 1990s restoration. Now Pastor Emeritus, in residence, and president of the Catholic Extension Society.
- Rev. Thomas J. Hurley2007–2021
Installed October 14, 2007 as 17th pastor; launched the North Lawndale Kinship Initiative (2012), the Journey Forward Campaign (2014), livestreaming (2018), and the 2020 parish Vision. Stepped down March 21, 2021.
- Rev. Kenneth Simpson2021–2022
Parish Administrator at Cardinal Cupich's invitation during the 15-month transition between Fr. Hurley and Fr. McGrath.
- Rev. Pat McGrath, S.J.2022–present
18th Pastor, installed by Cardinal Blase J. Cupich on July 31, 2022. A Jesuit ordained at Old St. Pat's in 2006; previously president of Loyola Academy for 13 years.
