St. Patricks Pro Cathedral/Newman Catholic Center

History & Significance

Cathedral · Est. Land purchased 1846; church dedicated March 10, 1850

St. Patrick's Pro-Cathedral in Newark, New Jersey, grew from land purchased in 1846 by Father Patrick Moran to serve Irish famine immigrants, and was dedicated on March 10, 1850. Designed by noted church architect Patrick Charles Keely in the Gothic Revival style, it was designated the pro-cathedral of the newly erected Diocese of Newark in 1853 under Bishop James Roosevelt Bayley. It served as the seat of Newark's bishops and archbishops until the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart opened in the 1950s. It remains an active parish of the Archdiocese of Newark.

Gothic Revival red-brick church with a ~150 ft central tower and copper spire

• •Designated pro-cathedral of the Diocese (now Archdiocese) of Newark in 1853, serving as its cathedral seat until the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart was completed in the 1950s
• •Designed by prolific ecclesiastical architect Patrick Charles Keely
• •Added to the National Register of Historic Places on November 3, 1972
• •Founded to serve Irish immigrants fleeing the Great Famine; early pastors included future Bishop Bernard McQuaid
• •Active parish of the Archdiocese of Newark; celebrated its 175th anniversary in 2025