In 1805, a small chapel was built on a site now occupied by St. Patrick’s Roman Catholic Church to serve the people of Havre de Grace under the auspices of St. George’s Episcopal Church, Spesutia Parish, in Perryman. Some years later, a storm blew down the walls and the chapel was never rebuilt. The first Catholic Church in Havre de Grace was a small framed mission church building by the present Mt. Erin Cemetery (1020 Graceview Drive) that was erected by Father James Reid on property he purchased from Ezra and Eliza Reed and operated from 1843-1847.

In 1896, Father James P. FitzGerald erected a small granite monument in the cemetery to mark the location. Mt. Erin Cemetery is divided into two sections; the western section belongs to the current St. Patrick’s Church and the eastern section belongs to St. James AME Church on Green Street. The cornerstone of the first Saint Patrick Church was laid on September 1, 1847, at the southeast corner of Stokes and Warren Streets, marking the beginning of the parish of Saint Patrick. That building served the parishioners until the dedication of this building in 1908, at a cost of $27,000. The original engraved altar stone from the 1847 church was saved and is now displayed in the garden of St. Patrick’s Church here.

In 1891, Father James P. Fitzgerald (1867-1946) was assigned to Saint Patrick’s and he served until 1930. Following his dream to build a new church, Father Fitzgerald began in 1898 to quarry Port Deposit granite himself for this Gothic Revival church (masonry work was one of his hobbies). "They harvested stone in Port Deposit, brought it across the river on barges and then by horse and wagon to the location," said parishioner Al Lenhard. "They laid the cornerstone in August 1907 and built the church in 10 months.” It was built with Port Deposit granite with Cleveland sandstone trimmings and a spire rising 110 feet. The seating capacity was 350 and a “hitching shed” stood behind the church. Sadly, Father Fitzgerald died in 1946 after hitting his head on marble steps while officiating mass in Baltimore; he was returned to Havre de Grace and buried in Havre de Grace.

During the pastorate of Father Fitzgerald, Saint Patrick’s had a school taught by a lay teacher with 100 students. However, in 1953 a new Saint Patrick School was built at 617 Congress Avenue taught by nuns. To house the nuns, the parish built a small Convent at 102 North Stokes Street in 1953, which operated until 1973 when the school closed. The latter building is now the Faith Formation Center. The cornerstone of the present rectory building was laid in 1964 and the new parish hall was built. In 1966, Cardinal Sheehan dedicated the new rectory, some new classrooms, and the seven-foot marble statue of St. Patrick outside the front of the church. Monsignor William T. McCrory (1916-1983) served as Pastor of St. Patrick’s Catholic Church from 1967 to 1991.

In a 1989 Church renovation, the Italian marble altar with Kilkenny panels was extended, parquet flooring installed, and pews and chestnut wainscoting was done over. The Stations of the Cross were hand painted with colors following the motif of the 19 repaired and cleaned stained glass memorial windows. This property received an award from the Havre de Grace Historic Preservation Commission in 2007. St. Patrick’s recently built a beautiful new parish hall on land that previously grew apple trees (and perhaps the hitching shed).

County Records
Built 1954. Exempt commercial, 37,683 sq ft enclosed, 2.2 acre lot.