St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Church is a historic Catholicchurch near Capitol Square in downtown Madison, Wisconsin. It was designed by one of Madison's pioneer architects and built in 1888 to serve the former parish of St. Patrick.[1]
In 1972, the church was designated a landmark by the Madison Landmarks Commission.[2] It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982 for its architectural significance.[3]
Architectureedit
St. Patrick's is a rectangular Romanesque Revival church marked by a 100-ft tower on the right side of the front facade. Fr. Knox, the first pastor, commissioned the design from local architect John Nader; Nader had also designed St. Mary's (later Holy Mother of Consolation) church in Oregon, Wisconsin, where Knox had previously served.[1]
The tower is topped with a narrow shingled dome, resting on eight small triangular pediments that link it to the octagonal wood-frame structure below it, each side of which is lit with an oculus. The foundation is built of local sandstone, whereas the superstructure is built of cream-colored brick with stone trim and decorative brickwork. Each bay, separated by plain pilasters with stone caps, features a round-arched window.[1]
The interior of the church has a plaster ceiling in a shallow, curved vault. The window bays are demarcated by half-vaults from the wall and ribs on the ceiling, connected with small pendentives. The current interior was installed during the 1957 renovation, including the predella and altar, communion rail, and parts of the side altars, done in three types of marble.[1]
Historyedit
The parish was established to serve the largely Irish community living east of Capitol Square. St. Raphael's purchased two lots on east Main Street in 1886, and on May 24, 1888, the new parish of St. Patrick was formally established and took ownership of the land. Irish-born Fr. Patrick Knox was made pastor, and he set about the task of organizing the congregation and raising funds to build the new church, which was dedicated on Saint Patrick's Day of 1889. Archbishop Michael Heiss of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee was in attendance.[4]
Although the church was renovated in 1957 and expanded its facilities in 1958, suburbanization, enrollment growth at the University of Wisconsin, and the growth of the state government were already depopulating the isthmus neighborhoods. The decline in parish and school rolls hastened with the opening of St. Peter's parish in 1967. In 1977, the school was closed and sold to the Salvation Army, and the former convent converted into a religious education center, then a service center for Catholic Charities USA.[4]
By the 2000s, the priest shortage was making it difficult for the Diocese of Madison to keep its churches staffed.[5] After the old Saint Raphael's Cathedral was destroyed by arson in 2005, St. Patrick's, Holy Redeemer, and St. Raphael's were merged to form the new Cathedral Parish of St. Raphael. The merger of the three downtown parishes was announced in October 2007 and executed on July 1, 2008, part of the ongoing major realignment of parishes in the diocese.[6]
Referencesedit
^ abcdeLucy Vogel; Katherine H. Rankin (May 1981). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory/Nomination: St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Church". National Park Service. Retrieved 2023-09-30. With accompanying photo from 1981
^"St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Church". Wisconsin Historical Society. Retrieved 2023-09-30.
^ abcHistory of St. Patrick, Cathedral Parish, retrieved 2016-12-07
^About the Cathedral Parish, Cathedral Parish, retrieved 2016-12-07
^Wagner, Kat (2008-06-26). "Downtonw parishes merge". The Catholic Herald Online. Diocese of Madison. Retrieved 2023-10-02.
April 16, 2024
patrick, roman, catholic, church, madison, wisconsin, other, places, similar, name, patrick, church, patrick, roman, catholic, church, historic, catholic, church, near, capitol, square, downtown, madison, wisconsin, designed, madison, pioneer, architects, buil. For other places of a similar name see St Patrick s Church St Patrick s Roman Catholic Church is a historic Catholic church near Capitol Square in downtown Madison Wisconsin It was designed by one of Madison s pioneer architects and built in 1888 to serve the former parish of St Patrick 1 St Patrick s Roman Catholic ChurchU S National Register of Historic PlacesSt Patrick s Roman Catholic ChurchLocation404 E Main St Madison WisconsinCoordinates43 04 37 N 89 22 45 W 43 07698 N 89 3791 W 43 07698 89 3791ArchitectJohn NaderArchitectural styleRomanesque RevivalNRHP reference No 82000657Added to NRHPSeptember 16 1982In 1972 the church was designated a landmark by the Madison Landmarks Commission 2 It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982 for its architectural significance 3 Architecture editSt Patrick s is a rectangular Romanesque Revival church marked by a 100 ft tower on the right side of the front facade Fr Knox the first pastor commissioned the design from local architect John Nader Nader had also designed St Mary s later Holy Mother of Consolation church in Oregon Wisconsin where Knox had previously served 1 The tower is topped with a narrow shingled dome resting on eight small triangular pediments that link it to the octagonal wood frame structure below it each side of which is lit with an oculus The foundation is built of local sandstone whereas the superstructure is built of cream colored brick with stone trim and decorative brickwork Each bay separated by plain pilasters with stone caps features a round arched window 1 The interior of the church has a plaster ceiling in a shallow curved vault The window bays are demarcated by half vaults from the wall and ribs on the ceiling connected with small pendentives The current interior was installed during the 1957 renovation including the predella and altar communion rail and parts of the side altars done in three types of marble 1 History editThe parish was established to serve the largely Irish community living east of Capitol Square St Raphael s purchased two lots on east Main Street in 1886 and on May 24 1888 the new parish of St Patrick was formally established and took ownership of the land Irish born Fr Patrick Knox was made pastor and he set about the task of organizing the congregation and raising funds to build the new church which was dedicated on Saint Patrick s Day of 1889 Archbishop Michael Heiss of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee was in attendance 4 By 1902 the parish needed more space for mass and expanded the nave ten feet on each side 1 In 1907 a Catholic school was opened staffed by the Sinsinawa Dominican Sisters 4 Although the church was renovated in 1957 and expanded its facilities in 1958 suburbanization enrollment growth at the University of Wisconsin and the growth of the state government were already depopulating the isthmus neighborhoods The decline in parish and school rolls hastened with the opening of St Peter s parish in 1967 In 1977 the school was closed and sold to the Salvation Army and the former convent converted into a religious education center then a service center for Catholic Charities USA 4 By the 2000s the priest shortage was making it difficult for the Diocese of Madison to keep its churches staffed 5 After the old Saint Raphael s Cathedral was destroyed by arson in 2005 St Patrick s Holy Redeemer and St Raphael s were merged to form the new Cathedral Parish of St Raphael The merger of the three downtown parishes was announced in October 2007 and executed on July 1 2008 part of the ongoing major realignment of parishes in the diocese 6 References edit a b c d e Lucy Vogel Katherine H Rankin May 1981 National Register of Historic Places Inventory Nomination St Patrick s Roman Catholic Church National Park Service Retrieved 2023 09 30 With accompanying photo from 1981 St Patrick s Church Historical Marker Database org Retrieved 2012 02 07 St Patrick s Roman Catholic Church Wisconsin Historical Society Retrieved 2023 09 30 a b c History of St Patrick Cathedral Parish retrieved 2016 12 07 About the Cathedral Parish Cathedral Parish retrieved 2016 12 07 Wagner Kat 2008 06 26 Downtonw parishes merge The Catholic Herald Online Diocese of Madison Retrieved 2023 10 02 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title St Patrick 27s Roman Catholic Church Madison Wisconsin amp oldid 1198618561, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
