Cathedral of Saint Patrick (Norwich, Connecticut)

For other uses, see St. Patrick's Cathedral (disambiguation).

The Cathedral of Saint Patrick in Norwich is a cathedral of the Roman Catholic Church located in Norwich, Connecticut. It is the mother church of the Diocese of Norwich and is the seat of its prelate bishop.

Cathedral of St. Patrick
Cathedral of St. Patrick
41°31′51.86″N 72°04′40.24″W
Location	211 Broadway Norwich, Connecticut
Country	United States
Denomination	Roman Catholic
Website	www.cathedralofsaintpatrick.org
History
Status	Cathedral/Parish church
Dedication	Saint Patrick
Architecture
Architect(s)	James Murphy
Style	Gothic Revival
Groundbreaking	1873
Completed	1879
Specifications
Materials	Limestone
Administration
Diocese	Norwich
Clergy
Bishop(s)	Sede Vacante
Rector	Msgr. Anthony Rosaforte
St. Patrick’s Church, Rectory, and School
U.S. Historic district Contributing property
Part of	Chelsea Parade Historic District (ID88003215[1])
Added to NRHP	May 12, 1989

Parish history

In 1833, Father James Fitton celebrated the first Catholic mass in Norwich in a third floor loft with 12 people in attendance. By 1842, the first building in town to serve as a church was a shed in Twomeytown. A year later, Norwich became the jurisdiction of the newly erected Diocese of Hartford. St. Mary, the first Roman-Catholic church in Greeneville, was dedicated in March 1845. It was enlarged in 1858.^[2]

St. Mary's parish continued to grow into the late 1860s, when Father James Mullen recognized that a new church was needed to address the overcrowding. A site was chosen not far from the wealthy homes where so many of the Irish worked as servants. Architect James Murphy of Providence, Rhode Island, was selected to design the building.^[3] "On the morning of Good Friday in 1873, the Irish marched from Greeneville with picks and shovels and dug the foundation of the church by hand."^[4]

The cornerstone of the church was laid on July 13, 1873; parishioners paid ten cents a week to finance the construction. St. Patrick's parish was incorporated in 1878. The formal opening and dedication for the new church was held on September 28, 1879. St. Mary's church was closed later that year.^[5] St. Patrick's sustained some damage during the 1938 New England hurricane.^[4]

In 1953, the Diocese of Norwich was created as a suffragan to the Archdiocese of Hartford, and St. Patrick's Church became the cathedral for the new diocese.^[6] The Most Reverend Bernard J. Flanagan, then Chancellor of the Diocese of Burlington, Vermont, was appointed the first Bishop of Norwich by Pope Pius XII. He was installed on December 9, 1953.^[7]

• 
  View up nave toward altar
• 
  Cathedra
• 
  Stained glass windows
• 
  Rectory
• 
  School

See also

• List of Catholic cathedrals in the United States

References

1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
2. Prologue Archived 2010-05-20 at the Wayback Machine
3. The Founding of Our Church Archived 2010-05-20 at the Wayback Machine
4. "Cathedral of Saint Patrick", 'Walk Norwich Trails', Norwich Historical Society
5. Dedication Day Archived 2010-05-20 at the Wayback Machine
6. "Cathedral of St. Patrick, Norwich, Conn". NCR. March 7, 2004. Retrieved October 1, 2024.
7. The New Diocese of Norwich Archived 2010-05-20 at the Wayback Machine

External links

• Media related to Cathedral of Saint Patrick (Norwich, Connecticut) at Wikimedia Commons
• Official Cathedral Site Archived 2009-02-08 at the Wayback Machine
• Diocese of Norwich Official Site