Cathedral of Saint Patrick (Norwich, Connecticut)

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

Parish history

St. Mary's Church

The first Catholic Church in the Norwich area of coastal Connecticut was St. Mary's Church in Norwich. At that time, all of the Catholics in New England were under the jurisdiction of the Diocese of Boston. The diocese in 1833 sent the priest James Fitton to Norwich to establish a parish for the Irish immigrants work in the local textile mills.[1]

Fitton celebrated the first mass in Norwich in a third floor loft with 12 people in attendance. By 1842, Fitton was using a shed in Twomeytown for services. In November 1843, the Vatican erected the Diocese of Hartford, with jurisdiction for all of Connecticut and Rhode Island.[2] Fitton in September 1844 purchased a lot in the center of Norwich to build a church. St. Mary's was dedicated in March 1845.[1]

By the late 1860s, St. Mary's was becoming overcrowded. The pastor, James Mullen, decided to build a new church near a wealthy section of town so as to be accessible to the numerous Irish immigrants working there as servants. He hire the architect James Murphy of Providence, Rhode Island to design new church, which would be called St. Patrick's. In April 1873, a group of Irish laborers arrived at the project site and dug the church foundation, using picks and shovels."[3]The cornerstone of the church was laid in July 1873; parishioners paid ten cents a week to finance the church construction. [3]

St. Patrick's Church

St. Patrick's Parish was incorporated in 1878 and its church was dedicated on September 28, 1879. St. Mary's Church closed later that year. During 1938 New England hurricane.that ravaged Connecticut and Rhode Island, St. Patrick's Church suffered some damage.[3]

Cathedral of St. Patrick

In 1953, Pope Pius XII erected the Diocese of Norwich and designated St. Patrick's Church as the Cathedral of St. Patrick.[4]

A major renovation of the Cathedral of St. Patrick commenced in 2010. The diocese added new murals and decorations to the interior of the cathedral. The lighting system was also modernized. The project was finished in 2013.[5]The diocese in March 2026 began a project to disassemble the two bell towers, then rebuild them using the same stone.[6]

References

  1. 1.[1.2]"Historic Churches – Catholic - Iconic Norwich". March 19, 2025. Retrieved May 18, 2026.
  2. 2."Hartford (Archdiocese) [Catholic-Hierarchy]". www.catholic-hierarchy.org. Retrieved May 18, 2026.
  3. 3.[3.2][3.3]"Millionaires' Triangle – Stop 14 | Walk Norwich". Retrieved May 18, 2026.
  4. 4."Cathedral of St. Patrick, Norwich, Conn". NCR. March 7, 2004. Retrieved October 1, 2024.
  5. 5.BARRY, JOHN. "Revamped Cathedral of St. Patrick dazzles parishioners". Norwich Bulletin. Retrieved May 18, 2026.
  6. 6."Work Beginning on Towers at the Cathedral of Saint Patrick". Blessed Sacrament Catholic Parish. Retrieved May 18, 2026.