St. Patrick Church to honor 150 years serving Denison
One of the region’s oldest churches is celebrating its 150th anniversary this weekend.
The 150th anniversary celebration at St. Patrick Catholic Church in Denison will be held at 11 a.m. Sunday with the Most Rev. Bishop Edward Burns. A luncheon will follow the service.
St. Patrick is the second oldest parish in the Catholic Diocese of Dallas and is older than the diocese whose jurisdiction it is under. The church was established in 1873 by Bishop Claude Dubuis of Galveston.
“In the second half of the 19th century, land in Denison was free to any interested religious congregation,” Frank Ventura of the church said in 2018. “In 1872, local Catholics came together to worship and establish a permanent community and built a simple wood frame space for worship. The parish was established on Rusk and grew exponentially during the westward migration occurring after the American Civil War.”
In 1882, land was purchased for a new church building diagonally across the street to accommodate the growing Catholic presence in Denison.
“Boasting a membership over 1,200, St. Patrick Church realized that a larger space was necessary,” Ventura said. “Nicholas Clayton, the preeminent Galveston architect responsible for the Cathedral in Dallas, built a new church for St. Patrick Catholic Community in Denison. Dedicated in 1898, the original building was destroyed by fire in 1911, but rebuilt and dedicated in February 1914.”
St. Patrick’s Catholic Church has been standing in the same spot since 1914.
“St. Patrick Catholic Church in Denison is one of the most beautiful and oldest historical structures in northern Texas as it has been in existence and utilized as a place of worship for over 100 years,” Ventura said. “It has endured tornadoes, hail storms and fire over the years. However, over the recent years, the church building has been experiencing water penetration from the exterior of the building caused by roof, wall and flashing leaks.”
In 2015, the church underwent a $1.6 million remodel. The need for a restoration became immediate when it became evident that continued water damage was causing the church to deteriorate.
“In fact, it is our understanding that if these leaks were not repaired in a timely manner, the church may become too costly to repair,” Ventura said. “In addition to the water penetration there was a need for restoration of the 100-year-old organ, rework of the front entrance to make it ADA compliant, replace the interior floor covering and to add an ADA compliant ramp to the south entrance of the church.”
The goal of the repairs was to add life back into the church and give it another 100-year run.
“In November 2013, the church launched its ‘Second Century Restoration’ capital campaign with the goal to raise $1,650,000, which included the organ repair,” Ventura said. “The Second Century Restoration committee commenced the Capital Campaign at the same time. By the spring of 2016 the Second Century Restoration Funding Campaign was successfully completed. The final construction punch list was completed during the summer of 2016.”
Ventura said another reason the restoration was so important is because the church has a lot of older members.
“They live on fixed incomes and so raising $1.6 million was a big deal,” he said.
This article originally appeared on Herald Democrat: St. Patrick Catholic Church in Denison to honor 150 years serving Denison
