The building has undergone extensive rehabilitation over the past fifteen years following years of declining membership. Several traditions remain, connecting the parish to its history as the "Old Cathedral" of Newark, including the 12:15 Ash Wednesday Liturgy with the Archbishop, the 12:15 Sunday Liturgy on Easter in memory of the 1916 Easter Rising in Dublin, the annual Newark Fire Department memorial Mass, and many other archdiocesan and Irish-heritage events. The parish is also the national shrine to Our Lady of El Quinche.
History
With the influx of Irish and German immigrants in the 1840s, Bishop John Hughes of New York authorized Rev. Patrick Moran, pastor of St. John's Parish, to build a new church. The building was probably designed by architect Patrick Keely of Brooklyn. The property was the Thomas Ward estate. When it was sold at auction, several parishioners purchased the lots.[6]
Bishop Hughes laid the cornerstone on Sept. 17, 1848. Rev. Louis Dominic Senez, assistant at St. John's was named the first pastor. The church was dedicated on March 10, 1850. St. Patrick's was the third Catholic church in Newark, after St. John's and the German parish of St. Mary's. The old ward mansion became an Orphan's Asylum. Father Senez set up his residence in the same building, where he tended the children during the smallpox epidemic the following year.[6]
In 1853, the Diocese of Newark was created, and James Roosevelt Bayley named bishop. He designated St. Patrick's as the pro-cathedral until such time as a cathedral could be built. He appointed Rev. Bernard McQuaid as rector.[7] Following the Pontifical Mass welcoming the bishop, McQuaid hosted the diocesan clergy at a dinner, but had to sell his horse and buggy to cover the expense. The Sisters of Charity of New York were brought in to manage to the Orphan's Asylum.[8]
To accommodate the increased ceremonies of a cathedral, McQuaid added a sacristy. The addition of the Chapel of St. Vincent de Paul in 1859 created room for another 400 people. John Jelliff of John Jelliff & Co of Newark designed the bishop's chair as well as the cover of the baptismal font.[6] Although forbidden to volunteer as a Union chaplain, in the spring of 1864 McQuaid managed to visit Fredericksburg, Virginia and tended to the wounded and dying soldiers.[9]
Present day
The parish serves both a small Catholic community in downtown Newark and a larger community of commuters who work in Newark.[10]
