Slainte! The legacy of Saint Patrick in Northwest Missouri

By Marty Denzer | Photos by Megan Marley

Ah, St. Patrick’s Day. Every March 17, thousands of Missourians celebrate their Irish heritage (real or assumed) with an explosion of leprechauns, green clothes, Guinness and corned beef. What they might not realize is the deeper legacy of Saint Patrick and Irish culture in the history of the very streets they parade down and party in.

Ireland’s patron saint was born in 385 A.D. to a wealthy Christian family in Brittany (France). Kidnapped by Irish raiders in 401, he was enslaved for six years before escaping. Ordained a priest, he returned to Ireland, traveling throughout and spreading Christianity.

Fourteen centuries later, memorialized in statuary and tales, he traveled to America.

Many early settlers to Northwest Missouri were Catholic Irish or German immigrants. By the mid-19th century, Jesuit and Franciscan missionaries were largely replaced by Irish missionary priests. Deacon Mike Lewis of St. Patrick Parish in Kansas City’s northland said Irish seminaries trained future priests with a focus on missionary service, often to America (for example, brother Bishops Raymond and Kevin Boland).

Fathers Bernard Donnelly and John J. Hogan were Irish immigrants who attended what is now Kenrick-Glennon Seminary in St. Louis. Donnelly and Hogan were both ordained by Bishop Peter Richard Kenrick, in 1845 and 1852 respectively.

Father Donnelly immediately began ministry to Catholics at Westport Landing and Independence, but soon exchanged parishes with the priest in the Town of Kansas. There, he recruited 300 Irish laborers from New York and Boston, the first large Irish population in Kansas City, and leveled bluffs, carved out streets and created more land to settle south of the riverfront. In 1857, Father Donnelly built a brick church at 11th and Broadway, consecrating it Immaculate Conception Church.

Following years of horseback ministry, Father Hogan was consecrated the first bishop of the Diocese of St. Joseph in 1868. In 1880, he was named first bishop of the Diocese of Kansas City and administrator of St. Joseph. In 1883, Bishop Hogan replaced Father Donnelly’s church with the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception.

The Irish priests’ faith, flavored with folklore and Saint Patrick, spread across the region: 12 parishes and missions named St. Patrick were founded in the dioceses of St. Joseph and Kansas City. Today, in the Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph, four parishes, two missions and an oratory bear his name.

St. Patrick Parish, St. Joseph

Founded in 1869 by Bishop Hogan, St. Patrick Parish was the third parish established in the diocese. Its first pastor was Father Eugene Kinney. The church, built by volunteers with materials purchased with proceeds from bazaars and social gatherings, was blessed in 1873 for the celebration of Mass at its first service. Bishop Hogan solemnly dedicated St. Patrick’s on March 17, 1890.

Father Jonathan Davis, the current pastor, noted the Patee Town immigrants’ strong Irish identity, and that the Irish identity remains as some parishioners are descendants of the original families.

When the construction of Interstate 229 closed Holy Rosary Parish in 1960,many of its Hispanic-American parishioners relocated to St. Patrick. Since then, the parish has served a blend of people and cultures. Father Davis said there is a Solemn High Mass celebrated each March 17 and a Novena to Our Lady of Guadalupe is observed each December for her feast. For 2021’s St. Patrick’s Day Mass, the choir sang a piece in Gaelic from the Beatification Mass of Father Michael McGivney, the founder of the Knights of Columbus.

St. Patrick Parish, Kansas City

Bishop Francis Gilfillan of St. Joseph established St. Patrick Parish in Kansas City’s northland in 1924 after nearly a decade of in-home Masses. The parish relocated in 1956 following the merger of the dioceses of St. Joseph and Kansas City. Bishop John Cody decided to move it across the street from the new St. Pius X High School.

A church/gym combination and school were built. They served the parish until 1995, when a new church was built. Today, a large Celtic cross stands near the entrance and small Celtic crosses adorn the metal baldacchino above the altar.

Father Matthew Brumleve, pastor, invokes Saint Patrick in his closing prayers at Mass.

St. Patrick Parish, Holden

When Holden was founded in 1857, residents were anticipating the arrival of the railroad. Many early townspeople were German coal miners and railroad workers. By 1869, when St. Patrick’s Parish was founded, numerous Irish had settled in Holden, attracted by that railroad. The first pastor was Father Michael Mackin.

In 1948, a brick church was built with pews of solid oak. Irish craftsmen carved shamrocks at each end.

Father Curt Vogel, pastor, said, “Each year, on the Saturday closest to March 17, the parish hosts St. Patrick’s Feast for Holden and surrounding areas. It’s the primary fundraiser for the city and the parish. There’s Irish music, Irish food, green beer and a big silent auction. It’s a ‘We love this guy!’ moment.”

A statue of Saint Patrick formerly atop an archway leading to the church — “either original or close to,” Father Vogel said — now stands in the vestibule.

St. Patrick Mission, Forest City

St. Patrick Mission in Forest City was almost named St. Benedict! But the Irish parishioners insisted on St. Patrick back in 1876. In its early days, the parish was administered by the Benedictine monks of Conception Abbey, who still say Mass there.