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St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Church

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1806. PA 4007 west of St. Patrick's Rd., 6 miles northwest of Worthington
  • St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Church (Lu Donnelly)
  • (Michelle Krone)
  • (Michelle Krone)

Constructed by Irish immigrants who settled in 1795 in Donegal Township across the nearby Butler County line, St. Patrick's may be the oldest Roman Catholic church in western Pennsylvania. Using squared logs and V-shaped notching at the corners, the simple rectangular, gable-roofed structure symbolizes the rugged persistence of faith on the frontier. The building was renovated and rechinked in 1987. The church continues to function as a place of worship, with the altar at the eastern wall and a small balcony in the rear for additional seating. The surrounding graveyard, which predates the church, has headstones dating as early as 1798. Just over the rise to the west at 422 PA 4007 is the new St. Patrick's Church (1929–1930), with round-arched windows, irregularly coursed stonework, and a hipped roof with a gabled projection above the central entrance. It has replaced the log church for Sunday worship.

Writing Credits

Author: 
Lu Donnelly et al.
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Data

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Citation

Lu Donnelly et al., "St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Church", [Worthington, Pennsylvania], SAH Archipedia, eds. Gabrielle Esperdy and Karen Kingsley, Charlottesville: UVaP, 2012—, http://sah-archipedia.org/buildings/PA-01-AR6.

Print Source

Cover: Buildings of PA vol 1

Buildings of Pennsylvania: Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania, Lu Donnelly, H. David Brumble IV, and Franklin Toker. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2010, 191-192.

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