St. Patrick Catholic Church has been central to the history of Charleston’s Black Catholics over its 186-year-old history. It is the Mother Church of the Diocese of Charleston, originally founded under Bishop John England in 1838. Today it is the city’s only remaining Black Catholic parish, having assimilated congregants of several closed Black parishes over the years. St. Patrick’s current building was designed by architect Patrick Charles Keely, a prominent figure in Catholic church architecture in the 1800s, and constructed by builder Henry L. Cade. Fashioned in the Gothic Revival style, Keely’s design is characterized by intricate stonework, pointed arches, a steeply pitched roof, and a bell tower soaring to 120 feet over Charleston’s Old City Historic District. 

The Diocese of Charleston recently designated St. Patrick’s Church as the site of a new African American Heritage Center. The center is intended to be a place for people of all ages to celebrate and learn about African American cultural heritage, and where youth will come to learn and perform Black spirituals, dance, and arts. St. Patrick’s is known for its gospel choir and as one of few Catholic churches in the nation to host jazz Masses. St. Patrick’s is also a member of the Charleston Area Justice Ministry (CAJM), which hosts assemblies of 42 Charleston churches addressing local concerns like housing, education, and criminal justice reform, and partners with the Neighborhood House, Morris Street Baptist Food Bank, the city’s Navigation Center, and the One80 Place homeless shelter.

A National Fund grant of $500,000 with $500,000 in matching funds raised by the congregation will allow St. Patrick Catholic Church to complete repairs and restoration of its steeple and exterior, preserving the church and creating space for the new African American Heritage Center on site.

Photo by Denva Simpson