St. Patrick's Day celebrations are seemingly everywhere today. Milwaukee hosted its downtown St. Patrick's Day Parade this past Saturday. Prior to that, the Wisconsin Shamrock Club partnered with Our Lady of Guadalupe/St. Patrick Parish to have a special St. Patrick's Mass at the namesake church.
This church dates back to 1893, although I believe it is not the first church of the St. Patrick congregation in Milwaukee. The old school building, to the left, dates from 1876. Originally built for the Walker's Point and south side neighborhood Irish Catholics, St. Patrick's has merged with Our Lady of Guadalupe (formerly Holy Trinity) and serves part of Milwaukee's Mexican-American community.
With help from the Shamrock Club, the church has been well-restored in recent years. Notable is the Celtic/Irish influence on many features.
Displayed on a side altar, this statue of Mary was recovered from a fire which severely damaged St. Patrick's in the past as I was told. I am not sure if this fire was to the current St. Patrick's building, or perhaps an earlier blaze, as the neighborhood around the church saw at least a couple devastating fires around the turn of the 20th Century.
St. Patrick
Likely with help from the restoration effort, the windows looked pristine. I didn't have enough time to take full stock in all of the windows, but they highlighted a number of saints and religious figures that I don't see in most churches. Click on any of these photos to see them in greater detail.
I was fascinated by these dormer-like windows on the church roof. These windows provide light into the higher row of stained glass windows that you see at the top of the second photo in this post.
How do three-foot Celtic door hinges not catch your eye?
The school building, now home for Notre Dame Primary School, has a richly detailed face. Note especially the detail near the top of the portico.
St. Patrick Catholic Church, Our Lady of Guadalupe/St. Patrick Parish
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