History of Saint Patrick Church
As early as 1858, there were attempts to designate a building in Athens as a Catholic church but it was not until 1872 that a church was actually constructed on land purchased by the parishioners and located in the upper village. Historic documents and maps show the church located in "Esperanza" on the south side of Goodrich Street and between Shingle and Timber streets. Prior to the building of that first Catholic church, Mass was said periodically in the homes on Warren and Montgomery Streets, and the first priest known to have said Mass in Athens was a Father Kilbridge, from Albany. In Its early history, St. Patrick’s was designated as a mission church of a parish in Hudson, then Coxsackie and finally Catskill. Newspapers from late 1800’s printed announcements of Masses to be said twice a month at 12:00 PM in Athens by the Reverend Martin Stanton and the Reverend Thomas Welch coming from Coxsackie, probably by horse and buggy.
On August 4th, 1904, ground was broken for a new and larger church on North Franklin Street. The dedication of the new church building was conducted by Bishop Thomas Burke of Albany on October 25th, 1907, but it was not until 1921 that the Church of Saint Patrick in Athens was incorporated as its own parish. The first pastor was the Reverend Michael J. Dwyer who entered the priesthood after the death of his wife and after working in the District Attorney’s Office in Boston. Following Father Dwyer, diocesan records show he was succeeded as pastor by Father Joseph Heenan (1924), Thomas Curley (1942), Roland Thompson (1947), Joseph Honan (1955), Joseph D’Agostino (1957), James Vaughan (1963), John Dee (1970), Ralph Finger (1971), and Richard Doyle (1975). Today the Church of Saint Patrick is guided by Sister Mary Mazza of the Congregation of Notre Dame as Parish Life Director.
The arrival of the Franciscan Sisters of the Atonement in 1953 began a very eventful period in the history of Saint Patrick’s. They began a ministry among the children and adults in the parish that still evokes many fond memories among parishioners , especially those memories recorded in all the First Communion photos that survived long after the Sisters left Athens in 1971. Their presences was of great comfort to the Saint Patrick’s community when fire severely damaged the interior of the church in 1955 forcing Mass and even some weddings to take place in the Morton Fire House for a period of time. It may have been some of those couples whose weddings survived the fire of 1955, who helped prepare Saint Patrick’s for its first Cana Day in 1958 when over 40 married couples took part in a day of prayer and reflection that ended with the renewal of marriage vows.
During the pastorate of Father Vaughan, extensive redecorations of the church interior took place as well as the building of Father Casey Hall. The church hall occupies the site of the old Travis Foundry building on Washington Street behind the rectory and former convent. The new building was dedicated to the memory of Father Bernard Casey, a young priest who had been serving as an assistant in Saint Patrick’s when he was killed in a automobile accident in 1963, just three years after his ordination. Dedication of the new parish hall was conducted by the Most Reverend William A. Scully, Bishop of Albany, on May 4th, 1965, with Father Casey’s mother, Lucille, in attendance.
The Reverend Richard Doyle was serving as pastor of Saint Patrick’s when fire destroyed the church building on February 19th, 1979. Undaunted by the loss, the Church of Saint Patrick looked to Father Casey Hall as a new home and by December 1986 additions and alterations were complete for the dedication by Bishop Hubbard. Father Doyle continued to serve as pastor until his death in 2003 when the Church of Saint Patrick went in a new direction for its future. Sister Mary Mazza, CND, arrived as Parish Life Director and together with several visiting priests from surrounding ministries, she leads the Church of Saint Patrick into new pages in its history.