The first St. Patrick Parish in Dallas was established in 1882. It was the second parish in Dallas while our city was still part of the Diocese of Galveston. It was located where Harwood Street and R. L Thornton Freeway intersect and the last Mass offered there was on January 6, 1963. The structure at 1320 Harwood Street was torn down. His Excellency, the Most Reverend Thomas K. Gorman, had a vision when he purchased 10 acres at Ferndale and Kingsley Road in 1956. He saw that this farmland might become homesites. On March 17, 1963, the Feast of St. Patrick, Bishop Gorman issued the decree that established our present St. Patrick Roman Catholic Parish to the north of White Rock Lake. Father Fred Mosman, J.C.L., was appointed the first pastor.
The first Mass was offered in the Community Room of the First Federal Savings & Loan Building in the Northlake Shopping Center on Easter Sunday, April 14, 1963. Daily Mass was held in the remodeled garage of the rectory. Since the very beginning, the pastor started the task of building a school and auditorium for the parish which then numbered around 250 families. Over 300 public school students attended Confraternity of Christian Doctrine (C.C. D.) classes at this time. On July 14, 1963, due to an increase in membership, daily and Sunday Masses were moved to a larger building in the shopping center.
Construction of the new church & school began on November 23, 1963, and was completed for the opening of the school year on September 14, 1964. The auditorium was opened for Masses on Octobre 23, 1964, and was used for all Masses. The structure was the design of one of our own parishioners, Mr. Roman Plugge. On April 15, 1964, Father Mosman was elevated to the rank of Papal Chamberlain with the title of Very Reverend Monsignor by His Holiness, Pope Paul VI.
On March 1, 1976, Rev. Monsignor James Tucek replaced Msgr. Mosman as pastor of St. Patrick. The $375, 000 debt from the initial school building was paid in full in 1978 and on November 23, Thanksgiving Day, the parish celebrated with a “burning of the mortgage” ceremony. A year and a half later, almost a million dollars had been saved to build a new church. On March 17, 1980, a ground breaking ceremony was held with Bishop Thomas Tschoepe, Msgr. Tucek and other parish representatives turning the first spade of dirt for the new St. Patrick church building. In June 1980, Rev. Monsignor Joseph Erbrick became St. Patrick’s third pastor, replacing Msgr. Tucek. The architect for the new church was P.L.M. Design Incorporated, the general contractor was Yarbrough Construction and parishioner John Danna was the parish’s personal architect consultor.
Another milestone in history was marked when Msgr. Erbrick celebrated the first Mass in the new church on June 11, 1981. The beautiful new church stood high on the hill, as hands praying to God. With hearts of joy, the congregation sang, ” This is the day the Lord has made.” At this time, the parish numbered approximately 1600 families and over 550 students were enrolled in C.C.D. classes. Immediately, work began to convert the former auditorium/church into a parish hall and gymnasium. It was dedicated on November 14, 1981, when the entire St. Patrick community had an evening of enjoyment. The church was dedicated on November 29, 1981, with Bishop Tschoepe celebrating Mass.
Following the arrival of Father Josef Vollmer-Konig in 2007, St. Patrick Catholic Church began an ambitious project to update the church facilities, repair the pipe organ, improve lighting, sound and functionality of the original church building. With Halff Associates as the architect and Nedderman & Associates as the general contractor, the $1.8 Million “Renewal” project began on September 6, 2011. Weekend Masses were held in the gymnasium, school Masses were held in the auditorium and weekday Masses were held in the Parish Center.
With the retirement of Father Josef Vollmer-Konig, the Diocese assigned Father Charles Githinji as Pastoral Administrator on July 1, 2020. On June 5, 2022, Father Charles was installed as the new pastor. We currently have 2,033 registered families and 7,684 parishioners. Our parish completed a $2.8 Million Capital Campaign with the school in 2024 and will begin construction on various projects. Stay tuned for updates.
