St Patrick Catholic Church

St. Patrick is the Mother Church of the Diocese of Charleston and the only remaining Black Catholic church in the City of Charleston. Its history dates to 1838 when the cornerstone for a humble edifice was laid on St. Patrick’s Day to minister to immigrants and blacks. It was later replaced by the current building that is now 138 years old. The church and its congregation have weathered natural disasters (1886 Charleston earthquake, 4 major hurricanes), segregation, and gentrification.

Today, under the leadership of Fr. JohnBosco, St. Patrick Church is primed to engage in a capital campaign to restore, renew, and revive the church’s congregation of 850 parishioners. Restoration and preservation are catalyzed by the church’s recent designation by the Diocese of Charleston as the site for a new Black Catholic Cultural Heritage Center.

St. Patrick Church is known for its gospel choir, which operates under the direction of recording artist Charlton Singleton of the Grammy-Award winning Gullah music ensemble Ranky Tanky.

The parish is one of few nationwide to host jazz Masses, combining Catholic liturgy with indigenous African-American cultural art forms. Rather than a museum with collections and artifacts, the Black Catholic Cultural Heritage Center is planned as a place where the young and old will celebrate life, where Black cultural heritage is advanced, and where our youth will come to learn and perform authentic Black spirituals, dance and arts.