St. Patrick Catholic Church in Hillyard celebrates 125 years

St. Patrick Catholic Church in Hillyard will celebrate its 125th anniversary today, marking the anniversary on a holiday honoring the church’s namesake saint.

It’s a fitting juxtaposition, though organizers hope arriving guests won’t mind that the Gonzaga men’s basketball team tips off during Mass.

The 4 p.m. Saturday Mass will be followed by a reception. Bishop Thomas Daly will preside and Bishop Emeritus William Skylstad and several former parish priests also are expected to attend. Historical photos and other items from the church’s century-and-a-quarter past will be on display.

While the parish dates back to 1893, the building, located at 5021 N. Nelson St., does not.

“I’m told the first Masses were held in the homes of the Great Northern Railroad workers,” said longtime church volunteer Louise Andrews.

The first church building was erected at Freya Street and Wellesley Avenue, but after a few years the wooden structure was put on wheels and moved to the current location on Nelson, where it was used as a school. The current brick church was completed in 1909, and the exterior was rebricked in 1993.

The church has seen numerous renovations over the years, but its stained-glass windows have remained intact. They line each side of the sanctuary, and a large circular stained-glass window sits above the front doors. St. Patrick is depicted in the center, and he is surrounded by several other saints.

On Friday morning the sun created a multicolored glow inside the church. All the windows received new protective coverings last year, Andrews said.

“Since we did that, the colors just pop,”’ she said.

Today about 100 people usually attend Sunday Mass, but the congregation used to be much larger in the railroad and Kaiser Aluminum heyday. “That’s our legacy,” said Andrews. “While the numbers have dwindled, the spirit certainly hasn’t.”

St. Patrick Parish had a church school for decades, but it closed a few years ago. The building is now rented out to Spokane International Academy, a charter school.

The Rev. Pat Kerst has been leading both St. Patrick and St. Thomas More in north Spokane since July.

“It’s an interesting parish,” he said. “It has a lot of vitality.”

He acknowledged that the church isn’t as big and bustling as it once was.

“It was a going deal 30 years ago,” he said. “That horse has left the barn.”

He said the church relies on volunteers and doesn’t have a lot of staff, but he enjoys working and ministering there.

The church sits squarely in a low-income neighborhood, and several immigrant families call the church home, Kerst said.

Many of the families who attend the church have been there for generations, Andrews said. She has been a member for 30 years.

“I’m a newby,” she said. “The sense of family and community is what brings people here and keeps them here.”

Kerst said he didn’t realize until late this week that the Gonzaga basketball game starts at 4:45 p.m., while Mass will still be going. He said he’s mulling over bringing in a television for the reception, but he’s hopeful that the game won’t impact attendance at the anniversary event.

“There will be other basketball games,” he said.