St. Vincent de Paul Church

St. Vincent de Paul Church is the oldest Catholic parish church in the city. The church was built in 1840-1841 to accommodate the growing Irish Catholic population east of the Jones Falls. Its gleaming white Georgian tower has long been recognized as a visual landmark on the downtown skyline. The architect is unknown, although the design is often attributed to the first pastor of the church, father John Bapist Gildea. , When the church was completed, the rear of the building faced the Jones Falls, then an open and turbulent stream and constant source of concern to the church, Its frequent and unpredictable rampages exacted a heavy toll in lives and property from the surrounding area until the stream was covered over and paved in 1911 to form the Fallsway. , A few years later the church inaugurated the “Printers Mass,” held after midnight and attended regularly by night workers nearby. Services at St. Vincent de Paul have been a popular part of Baltimore tradition for over a century and a half.