Church of Saint Patrick

Church of Saint Patrick. Cumberland, Maryland. , The Cumberland Roman Catholic Parish was established in 1790 by Father Dennis Cahill, a missionary working in Western Maryland. A log church dedicated to Mary the Mother of God was soon erected in 1791 at the front of the parish property., From 1795 to 1799 Father (Prince) Demetrius A. Galitzen, the second priest ordained in the United States, celebrated Mass in Cumberland prior to settling in Cambria County, Pennsylvania at Loretto., In 1836 Father Henry Myers built a brick Church of Saint Mary on this site., By 1848 that church, although enlarged, proved to be too small for the congregation. The German members of the congregation petitioned the Archdiocese for a church of their own dedicated to Ss. Peter and Paul., In 1849 Father Leonard Obermeyer pulled down the brick church of Saint Mary and began the construction of the present church on the foundation of the brick church., The corner stone was laid in 1850, and the church was dedicated by Archbishop Francis Patrick Kenrick on November 23, 1851. The name of the parish and the church building were then changed to the Church of Saint Patrick, due to the preponderance of Irish parishioners who had settled in Cumberland to build the canal and railroad., On June 10, 1883 the Church of Saint Patrick was solemnly consecrated by Archbishop James Gibbons, soon to become James Cardinal Gibbons., This plaque was placed here on Sunday, November 25, 2001 to commemorate the Sesquicentennial of the dedication of this house of God dedicated to the memory of Saint Patrick on November 23, 1851, and in memory of the 211th year of the parish's ministry in the Cumberland community., Bishop W. Francis Malooly, Episcopal Vicar for Western Maryland , Monsignor Thomas R. Bevan, Pastor