Partly cloudy skies. Low near 65F. Winds WSW at 10 to 15 mph..
Partly cloudy skies. Low near 65F. Winds WSW at 10 to 15 mph.
Updated: June 25, 2023 @ 9:39 pm
The interior of St. Patrick’s Church in Lagro. The church is celebrating its 150th anniversary on St. Patrick’s Day, March 17.
The organ in St. Patrick’s Church in Lagro originally dates from 1845 and was repaired thanks to $60,000 in donations nearly 15 years ago.
The historic marker outside of St. Patrick’s Church in Lagro.
The interior of St. Patrick’s Church in Lagro. The church is celebrating its 150th anniversary on St. Patrick’s Day, March 17.
The organ in St. Patrick’s Church in Lagro originally dates from 1845 and was repaired thanks to $60,000 in donations nearly 15 years ago.
The historic marker outside of St. Patrick’s Church in Lagro.
Saint Patrick’s Roman Catholic Church in Lagro has reached an important milestone, which will be celebrated on St. Patrick’s Day, March 17, at 5:30 p.m., as the church celebrates its 150th anniversary.
During the celebration, Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades of the Ft.Wayne/South Bend Diocese and Father Jay Horning will celebrate mass. The choir from Saints Peter & Paul Catholic Church in Huntington will provide special music and following mass a soup supper will be served in the community room of Lagro United Methodist Church.
According to a history provided by members of the Friends of St. Patrick’s Church, masses were first said at or near Lagro as early as 1800, when the area was first visited by a pair of Jesuit priests.
A large influx of Irish immigrants came to the area in the spring and summer of 1834 to work on the Wabash and Erie Canal. In 1838 these Irish immigrants erected a 30 by 40 foot frame church, which was the original St. Patrick’s church. In 1858 an additional 30 by 40 feet was added to the original church.
The current church dates back to 1870 when the parish of 300 families decided to build a new church. The cornerstone for the new church was laid on June 15, 1870 and the church was officially dedicated on St. Patrick’s Day in 1873.
Friends of St. Patrick’s Church member Becki Wagoner said that the organ in the church dates from 1845 and was built by Henry Erben, a renowned New York organ builder. Wagoner said the organ was used for a number of years until World War II, when the copper pipes were stolen to be sold during the copper shortage of the early 1940s. She said that many of the pipes were recovered, but not enough to make the organ fully functional again. So, from 1944 until about 2008, the church went without an organ, until the Friends started a campaign and raised $60,000 to restore the organ to working order.
According to documentation provided by the Friends, it is said that the bell which hangs in the belfry was brought to Lagro in 1837 by a Frenchman named Pasque by ox team and cart from a foundry in Buffalo, N.Y.
Since 1997 the church has been designated as an oratory, meaning it is no longer an active parish. In March of 1999 the church was listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
While the church is no longer an active parish church, mass is still held on the first Sunday of the month. Friends of St. Patrick’s President Janet Poole said the group has been encouraged due to the large numbers of people from the surrounding area who come to mass on the first Sunday of the month. Poole said people come from Wabash, Marion, Huntington, Warsaw, North Manchester and other surrounding communities.
“It’s like all at once people are interested (in the church), and that is so encouraging to us,” Poole said.
The Friends group actively works to keep the church in working order. The group had their first meeting to plan the celebration of the church’s 150th anniversary in August 2022, and they continued to meet. The members though said the plans came together quite quickly for the event.
According to Wagoner, the Friends group started in 2000 and at the beginning had about 12 members, though it has never had a large number of members. One of the group’s goals is upkeep of the church Poole said she comes by the church at least once a week to check on the church and make sure everything is functioning properly.
{{description}}
Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items.
Your comment has been submitted.
Reported
There was a problem reporting this.
Log In
Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person.
Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.
Sorry, there are no recent results for popular commented articles.
Your browser is out of date and potentially vulnerable to security risks.
We recommend switching to one of the following browsers:
