Parish History

St. Patrick Catholic Church of Clear Lake celebrated its first Mass on June 10, 1901 under the direction of Father Garrett Nagle. The site, which is now Clear Lake Band and Trust, had previously been a Congregational Church. Among those first families present at the first Mass were the Pattersons, Storks, Goodells, Hubers, Olesens, Patties, Carneys, Whites and McCabes. Other families soon followed: Sheridans, Doyles, Minettes, Weirs, Verbeckmoes, Bisgroves, Chizeks, Skenes, McGuires, Hofers and Westovers.

In 1909 the church was destroyed by fire, but the alter and many furnishings were saved. Mass was then said in Sprague Hall, located on Main Street across from Wilcox Furniture.

A new church was ready for use in the fall of 1911, on the west side of South 8th Street. In 1917, the church moved across the street to the corner of South 8th Street and 2nd Avenue South. By 1957, the parish had grown and plans were made for our present building at 1001 Ninth Avenue South. This included seven acres of land and a small house which was incorporated into the present rectory.

The new church for the St. Patrick parish would seat 500 persons and the 18 stained glass windows depict St. Patrick, St. Peter, Pope John, and the 15 mysteries of the Rosary. The first mass was celebrated on August 23, 1959. Construction of the church and rectory was completed for a total cost of $231,500.

By April of 2014, the parish thought the facilities needed a facelift or upgrade. They started the planning process and identified the need for better religious education space, the need for updated finishes on the main floor of the church, and a more accessible gathering space for fellowship. With that, the Building for Community fundraising campaign started. The $2,000,000 expansion and renovation was completed in September of 2018, and includes a 240 capacity gathering hall, dedicated classrooms in the church basement, new flooring and pews in the church, and a new, larger elevator.