St. Patrick's Church

A little off the beaten path, on a hill overlooking the beautiful Damariscotta River, on the old road from Newcastle to Damariscotta Mills stands the oldest Catholic Church in New England. A member of All Saints Parish, St. Patrick Church is a beautiful worship site for local parishioners and the many families who visit the area.

St. Patrick’s Through the Years
St. Patrick’s Church, Damariscotta Mills
Foundation laid 1807 ~ Completed in 1808
The history of St. Patrick’s Church at the head of the tide of the Damariscotta River takes us back to the establishing of the Catholic Church in the United States, especially in New England. Much of the early Catholic history of the State of Maine is associated with devoted missionaries, who came down the Kennebec Valley from Quebec to minister to the Indians and French settlers, but the early history of St. Patrick’s is also intimately associated with that of Boston and the Irish settlers who came from Boston to carve out a new life and sometimes fame and fortune in Maine.
James Kavanagh and Matthew Cottrill were two such men.  Not much is known of their early history prior to their arrival in Boston, other than that they were natives of County Wexford, Ireland and came from solid Irish stock with a love and deep affection for their faith.  Kavanagh was only 24 years old and Cottrill only 18.  They came to Boston, where they remained for a few years.  Attracted by stories of waterpower, timber and shipbuilding facilities, they migrated to Newcastle about 1801, where they immediately formed a partnership in trade at what is now called Damariscotta Mills.
Both men married Boston girls, with their friend, Rev. Francis Matignon, who was caring for the few scattered souls (100) in Boston at the time, officiating. Matthew Cottrill married Lydia House Nov. 28, 1793 and on June 16, 1794, James Kavanagh married Sarah Jackson, eldest daughter of Andrew Jackson, who had emigrated from Ireland previous to the American Revolution. Andrew’s wife, the first convert in Boston, is buried with several of her children on Boston Common, while Andrew and his son John lie in St. Patrick’s Cemetery, the side consecrated as you exit the church to the left. The first mass celebrated in this district was during the Summer of 1798, when Father Cheverus paid his first visit to the Kavanaghs and Cottrills on his way back to Boston from his missionary labors among the Penobscot and Passamaquoddy Indians. That same year St. Mary’s of the Mills, a small wooden chapel, was built in Newcastle at Damariscotta Mills on the land of Matthew Cottrill, a short distance below the present Rectory.  Cottrill’s first house was in Newcastle on the Austin Hill Road across from St. Mary’s of the Mills. St. Mary’s of the Mills served the faithful until 1808. With the increase of Catholic families, plans were made for "a good brick church" to cost at the lowest $4,000 - $5,000. Over $2,000 was contributed. The Kavanaghs and Cottrills, together with Father Matignon and Fr. Cheverus, contributed the balance, enough for a church with adjacent cemetery and land for a rectory with an orchard. The church was begun in 1807 and was completed in 1808. The small odd-shaped bricks of which the building was constructed were made across the "Pond", as Damariscotta Lake was called, and hauled by oxen across the ice the Winter of 1807. Limestone was imported from Ireland and made into mortar on the job. The architect, one Nicholas Codd, was reputed to have been shanghaied from Ireland especially for the purpose. He designed the church, as well as the new home of Matthew Cottrill, which he built in Damariscotta in 1801, and the home which Kavanagh built in 1803 in Newcastle overlooking the Mills. He designed St. Patrick’s for solidity and endurance, the walls being of solid brick, 1-1/2 feet thick. The church is of early Federal design, and originally had plain glass, small-paneled windows with shuttered fans on the inside and shutters on the outside. The original pews were backless plank benches, hewn from trees of the forests nearby, 2 of which are still in use, along with one from St. Mary’s Chapel. As was the custom in those days, the women sat on the Epistle side, the men on the Gospel side of the church. The hard benches and the wood stove were the only amenities. The unique altar, built in the form of a tomb, is older than the church itself, and is similar to one found in the crypt of the Holy Cross Cathedral in Boston. Another similar one is at the Santa Barbara Mission in California. The altar in St. Patrick’s is the original altar at which Father Cheverus offered Mass, which give us a real sense of the history of the church. It is an early eighteenth century French type, which may well have been actually imported from France, as the early painting over it certainly was. The fine doorways flanking the altar, again original, display the harp, heraldic symbol of Ireland. These carved crosses over the windows and a dove painted on the ceiling over the sanctuary were the only decorations. The star on the outside, repeated again over the sacristy doors, is unique to buildings designed by Codd.
The original Stations of the Cross, 14 in number, are the small gilded wooden crosses over the windows and doors. The present Stations of the Cross were installed Dec. 9, 1876 in Bishop Healey’s time. The titles are in 3 languages — French, Spanish and English. St. Patrick's is rich in rare and old paintings. The painting over the altar is estimated to be over 200 years old and is an exceptionally fine painting of "The Taking of Our Lord down From the Cross", painted by an unknown artist, presumably French. The painting is said to have been given to Fr. Cheverus by his mother and he in turn made a gift of it to St. Patrick’s. The earliest known pictures of the inside of the church show the painting above the altar. Newcastle, Maine, July 30, 1808 ~ Dedication of the Church Father Cheverus, in a letter to Bishop Carroll, tells the story of the dedication of Maine’s Oldest Catholic Church, the first church dedicated to St. Patrick in the United States. He tells of the instinted hospitality and devotion of the Kavanagh family to their church. "Fr. Matignon having authorized me in your name to bless the newly constructed church here, and the cemetery adjoining it, I performed the ceremony on Sunday the 17^th of this month. The church is called St. Patrick's — the name seemed to gratify our friends here; I like myself because it proclaimed that our church here is the work of Irish piety. The church is of brick, 80 ft. in length and 25 ft. in breadth. The greatest height inside is 30 ft., five arched windows 15 ft. high on each side. There is a small gallery over the door with a semi-circular window. It is on the whole a very neat and elegant chapel." "The expense will be about $3,000, out of which I am afraid our generous friends, Messrs. Kavanagh and Cottrill will be obliged to pay $2,000. They have given 3 acres of land, on part of which are the church and cemetery. There will be room enough for a house and garden and orchard for a Priest. But the congregation here is so scattered that they can never be here altogether, and a Priest to do good must often visit them and officiate at their house." "The whole assembly — and it was a numerous one — were hospitably entertained at Mr. Kavanagh’s house. The zeal, the whole generosity of the dear Mr. Kavanagh are above all praise. It is he who encouraged us to begin our church in Boston (Franklin St. Church) and who was the greatest help toward finishing it. Mr. Kavanagh tells me the new clergyman will have board and lodging with his family and also will have a horse at his disposal. Clothing will be the only expense a Priest will have in this place. Washing, mending, etc., all be done for him. You know the amiable family here. A priest is perfectly at home here, has a large and handsome chamber and is sure to be waited upon with pleasure and have at his orders whatever is in the house. For these ten years past, I have every year spent here a considerable time and have experienced from Mr. and Mrs. Kavanagh the same friendly respectful and delicate attention. It was during the pastorate of Rev. Dennis Ryan in 1818 that St. Patrick’s acquired its Paul Revere bell, cast by "Revere and Sons, Boston, Mass.", bearing the date "1818" and inscription, "The gift of Matthew Cottrill to St. Patrick’s Church, Newcastle". This bell is in perfect condition, and for almost 200 years has summoned the faithful to worship. From among the 400 bells cast by Paul Revere and Son, Joseph, from 1792 to 1828 St. Patrick’s is one of 93 still in existence. It is one of the last bells cast by Paul Sr. who died in November of 1818. It is one of the 37 bells cast by Paul Sr. and weighs 345 pounds. As far as can be determined, St. Patrick’s is the only Catholic Church in New England to possess a Revere Bell. (Revere Bells, by Edward C. Stickney, Bedford, Mass. 1956) During the pastorate of Rev. James Peterson in 1866, a brick tower, topped off with a hip roof, was built as a more substantial housing for the bell than the open wooden structure, which left the bell exposed to the elements. During the pastorate of Rev. John M. Harrington in 1890-1896, the present spire topped with a wooden cross was added to the brick tower. The year 1896 saw the original plain windows and shutters replaced by memorial stained glass windows, benches by pews and the plain white ceiling and walls decorated elaborately. Father Matignon and Fr. Cheverus each contributed $100 and small amounts were accepted from others interested in the construction of the church. The part of the original grant reserved for a parish house later became what is known as the new cemetery — opened as unconsecrated ground to permit husband and wife of mixed marriages to be buried together. Both cemeteries are now filled. A walk through the old cemetery with its headstones and Biblical inscriptions reveals the patriotism of the parish to the veterans buried there, representing all the wars from the Revolution to the present era. The early history is likewise manifest in such names as Kavanagh, Cottrill, Hanly, McGuire, Murphy, Madigan, Rafter, Mooney, Mulligan, Furlong, Dray, Bryant, Dyle and Flanagan. The Rev. A.C. LaRiviere in 1898 bought for the church a small Estey pump organ which saw constant service for 56 years, until it was replaced in 1954 with a Hammond Spinet electric organ. That too was replaced at a later date. Rev. Thomas J. Nelligan in 1908, in preparation for the centennial of the church, graded and beautified the old cemetery. During the pastorate of Rev. Charles Bennett in 1926, the Madigan homestead, which had been previously donated to the diocese by James Madigan, was opened as a rectory and lived in for a time by Father Bennett. This was the original resident of Captain John Madigan, and was built by him in 1823 on an acre of land purchased Oct. 26, 1821 from his father-in-law, Matthew Cottrill. John was the oldest son of Walter Madigan, who came to Damariscotta in 1804 from the same part of Ireland as Kavanagh and Cottrill. While not so entirely successful in the accumulation of worldly goods as his 2 countrymen, he was the best educated of any of the early Irish settlers who came to Maine. The Madigan family figured prominently in the early Catholic life of Newcastle. After the death of Catherine Madigan Bennett, the Madigan homestead was donated by one of her heirs, James. Members of St. Patrick’s Church from the beginning have worked for and contributed to the betterment of the community. Few people who ride across the bridge connecting the twin-towns of Newcastle-Damariscotta are aware of the fact that the first bridge across the Damariscotta River was due to the vision of the 2 Irishmen, Kavanagh and Cottrill, who likewise had a sharp eye for profits. As early as 1790 they applied to the General Court for permission to build a bridge. The first Parish Council of St. Patrick’s began in 1967. Members of St. Patrick’s at this time helped to found People to People, an ecumenical organization to meet emergency needs for people of all ages. This was an historical turning point in the life of the parish, as St. Patrick’s turned outward from itself in love toward the entire community. In the early 1970’s, the Diocesan Liturgical Commission under the Bishop decided that as far as possible St. Patrick’s should be restored to its original simplicity because of its historical significance. An expert on old buildings, J. Everette Fauber, Jr., F.A.I.A. came here from Lynchburg, Virginia, took measurements, scraped paint and researched the original appearance of the church. The frescoes, which had been added in the late 1800’s were eliminated and the walls repainted in the original pale tone. The Sanctuary railing was restored and some of the statues removed. The 1896 stained glass windows donated by early parishioners were left in place however. The original windows were clear glass, shuttered against the weather. The present pews were retained for comfort, as present parishioners would not welcome the pegged backless benches originally used. Several of these old benches are in the balcony to which the old mortised stair rail, painted Indian red guides one up the narrow stairs. The unique altar was left in place, and St. Patrick’s is one of the few churches in the land where the priest is "back-to" the people for at least part of the Mass. St. Patrick’s is now on the National Historic Register. Note: In 1996 a table was placed in front of the historic altar and the priest faces the congregation at Mass. Mass is held within its historic walls whenever possible. Visitors as well as parishioners are welcome at any time. The door is always open during daylight hours so that all can kneel, pray and relax in the peaceful atmosphere of Old St. Patrick’s. In 1998, the Most Reverend Joseph J. Gerry, our Bishop, celebrated a commemorative Mass here, marking the 200^th anniversary of the founding of our parish, and blessed the door, dedicating it as a Jubilee Door, one of three so honored in preparation for the Great Jubilee 2000. During the 1960’s and 70’s, an influx of young professional couples with children started moving into the area, increasing the congregation. The Kelley House, which had been used for CCD classes became wholly inadequate, and plans were set in motion to sell it so a suitable building could be erected nearer to St. Patrick’s, to be used for classes, meetings and a function hall. A committee was formed and pledges solicited. An architect was hired and after several years of hard work, meetings and discussions, the present beautiful St. Patrick’s Center became a reality.  
Update 1999 - Next Year the Millennium Mass in the Outdoor Chapel
The band of sturdy people who founded St. Mary’s of the Mills in 1798 would find it hard to believe the changes that have taken place in 200 years. Some of these changes have been recounted in earlier editions of St. Patrick’s Through the Years. Present day 2001, when this web page was created, Father Ray is still with us, and for that we thank God. He has guided us spiritually, joined in all our joys and sorrows, and brightened our days with laughter at his stories. The congregation has almost doubled since his arrival, with the subsequent problems of space and upkeep increasing. We are all saddened that we are outgrowing the seating capacity of our beloved little church, which sits serenely on the hill amid the swirl of changes, seeming to say reassuringly, "Do not worry. I am still here. Christ is still here. Come whenever you can and be with me". Additional history of St. Patrick’s may be obtained by writing to:
St. Patrick’s Church
PO Box 598
Newcastle, Me 04553
Request a copy of St. Patrick’s Through the Years. A donation of $6.00 is requested to cover the cost of mailing.