St. Patrick, Kent Ave., for sale

Usually, it is easy to find diocesan decrees on a website, but in this case I can only refer to a July 18, 2022, Tablet article behind a registration wall HERE.

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In 1856, the renowned architect Patrick Keely built St. Patrick's church on the northwest corner of Kent Avenue and Willoughby Avenue. In 2010, the nearby parish of St. Lucy was merged into it. Now, the church is falling down, and in June the Bishop decreed its sale. Among the several reasons for my guess that the buyer will demolish it is the growing Hasidic community nearby.

Please refer to my older post.

November, 2010, Announcements of Closings and Mergers

A Tablet article dated 11.17.2010 concerning the closing and merging of some Brooklyn parishes is linked here. The article includes several photos of interest: St. Edward, St. Patrick (Kent Ave., already including St. Lucy), Our Lady of Montserrat (already including St. Ambrose), and St. Ignatius. How long this article will remain available on the internet is unpredictable. That is one reason why I take my own photos. However, books will outlast blogs!

St. Lucy - St. Patrick, Kent Avenue

Please read this decree concerning the merger of this parish into that of Mary of Nazareth, 41 Adelphi Street, effective January 31, 2011. The name of the parish is Mary of Nazareth, but the name of the church at 41 Adelphi Street is Sacred Heart. It is about a mile west of St. Patrick's.
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Note the 1843 date on the sign, ten years before the creation of the diocese of Brooklyn. According to John Sharp in "History of the Diocese of Brooklyn," vol. 1, p. 113, Catholics in this neighborhood "on the Newtown Road" (Flushing Avenue) purchased a Methodist church near what is now the intersection of Kent and Willoughby Avenues, and named their church St. Mary's. Bishop Hughes of New York sent them a pastor. About 1849, the parish was renamed St. Patrick's. The church shown below was dedicated by Bishop Loughlin of Brooklyn in 1856, three years after the diocese was created.



At the corner of Willoughby and Kent Avenue stands this church built in 1856 by the famous architect Patrick Charles Keely. My photos date from March, 2005. However, please also see this link
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In August, 2023, Brownstoner predicts that the church will be demolished. Yes,  it was demolished by the new owners in January, 2024.

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In the block adjacent to the left side of the church (that is, going downtown on Willoughby Avenue) is the historic property of the convent and orphanage of the Sisters of Mercy. The place is far more than historic; it is was important to many families for more than a century. A New York Times article is linked here.




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