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St. franciS and St. clare PariSH
St. Francis and St. Clare Parish was formed in 2012
when St. Mary’s Church in Waterloo merged with St. Patrick Church in Seneca Falls.
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St. Mary’s was founded in 1846 when Waterloo’s Catholics, aided by Father Thomas O’Flaherty of Auburn, purchased land on Center Street and built a church. In 1854 Father Michael Gilbride became St. Mary’s rst resident pastor. The parish grew, and in 1873 the cornerstone was laid for the current church building. This Gothic Revival-style church, constructed of gray limestone, was dedicated in 1889 by Bishop Bernard J. McQuaid. The bell tower was completed in 1900, the same year a pipe
organ was installed.
St. Patrick traces its roots back to 1831, when several Irish families founded an organization known as the Catholic Society of Seneca Falls. Four years later, Father Francis O’Donoghue celebrated Mass – believed to be the rst Mass in Seneca Falls – in a local residence. Shortly thereafter those rst parishioners purchased a small building and dedicated it to the patronage of St. Jerome. In 1848
parishioners laid the cornerstone for a new brick church, which was dedicated in 1851 and named St. Thomas Church. As the parish grew the church building was enlarged, and in 1862 the church was dedicated and renamed St. Patrick. The parish grew even more as Italian immigrants began to arrive in Seneca Falls, and in 1929 the cornerstone for the current St. Patrick Church was laid. The church was dedicated in 1931 by Bishop Francis O’Hern.
St. Patrick
Worship Sites
St. Mary’s Church
35 Center St., Waterloo
St. Patrick Church
97 W. Bayard St., Seneca Falls