Maine is one of the most beautiful places for pandemic sheltering during the brilliant fall foliage season. We can take advantage of “staycation” visits to beautiful and close to home Franco-American historic sites, especially while the warm daily temperatures are cooperative.
A day trip destination I recommend for leaf peepers who enjoy fall beauty with history included, is off the traveled highway on the lovely grounds of the St. Patrick Church, in Newcastle. This historic church is located in a quiet rural setting, just a short distance south of the village of Damariscotta Mills, on the west side of Academy Hill Road just south of its junction with Maine State Route 215.
Historic St. Patrick Church and the adjacent cemetery with headstones dating to the American Revolutionary War.Built in 1807, the church is the oldest surviving Roman Catholic Church building, still in continuous use, in New England.
In 1973, the original church was listed on the National Register of Historic Places .
St. Patrick Church has an interesting connection to French colonial history, at a time when Maine was still part of the state of Massachusetts. Although the church parish was organized by James Kavanagh and Matthew Cattrill, who were local Irish immigrants and prominent businessmen, the building was consecrated on Sunday, July 17, 1808, by the French prelate from Boston, Father Jean de Cheverus.
In the past, I have written about the church’s French history in a blog posted at this site here.
So happens, I collected a series of vintage post cards during a visit to the church. Scanning technology allows for me to share them. Also, I attended a choral concert in the new sanctuary and took a picture from the choir loft.
Jean-Louis Cheverus, also known as John Cheverus, (b. 28 January 1768 in France – d. 19 July 1836 in France) became a French Roman Catholic bishop in Boston and later, after he returned to France, a Catholic Cardinal. He was the first Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Boston, Massachusetts in the United States, and later became a bishop and then archbishop. Local parishioners in Newcastle contributed the funds to build the church and Bishop Cheverus was among the donors. The 1807, structure’s thick walls are made of solid brick. The original pews were constructed from trees found in the nearby forests. Two of these backless wooden pews are still in use. In fact, the altar in the original sanctuary is actually older than the church and resembles a tomb. Moreover, the altar may have been imported from France. Reported on the Acadia National Park website, St. Patrick Church has one of the 93 bells still in existence, which were manufactured between 1792, and 1828, by Paul Revere and his son, Joseph. A walk through the old cemetery, adjacent to the church, includes headstones with Biblical inscriptions and call attention to the veterans buried there, representing all the wars from the Revolution to the present era.
St. Patrick Church has several special histories. Of course, first is the 1808, connection to the French Bishop Cheverus. The other is the special outdoor sanctuary that, up until the COVID19 compliance, was used to celebrate summer Masses. A third history is the addition of an extension to the original sanctuary. In 2017, a statue of the patron St. Patrick was moved from the closed Portland church on Congress Street. Benefactors donated the money with the help of volunteers to move the enormous statue from Portland’s closed St. Patrick’s church to the new location on the outdoor parish grounds, in Newcastle.
In the New England Historical Society newsletter, an article titled “Jean-Louis Cheverus, the Catholic Priest Even the Puritans Liked” provides more information about Bishop Cheverus and his interesting clerical career, located at this site here.
Restoration maintenance for the historic St. Patrick Church is an ongoing project for the parishioners. Information about the fund is at this site here.