St Patricks Church of Smithtown: Parish History

St. Patrick's R.C. Church

Our History - Sharing a History

The story St. Patrick's of Smithown continues into the 20th century as it pairs with the new church of Sts. Philip and James in St. James, N.Y.
To the left is an image of a postcard, circa 1936, of the third St. Patrick's Church on the Corner of Mayflower and Edgewater Avenue. It is now the Byzantine Catholic Church.

St Patrick's of Smithtown

Our History

(Taken from the 2002

St. Patrick's 50th Anniversary Journal)

Sharing a History

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From 1888 to 1906, various priests traveled to Hauppauge to celebrate Mass approximately once a month. In 1907, a second church was built in the area - Sts. Philip and James in St. James. and the two churches would share a history.

The Rev. William Duhigg became the first permanent pastor in the area. He built the church and a residence in St. James.

Not everyone in the area considered the growing Catholic population to be a positive trend. It is estimated that in the 1920s, one out of eight Long Island residents belonged to the Ku Klux Klan. On at least three occasions, a burning cross was placed in the field across from St. Patrick Church. Then, in 1927, the church was destroyed by fire. Many, rightly or wrongly, have blamed the KKK for the fire. Regardless of the cause, the destruction of the church was surely a blow to the Catholic community. Yet area Catholics continued to practice their faith and began the work of building a new church.

See Reprint of Smithtown Messenger Article for a period report on the fire.

The new church was located at the corner of Mayflower and Edgewater Avenues in Smithtown. Today it is the Byzantine Catholic Church. The land was donated by Clarence Maloney of Tucson, Arizona. Among the many other donations made to the new St. Patrick Church were marble statues of the Blessed Mother and St. Joseph given by Fr. Duhigg. Fr. Duhigg was present when the new church was dedicated by the Most Rev. Thomas Malloy, the Bishop of Brooklyn, on June 30, 1929. Four days later, Fr. Duhigg died.

Father Clarence Murphy - Pastor of both Sts. Philip and James; and St. Patricks from 1929 to 1951

The Rev. Clarence Murphy became the second pastor of Sts. Philip and James, and its mission church, St. Patrick, on July 19, 1929. Father Murphy served as pastor of both churches for 22 years. He died on May 10, 1951 and was buried at the approximate site of the altar of the second St. Patrick church that was destroyed in the 1927 fire. His tombstone in St. Patrick Cemetery stands directly in front of the white cross that marks the site where the church once stood. Father Murphy was succeeded by Father Otto Froelich, but Father Froelich would serve both churches for only a short period of time.

Continued on next page...

This article was orginally published in the
St. Patrick R.C. Church 50th Anniversary Journal, 2002.

Sources of information used in compiling the history of St. Patrick Church included:

Smithtown, NY, 1660-1929, Looking Back Through the Lense, by Noel Gish, 1996.
The History of Smithtown, by J. lawrence Smith, 1882.
Sts. Philip and james Church, 1907-1982, 75 Years of Service, 1982.
St. Patrick Church, Silver Jubilee 195201977 1977.
Our Heritage, Our Stewardship, our Legacy, (St. Patrick Church 40th Anniversary Journal), 1982.
And, the memories of our parishioners. A special thanks to Margaret Minder, Robert Morlath, Elizabeth Radau, Maureen Rienzo and Marilyn Webster.