Saint Patrick Catholic Church, Sydney,NS

St.Patrick's, the oldest Roman Catholic church on Cape Breton Island, was erected in 1828. It is an interesting example of the pioneer Gothic style of architecture,the stones and wood all being hand- hewn by Sydney's earliest residents.

The church stands on the site of an earlier,wooden edifice erected in 1805; nearby St.George's Church and St.Patrick's mark Sydney's earliest houses of worship.

St.Patrick's was the mother church for North Sydney,Sydney Mines,
Low Point,Bras D'or and even Louisbourg. Pioneers came by boat each
Sunday.The building remained unchanged until the 1850's, when a balcony was added to accomodate the growing ongregation.

In 1833, the congregation was increased to such an extent that a new church,Sacred Heart, was erected on George Street. Newly arrived Lebanese immigrants used the church until 1950 when the Ancient Order of Hibernians took it over until around 1960. In 1966
the Old Sydney Society began restoring St.Patrick's, and the church
now serves as a museum housing artifacts from the early history of
Sydney and the surrounding area.


T H E C E M E T E R Y

The graves behind St.Patrick's tell the story of the church and
it's earliest parishoners. Unfortunately,many graves are unmarked,
and many markers have been destroyed.

The oldest surviving marker (#3) predates the church by thirty
years,and marks the grave of the infant son of Captain John Butler
Wilson. Wilson, a local merchant,owned the land and early chapel
over which St.Patrick's is built,until his death 1n 1832 (#2),

That Wilson outlived his son by 25 years, is quite typical: 5
children are honored here.The most recent marker is dated 1857,about
which time both the church and cemetery were becoming quite crowded.


(Many thanks to the Old Sydney Society and staff for this information.)

Saint Patrick Catholic Church. Now a museum. The cemetery is to the left and behind the church.

The church building is in the right of the photo.