St. Patrick Cathedral, the cathedral of the Catholic Church in Fort Worth, Texas, greets you with its stone façade. This parish of the Diocese of Fort Worth is the seat of its bishop. Construction of St. Patrick's church began in 1888, and it was dedicated in 1892. The church, the rectory, and St. Ignatius Academy are listed together on the National Register of Historic Places as the St. Patrick Cathedral Complex; the church and academy are each recognized as Recorded Texas Historic Landmarks.
Before this stone and mortar became the city’s cathedral, Catholic life here met humbler rhythms. Starting in 1870 Father Vincent Perrier visited Catholics in Fort Worth twice a year and they gathered in the Carrico family home. Fort Worth’s first Catholic parish was St. Stanislaus, its frame church standing on Throckmorton Street. In 1879 Father Thomas Loughrey began a school for boys; classes continued in that church until 1907, when the frame structure was torn down. The present St. Patrick’s was built to the north of the old St. Stanislaus and its cornerstone was laid in 1888. The façade in front of you leads the eye to the rectory and St. Ignatius Academy nearby.