On the corner of Church and Ann Uccello Streets, one block west of the XL Center and two blocks east of Union Station, the brownstone walls of St. Patrick - St. Anthony Church have stood in downtown Hartford for more than 175 years. The parish traces its roots to Holy Trinity, founded in 1829 to welcome Irish immigrants and recognized as the first Catholic church in Connecticut. Today the parish is a mission of the Franciscan Friars of Our Lady of Guadalupe Province, identified by the motto Open Hearts, Open Minds, Open Doors, and shares its grounds with the Franciscan Center for Urban Ministry, a non-profit that has served Hartford's most vulnerable neighbors since 1992.
A Parish Forged in Fire, Built on Welcome
Hartford's Catholic life began at the corner of Talcott and Main Streets, where converts from local Protestant churches helped Holy Trinity purchase a former Episcopal building in 1830. Within a decade the small congregation of 126 had grown to more than a thousand, and in 1850 the cornerstone was laid for a new church on Ann and Church Streets, named St. Patrick in honor of the Irish heritage of its people. Within a year the Sisters of Mercy arrived from their new Connecticut convent and opened the state's first Catholic orphanage, day school and night school.
Fire has shaped the building's story. A blaze in 1875 destroyed the original structure; parishioners rebuilt on the same site, only to see the interior gutted again in 1956. The church standing today was built within those surviving walls, its nineteenth-century brownstone exterior sheltering a modern worship space accented with stained glass.
Italian immigrants who began arriving after the Civil War were ministered to by St. Patrick's and later formed their own parish, St. Anthony's, in 1895. A new St. Anthony's church on Talcott Street was dedicated in 1921. In the 1950s urban renewal erased the Italian neighborhood on Front Street. On October 25, 1958, the two parishes merged into St. Patrick - St. Anthony, and the combined community funded much of the post-fire rebuilding.
In 1990 Archbishop John Whealon invited the Order of Friars Minor to take over the parish as part of their ministry to the urban poor. The Franciscans also launched the Franciscan Center for Urban Ministry in 1992, in the former convent, and dedicated its larger facility on the parish grounds in April 2000. In the mid-2000s and 2010s the parish partnered with Mercy Housing and Shelter to convert Catherine's Place, on the site of Connecticut's first Sisters of Mercy convent, into a transitional residence for homeless women; the parish now partners with The Open Hearth to support men experiencing homelessness.
Mass Schedule and Livestream
Weekday Masses are offered at 7:30 am and 12:05 pm, with the noon Mass livestreamed on YouTube, Facebook and Streamspot. The Saturday Vigil is at 4:00 pm, livestreamed on Streamspot since June 2024. Sunday Masses are celebrated at 8:00 am, 10:00 am (livestreamed), 11:45 am and 5:00 pm. Music at the 8:00 am and 11:45 am Masses features a cantor and organ; the 10:00 am Mass is sung by the Gallery Choir; the 5:00 pm Mass alternates between the Treble Clef Choir and the Bass Clef Choir.
The Sacrament of Reconciliation is offered Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 11:15 to 11:45 am, and Saturday from 3:15 to 3:45 pm.
The livestream viewer, archives of past Masses, and a downloadable worship aid and prayer for Spiritual Communion are available for those joining from home. Funeral Masses are also livestreamed.
A Building and a Welcome
The nineteenth-century brownstone church is known for its acoustics and its stained glass. The right-side door has a ramp for accessibility; the front pew to the left of the center aisle is reserved for accessible seating, and restrooms with a changing table are on either side of the entrance. Hearing-assistance devices are available from the sacristan or staff.
Free parking is available in the Saints Surface Parking Lot directly across the street. The gates are open during weekend Masses; during the week, registered parishioners may request a key card for free access, and visitors receive a one-time validation sticker at any church event so that parking is always free for Mass, meetings or a quick stop in the office.
Office hours are Monday through Friday from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm, Saturday from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm, and Sunday from 9:00 am to noon. The parish is reached at 860-756-4034.
The Seven Sacraments
St. Patrick - St. Anthony celebrates all seven sacraments. Baptism of infants is celebrated during Sunday Mass outside the seasons of Advent and Lent, with a preparation session for parents and guardians led by a volunteer Baptism Preparation Team. The Order of Christian Initiation of Adults (OCIA) welcomes adults seeking baptism, reception into full communion, or completion of their sacraments; children ages 8 to 18 who have not been initiated follow a similar process adapted to their needs, with candidates typically received at the Easter Vigil.
First Reconciliation and First Communion are prepared within the parish's faith formation programs, with all three elementary programs (Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, Family Program, and Traditional Program) coming together for First Communion preparation. Confirmation preparation is a two-year program for high school students, generally beginning in the ninth grade and concluding in the tenth, with classes twice a month and a strong service component at the House of Bread, Catherine's Place and the Catholic Worker House.
The Sacrament of Reconciliation follows the schedule above. The Marriage Preparation Team of six to eight married couples hosts one-day retreats in the spring and fall, covering communication, finances, sexuality, commitment and the theology of marriage, and ending with Mass and hors d'oeuvres. A wedding music playlist on SoundCloud helps couples choose from the parish repertoire. Anointing of the Sick is available throughout life for those facing illness, surgery, addiction, mental illness or the frailties of age; arrangements are made through the parish office.
A Music Ministry with Three Choirs and an Organ Scholar
The music program is widely noted for its vibrancy. The Gallery Choir, a mixed-voice ensemble of volunteers, eight section leaders and two choral scholars under Director of Music David Garrido Cid, leads the music at the 10:00 am Sunday Mass and major feasts. Its repertoire spans Medieval and Renaissance motets, Baroque, Classical and Romantic works, and twentieth-century Gospel, world and contemporary pieces, sung in English, French, German, Latin, Russian, Spanish, Xhosa, Swahili and Zulu. The Gallery Choir rehearses on Wednesday evenings.
The Bass Clef Choir, an ensemble of tenor and bass voices, sings at the 5:00 pm Mass on alternating Sundays and on special feasts, with a particular love for early American shape-note hymnody and Gregorian chant. It rehearses on Monday evenings. The Treble Clef Choir, open to adults and youth age 12 and up, also sings the 5:00 pm Mass on alternating weeks and rehearses on Wednesday evenings. All three choirs combine for major feasts and have performed choral-orchestral masterworks such as Brahms's German Requiem, Rutter's Gloria and Handel's Messiah.
The Church Street Singers welcome children of reading age through high school to lead singing at several Masses a year, with the oldest mentoring the youngest. The All Are Welcome Choir convenes for a single rehearsal before a particular liturgy. Instrumentalists contribute strings, brass, woodwinds and percussion at Christmas and Easter. An Organ Scholar Program supports emerging organists; current scholar Madison Thompson studies at Trinity College and assists as Chapel Organist there.
Faith Formation for Children, Youth and Adults
The Faith Formation Team partners with parents in nurturing the faith of their children. For preschoolers ages 3 to 5, the parish offers Catechesis of the Good Shepherd (CGS) Level 1, a Montessori-based, hands-on experience held in a specially prepared space called the atrium.
Elementary families choose among three tracks: CGS Levels 2 and 3 for grades 1 through 6, the Traditional Program of weekly classes during the academic year, or the Family Program, in which families meet monthly for prayer, learning and community service. All three prepare together for First Communion. The Teen Faith Formation program, Focus 4:12, gathers middle and high school students twice a month on Sundays for service and discussion.
Adult Faith Formation offers daytime, evening and weekend opportunities for Scripture study, faith sharing, contemplative prayer (including Lectio Divina and centering prayer), information sessions on Catholic belief and practice, and retreats. The annual All Are Welcome Retreat is open to all parishioners. The parish's Coordinator of Faith Formation, Deb Pelletier, and Pastoral Associate Pat Curtis are available to walk alongside families at any stage.
Spiritual Direction is offered by trained directors who accompany others in the art of listening described by Pope Francis in Evangelii Gaudium. Group Spiritual Reflection meets on Tuesdays after the 12:05 pm Mass in room C of the Franciscan Center and on Zoom, with the Gospel of the upcoming Sunday as the focus.
The Franciscan Center for Urban Ministry
The Franciscan Center for Urban Ministry is a 501(c)(3) non-profit housed on the parish grounds. Established in June 1992 in the former convent, it dedicated new facilities in April 2000 and celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2025. Its programs are supported by grants, fundraisers and the generosity of donors and volunteers.
The Sandwich Ministry is one of the most visible ministries, handing out sandwiches, water and fresh baked goods from the Center's serving window every day from 4:00 to 5:30 pm. About fifty teams of volunteers prepare and serve 100 to 120 people a day, year-round; servers also distribute hats, gloves, socks, underwear, hand-warmers, bus fare and personal care items.
Other food-related programs include Tuesday Pasta Meals, a Tuesday-evening takeout ministry that grew from thirty to more than a hundred meals a night; the Sunday-evening Warming Center Hot Meals ministry during the winter months, when the Center's partner shelter expanded from 45 to 65 beds; a partnership with Levo International that brings hydroponic kits to Hartford families and supports a CSA program; and a long-standing collaboration with the House of Bread, where parish teams serve meals on Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays.
Affordable Housing Ministries are part of the Center's outreach, as are Ministry to the Homeless, an Immigration Ministry, and interfaith organizing for justice in coordination with the Office for Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation of Holy Name Province.
Pastoral Care and Prayer
The Care Ministry assists bereaved families in planning the Mass of Christian Burial, helping select Scripture readings and music and attending the wake and funeral when possible. The Bereavement Ministry offers individual and family support, including a nine-week New Day program. The Emmaus Ministry supports parents grieving the death of a child, with monthly meetings. The New Life program uses the Divorce and Beyond curriculum in a nine-meeting series for those navigating separation.
Parish Nurses and the Pastoral Care Outreach Ministry visit parishioners at home or in hospitals, nursing homes and convalescent homes. Eucharistic Ministers bring Communion to those who cannot attend Mass. The Prayer Network gathers roughly fifty parishioners who commit to praying daily for those in need; prayer requests may be left by phone at extension 162 or sent online. The Prayer Shawl Ministry knits and distributes shawls as tangible signs of comfort in times of sorrow and joy.
Social Justice and Creation Care
The Committee for Social Justice educates and empowers parishioners in Catholic Social Teaching and works for a more just and peaceful world, meeting on the first Wednesday of each month. Its Creation Care Team publishes monthly reflections on environmental stewardship. Members participate in the Walk Against Hunger, the Local Giving Tree and ongoing advocacy, drawing on the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church and on the priorities of Holy Name Province.
Spirituality and Social Groups
The Ladies Guild, founded in 1938, makes baptismal garments for infants baptized in the parish and awards annual scholarships to parish students; the Men's Fellowship meets monthly for spiritual presentations, small-group discussion and fellowship. A Novel Idea Book Discussion Group gathers monthly around selected fiction. The Open Hearts LGBTQ+ Ministry provides education, fellowship and outreach, with gatherings on the second Sunday of each month from September through June, and a separate Friends and Family of LGBTQ+ group supports those who love LGBTQ+ family members. The Secular Franciscan Order's St. Joseph Fraternity meets at the parish. The Women of Hope Ministry addresses the needs and issues affecting women in church and society today through programs, prayer and support.
Hospitality and Getting Involved
Hospitality at St. Patrick - St. Anthony is woven into nearly every gathering. Community Sunday Hosts prepare coffee and donuts after the 8:00 am and 10:00 am Masses on the second Sunday of each month; Community Sunday Evening Edition Hosts pour wine and cheese after the 5:00 pm Mass on the fourth Sunday. The Welcoming Committee hosts a brunch for new parishioners each May, the Yard Goats Gardens Team tends the parish grounds, and a Hospitality Committee serves meals at parish and Center events.
The Center runs a robust volunteer program under Director of Outreach and Volunteer Ministry Allison Holst-Grubbe. Ongoing needs include sacristans, livestream camera operators, altar servers (with training provided and no prior experience required), and volunteers of every kind. The parish has partnered with the House of Bread for more than a quarter century, and additional partner organizations include Levo International and The Open Hearth.
Sister Parish, Sister Province
St. Patrick - St. Anthony maintains a Sister Parish relationship with St. Geneviève in Fouji, Zoranje, Haiti, reflecting the parish's commitment to extending its Franciscan welcome far beyond Hartford. The parish is supported by the Franciscan Friars of Holy Name Province and their Office for Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation, and works in cooperation with the Archdiocese of Hartford, of which it is a part.
Giving, Communication and Joining the Parish
Parishioners may give online through the parish's Online Giving platform, by text to (860) 615-7717 using a fund code, or by envelopes mailed every other month. Year-end giving statements are available, and gifts may be directed to the parish Annual Appeal or to specific ministries such as the Religious Education fund or St. Anthony Bread for the Poor.
Parish-wide emails are sent on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday mornings. Funeral livestreams, news and events, weekly bulletins and ministry schedules are kept current. Newcomers are warmly invited to join the parish, take part in any of its forty-plus ministries, and find a spiritual home at the corner of Church and Ann Uccello Streets.