A Catholic Presence on Main Street Since 1849
St. Patrick's Parish stands on the north end of Main Street in the small village of Jordan, New York, where the Erie Canal corridor meets the rolling farmland of Onondaga County. The brick church, its parish office, and the cemetery on South Hamilton Street form a Catholic anchor that has drawn generations of families from Jordan, Elbridge, and the surrounding countryside. Reverend John R. DeLorenzo serves as pastor, working with a Director of Faith Formation, a Music Ministry director, and a small staff to keep the parish's sacramental and pastoral life running week to week.
The parish's own account of its origin goes back further than its charter. The first Mass in Jordan was celebrated in the summer of 1849, in the home of Edward McLane on South Hamilton Street, by a Father Hackett. Ten families gathered for that Mass: McLane, O'Brien, Deneen, Fitzgerald, Hunt, Mahoney, Butler, Heverin, and Hoilhan. Some of those surnames, the parish notes, are still familiar on the church rolls today. For years afterward, traveling priests made their way into the area under difficult conditions to offer Mass as often as the roads and weather allowed. The whole region was then part of the Diocese of Albany under Bishop John McCloskey, later Cardinal McCloskey. In December 1852 a new parish in Camillus was carved out to cover what is now Camillus, Marcellus, Skaneateles, Otisco, Jordan, Split Rock, and Tully, and the Reverend William McCallion was appointed pastor.
St. Patrick's was officially incorporated on May 11, 1896, when Patrick A. Ludden, Bishop of Syracuse, signed the Certificate of Incorporation. Two parish trustees, William O'Donnell and Michael Madden, witnessed the document, and the Reverend Bartholomew A. Stack was named the first pastor. The first church building, also on South Hamilton Street on what is now the parish cemetery property, was blessed by the Bishops of Albany who periodically came to confirm the children of this vast mission territory. The first Confirmation class held there numbered more than 900 candidates, many of whom had to leave home the day before in lumber wagons to reach the church in time. The parish uses the phrase "127 Years of Faith" to mark that 1896 incorporation, and it is the date the parish traces as its own founding.
Mass Times, Reconciliation, and the Weekday Rhythm
The Mass schedule at St. Patrick's is built around a Saturday Vigil and two Sunday morning celebrations, with a short weekday schedule on the other side. The Saturday Vigil is celebrated at 5:00 pm. Sunday Masses are offered at 8:00 am and 10:00 am. Weekday Masses are held Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday at 9:00 am. The Sacrament of Reconciliation is scheduled on Saturday afternoons from 4:00 to 4:30 pm, and confessions are also available at other times by appointment with the pastor.
The parish office is open Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday from 8:30 am to 2:30 pm, and the office number (315) 689-6240 rings into the parish secretary's desk during those hours. Visitors and parishioners are asked to wear a mask at Mass if they are unvaccinated or would simply feel more comfortable doing so, a courtesy note that has remained on the parish's doors. The parish continues to publish a printed bulletin each week, and back issues going back several years are available as downloadable PDFs, alongside a downloadable copy of the Bishop's letter regarding a Chapter 11 update. An online calendar of events is kept for the parish as well.
Faith Formation from Pre-K Through High School
Faith formation is at the heart of the parish's ministry to families. Classes meet on Sunday mornings and are organized by grade band, with a separate track for sacramental preparation and another for teens. Pre-K through Grade 7 meet from 8:50 to 9:50 am on Sunday mornings, and Grades 8 through 12 meet from 11:00 am to 12:15 pm.
Sacramental preparation is treated as a longer arc. A child must be enrolled in Religious Education classes for at least two years before beginning preparation for a sacrament. Parent meetings and special classes for First Penance and First Eucharist are announced as they are scheduled, and Confirmation requires more than just Sunday classes: in addition to the regular sessions, parents, sponsors, and candidates meet as a group, candidates complete service projects, and both first- and second-year candidates take part in retreats. A First Communion retreat and rehearsal are scheduled separately. For high schoolers in particular, the parish offers a twelve-week Theology of the Body for Teens program for grades 9 through 12.
Adult faith formation runs on its own rhythm. Small Faith Sharing Groups gather for six to eight weeks at a time during the year. Parish Bible studies are offered at least twice a year, during Advent and during Lent. Other events - workshops, seminars, and short mini-series - are offered periodically for young adults, and the parish takes part in trips and pilgrimages organized through the Syracuse Diocese Office of Youth and Young Adult Ministry. Mary Badger serves as the Director of Faith Formation, and her office, reached through the parish's main number, is the central point of contact for the entire program.
The Journey of Becoming Catholic
Adults who have never been baptized, as well as adults who were baptized in another Christian tradition and now wish to come into full communion with the Catholic Church, are invited to walk the path of the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults, better known as RCIA. The parish describes RCIA as a communal process of study, exploration, faith-sharing, and formation, marked by specific liturgical rites. It is the same formation practice the earliest Christians used, restored by the Second Vatican Council as the ordinary way adults prepare for baptism.
RCIA proceeds in steps. It begins with the Period of Inquiry, sometimes called the Pre-Catechumenate, when seekers acknowledge that Christ is calling them into the Church through the movement of the Holy Spirit. The Rite of Initiation accepts new members into the worshipping community. The Catechumenate, the longest part of the process, is a time of formation in Catholic tradition, doctrine, and worship. At the Rite of Election, catechumens and candidates are chosen by the bishop and the community to receive the Sacraments of Initiation at Easter. Those Sacraments - Baptism, Confirmation, and Eucharist - are then received at the Easter Vigil on Holy Saturday. The period that follows, called Mystagogy, is a time of reflection and celebration as the newly initiated explore the deep mystery of the faith and go forth as members of the Church.
A team of sponsors and parish volunteers supports the journey. RCIA team members share their faith with inquiring adults and help them decide whether to seek one or more of the Sacraments of Initiation. People who are simply curious about the Catholic Church, returning Catholics who have been away, and those who want to be received into full communion are all welcome to begin the conversation.
A Wide Circle of Ministries
For a parish of its size, St. Patrick's keeps a remarkable number of lay ministries going, organized around the Mass, around service to those in need, and around the spiritual life of the parish family. Music Ministry is led by Steve Uhnak and draws together a choir, cantors, and instrumentalists; the choir rehearses on Tuesday evenings at 7:00 pm in the choir loft and sings at the 10:00 am Sunday Mass as schedules allow. The parish's lectors proclaim the Scriptures at Mass and at other services. Extraordinary Ministers of Communion bring the Body and Blood of Christ to the assembly at Mass and to the sick and homebound. Altar servers, both adults and youth in third grade and above, assist the priest at the liturgy. The Liturgy Committee is involved in most activities and programs affecting the liturgical and spiritual life of the parish. Ushers, greeters, and gift bearers warmly welcome parishioners as they enter the church for Mass.
Pastoral and devotional ministries round out the rhythm. The Prayer Shawl Ministry offers hand-made shawls to those in need of comfort, with the St. Joseph Ministry caring for the preparation and washing of altar linens, purificators, and corporals. The Legion of Mary gathers as a community praying the Rosary for the sanctity of all human life from conception until natural death, with meditative hymns, recitation of the Rosary, no experience required, and mentors provided. A Telephone Ministry for Prayer Requests responds to those who call in with intentions. Eucharistic Adorers keep watch before the Blessed Sacrament, with the monstrance exposed Thursday mornings from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm from September through April, and parishioners sign up for one hour or more of adoration.
Service to the wider community is centered in the Ecumenical Food Pantry, a long-running parish ministry that distributes food to those in need in and around Jordan. Two parish groups have long been central to the parish's social life: the Altar and Rosary Society, the women's group, gathers on announced occasions, with babysitting often available so mothers can attend; and the Knights of Columbus, the men's group, meets every other Saturday morning from 7:30 to 8:50 am for coffee, a light breakfast, fellowship, and an easy-going conversation about faith. The Funeral Committee, the Landscape Ministry, and the Finance Committee and Trustees each keep the practical side of parish life in order. The Finance Committee advises the pastor on financial matters and approves the annual budget. Parish trustees Marie Heck and Ken Scott share the trustee role, and Ken Scott also chairs the Finance Committee.
Catholic Beliefs and the Seven Sacraments
St. Patrick's teaches the fullness of the Catholic faith, drawing on the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the documents of the Second Vatican Council, and the long tradition of Catholic teaching. The parish affirms the Holy Trinity - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - and holds that God has revealed himself in Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition, with the Incarnation of Jesus Christ as the supreme sign of God's love. The parish recites the Nicene Creed at every Sunday Mass.
Central to parish life is the celebration of the seven sacraments. Baptism, the first of the Sacraments of Initiation, is described in the parish's own teaching as the sacrament that "ushers us into the divine life, cleanses us from sin, and initiates us as members of the Christian community." Water, holy oil, the Easter candle's light, and the white garment are the visible signs of the new life received. The Eucharist stands at the center of Catholic worship. The parish teaches, following the Catechism, that the Risen Jesus is truly and substantially present in the Eucharist, and that the ordained priest, by the power of his ordination and the action of the Holy Spirit, transforms the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ - a change the Church calls transubstantiation. Confirmation perfects baptismal grace and roots the confirmed more deeply in the divine filiation, incorporating them more firmly into Christ and strengthening their bond with the Church. The parish teaches that this sacrament is conferred through the anointing with chrism oil and the laying on of hands by the bishop.
The Sacraments of Healing are Penance (also called Reconciliation) and the Anointing of the Sick. The parish outlines the four steps of the sacrament: contrition for sin, confession to a priest, the reception of absolution, and a renewed commitment to live a Christian life. Only ordained priests have the faculty of absolving sins in the name of Jesus Christ. The Anointing of the Sick is offered to anyone struggling with an illness, and is described as a liturgical and communal celebration ideally held within the Eucharist and surrounded by the prayers of the parish family. The Sacraments of Vocation are Marriage and Holy Orders. Marriage is presented as a covenantal union, modeled on the covenants between God and his people, and rooted in the consent of the spouses to a lifelong bond. Holy Orders, in the three degrees of episcopate, presbyterate, and diaconate, is reserved in the Latin Church to baptized men whose suitability has been recognized by Church authority, with priests in the Latin rite normally embracing celibacy for the sake of the kingdom.
Alongside the sacraments, the parish teaches the traditional Catholic essentials: the seven Corporal Works of Mercy, the seven Spiritual Works of Mercy, the seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit, the three theological virtues of faith, hope, and love, the four cardinal virtues of prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance, the Ten Commandments, the two greatest commandments, the eight Beatitudes, the fourteen Stations of the Cross, the seven Last Words of Christ, the Fruits of the Holy Spirit, the four Marks of the Church (one, holy, catholic, and apostolic), and the Precepts of the Church. The liturgical year follows the universal Catholic rhythm of Advent, Christmas, Lent, the Sacred Triduum of Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday, the Easter Vigil and Easter season, and Ordinary Time, all marked by Solemnities, Feasts, and Memorials along the way.
Prayer and Devotion
Prayer, the parish teaches, is communion with God. It can be public or personal, spoken or silent, and the Psalms have been part of the Church's communal prayer since its earliest days. The parish shares the Church's most traditional prayers: the Grace before Meals, the Glory to the Father, the Lord's Prayer, the Hail Mary, the Act of Contrition, and the Hail, Holy Queen. Contemporary forms of prayer also have a place. Silent prayer and meditation center the heart in a noisy world. Lectio Divina, the slow reading of a Scripture passage, the patient reflection upon it, and the listening for what God is saying, is encouraged. A prayer journal can hold the long conversation between a soul and its God. Mary, the Mother of God, is honored as the greatest among the saints, and the saints themselves are held up as exemplars of the Christian life, advocates and intercessors, friends and mentors.
Parish Staff and Office
Reverend John R. DeLorenzo is the pastor of St. Patrick's. He is assisted by Joyce Dragone, the parish secretary, who can be reached at extension 111 of the parish phone. Mary Badger serves as the Director of Faith Formation and can be reached at extension 113 or by email at marybadger@stpatricksjordan.com. Steve Uhnak leads the Music Ministry, including the choir, cantors, and instrumentalists. The parish trustees are Marie Heck and Ken Scott, with Ken Scott also chairing the Finance Committee. The parish's food pantry can be reached at extension 115.
The parish office is located at 28 N. Main Street, Jordan, NY 13080, with a mailing address of P.O. Box 567, Jordan, NY 13080. The phone number is (315) 689-6240. The office is open Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday from 8:30 am to 2:30 pm. Online giving is available through the parish's giving page, where parishioners and visitors can support the work of the church from anywhere.
Staying Connected
Beyond the Mass schedule and the bulletin, St. Patrick's offers several ways to keep up with parish life and to grow in the faith. The parish calendar lists upcoming events and special services. A weekly bulletin is published, with back issues kept in an archive. The parish posts a daily reflection and a short Gospel meditation each day, drawn from Catholic sources. A page of Catholic news and perspectives carries articles from Our Sunday Visitor, and a parallel page of reflections from Simply Catholic offers reflections on the Catholic year, the saints, and the life of the Church. Parents of children in religious education, those discerning a call to become Catholic, returning Catholics, and anyone curious about what Catholics believe will find pages devoted to each of those journeys.
St. Patrick's also takes part in the Safe Environment training required by the Diocese of Syracuse for all liturgical ministers. Initial training is for those who have never attended the diocesan program; recertification is for those whose certification has lapsed. Registration is done through the diocesan website, with dates and locations posted there. Together, the rhythm of Mass, the work of the food pantry, the long tables of religious education classrooms, the choir loft on Tuesday evenings, and the gathering of the Knights of Columbus on Saturday mornings make up a parish that has, in its own telling, offered the hope of salvation in the Roman Catholic tradition on North Main Street for 127 years and counting.