St. Patrick's Parish - Markham

St. Patrick’s Parish holds the distinction of being a pioneer parish in Markham, Ontario. It was considered a “mission church” of Thornhill until 1881. The original site was located on Rouge Street where the first mass was celebrated on September 23, 1855. Eight years later, in 1863, a small church was built. As the community continued to grow, more space was required, and a new and larger church was built on the same site in 1870. Visiting priests travelled to Markham to celebrate mass once or twice a month.

In 1932 St. Patrick’s became a separate parish with its own “mission church”, called St. William’s, located at Musselman’s Lake, north of Markham. Priests from St. Augustine’s Seminary journeyed to Markham and beyond to celebrate mass from 1932 to 1962 when a resident pastor was finally appointed.

In 1904 St. Patrick’s Parish had twenty-two registered families. The Markham Catholic community continued to expand and by the late 1960s a larger church was needed to accommodate the surging growth. The current church was built on Highway 7 between 1969 and 1970 and continues to welcome new families into our faith community. There are now over 7500 families registered and that number continues to grow.