PORTLAND — Special events at Maine parishes will highlight the Diocese of Portland’s celebration of the Feast Day of Saint Patrick. The feast day holds special significance as Saint Patrick, along with Saint Jean Baptiste, is a secondary patron of the diocese. In addition, Saint Patrick Church in Newcastle was the first church in the country named for Saint Patrick. Bishop Robert Deeley, whose parents came to the U.S. from County Galway, Ireland, will celebrate Mass on Saint Patrick’s Day on Wednesday, March 17, at 12:15 p.m. at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Portland. The Mass will also be available via livestream at www.portlanddiocese.org/online-Mass. Here are further details on other gatherings planned to celebrate the Feast Day of St. Patrick around Maine (listed chronologically):

Saturday, March 13

Houlton
St. Mary of the Visitation Parish in Houlton will celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with a traditional corned beef and cabbage dinner, available for takeout on Saturday, March 13. The meal includes corned beef, cabbage, potatoes, carrots, turnips, and a brownie. The meals can be picked up at the parish hall beginning at 11:30 a.m. Donations welcomed.

Pittsfield

St. Agnes Parish and the Knights of Columbus will hold a corned beef and cabbage takeout dinner on Saturday, March 13, with pickup set for 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. in the parking lot of the parish hall, located on 238 Detroit Avenue in Pittsfield. The meals will consist of corned beef, potatoes, carrots, cabbage, a roll, and dessert. The cost is $10 per plate. To reserve a plate, call (207) 948-3343 by March 10.

Portland
Our Lady of Hope Parish in Portland will be selling 8” round homemade Irish soda bread for $10 per loaf with pick up at St. Pius X Hall, located on 492 Ocean Avenue in Portland, on Saturday, March 13, and Sunday, March 14. To order a loaf or loaves, call the parish office at (207) 797-7026. All proceeds will help the parish address financial gaps caused by the pandemic.

Sunday, March 14

Cape Elizabeth
A St. Patrick’s Day takeout lunch will be held at St. Bartholomew Church, located at 8 Two Lights Road in Cape Elizabeth, on Sunday, March 14, from noon to 1 p.m. The meal includes corned beef, cabbage, carrots, potatoes, and Irish soda bread. The cost is $10 for each lunch. To order lunch, which will be picked up curbside, contact Angela Best at (207) 233-4216 or bestn92@gmail.com. Orders are being accepted through March 7. Pay by cash or check (payable to St. John Paul II Parish) when you pick up your meal.

Monday, March 15

Portland

A St. Patrick’s Day “Virtual Party” will be held via Zoom from Our Lady of Hope Parish in Portland on Monday, March 15, at 7 p.m. The parish is calling on anyone who may have a story to tell, a song to sing or play, or a poem to share to sign up to be part of the parish’s version of an Irish “seisiún.” To register for the party, call the parish office at (207) 797-7026 or visit https://ourladyofhopeportland.weshareonline.org/StPatricksDayvirtualParty03152021.

Wednesday, March 17

Newcastle

A St. Patrick’s Day Mass will be celebrated at St. Patrick Church, located on 380 Academy Hill Road in Newcastle, at noon. As noted above, St. Patrick Church was the first church in the country named for St. Patrick. It was dedicated by Fr. Jean-Louis Lefebvre de Cheverus on July 17, 1808, a year before the cornerstone was laid for St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City. St. Patrick Church has been in continual use longer than any other Catholic church in New England.

 

Portland
Bishop Robert Deeley will celebrate St. Patrick’s Day Mass at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Portland on Wednesday, March 17, at 12:15 p.m. The Mass will also be available at www.portlanddiocese.org/online-Mass.

St. Patrick, who was captured by Irish raiders as a teenager in the fifth century, ultimately escaped his enslavement, entered the Church, and returned to Ireland where he brought the message of the Gospel to the very people who had kept him in slavery. For more information about St. Patrick, the feast day, and St. Patrick’s Day events in Maine, visit www.portlanddiocese.org/content/feast-st-patrick-2021, where additional events will be listed when they are confirmed.