Angelic cherubs have been pulled from their century-old church pillars. St. Patrick’s majestic stained-glass windows have gone to other parishes. And the adjacent grade school is reminiscent of that moment the bell rings for summer vacation: Books, desks and an occasional report card are strewn about as if there were no tomorrow.
Although desanctified as a church two years ago, St. Patrick south of downtown at 14th and Castelar Streets is truly in its final days. Workers now are removing asbestos and preparing for demolition starting this summer on the rectory, gym, then church. Only the three-story brick schoolhouse is to remain on the 2-acre site, said developer Rob Woodling, as a nostalgic nod to the Catholic parish founded by an Irish priest in 1883.
