A Parish Built by Faith

The history of St. Patrick Parish is a story of perseverance, growth, and fidelity. Long before there was a church building in Morristown, the Catholic faithful of this region gathered wherever they could for Holy Mass. Over time, that small community grew into the vibrant parish family that worships here today.

Our Parish Story

The Catholic story in East Tennessee reaches back long before the founding of St. Patrick Parish. Catholic explorers and missionaries passed through the region centuries ago, and missionary priests later traveled the mountains of East Tennessee bringing the sacraments to scattered Catholic families.

Long before there was a church building in Morristown, the faith had already been carried through this region by priests who celebrated Mass wherever the faithful could gather: in private homes, in the dining room of the Kingmyer Hotel, at the Coca-Cola Bottling Company, and eventually in Morristown City Hall. Even confessions were sometimes heard in the hallway outside the room where Mass was offered.

In the mid-1950s the effort to establish a parish began in earnest as the Catholic community organized and sought a permanent church in Morristown. Land was eventually purchased along Knoxville Highway, and construction soon began on the first church building.

On the Feast of St. Patrick in 1959, the first Mass was celebrated in the newly built church, marking the beginning of parish life in Morristown. Over the decades that followed, the parish continued to grow as ministries expanded and new facilities were built to support parish life.

By the late 1990s the original church could no longer comfortably hold the growing congregation. Plans were made for a larger church building, and after a major parish campaign construction began on the present church.

The present church was dedicated in 2002. In the years that followed the parish continued to grow, and a columbarium was later added to the parish grounds, providing a sacred resting place for the faithful departed within the life of the parish itself.

Today St. Patrick Parish serves hundreds of families throughout the Lakeway region. From borrowed rooms and hallway confessions to the flourishing parish of today, the mission remains the same: to proclaim the Gospel, celebrate the sacraments, and lead souls to Jesus Christ.