Shawe Memorial High School - The City Grows and The Church Follows

The City Grows and The Church Follows

As the City of Madison grew, so did its Catholic population. German–Catholics had increased highly in numbers and had formed a separate congregation within St. Michael’s.

In 1850, the Germans built St. Mary’s Catholic Church two blocks south of St. Michael’s. Gold trimming, extravagant statues and a much larger structure made St. Mary’s the largest church in the city, of any faith, at the time (Walsh, Moore and Bilger).

In light of the new church being built downtown, Irish-Catholics living on the hill (North Madison) formed their own congregation adjacent to the John Steinberger farm, two years later. St. Patrick’s Catholic Church was organized by Fr. Dupontavice, the Irish pastor of St. Michael’s at the time (Moore).

One of the probable reasons for the new hilltop congregation was the bands of Irish gangs who fought on several occasions throughout the Madison area during the mid-19th century. These two Irish gangs, the Corkonians and Connaught Men, as they called themselves, often fought whenever they met. Some nights, women and children of the town would sleep in fear that one of the two gangs would charge through the town. Thus, Fr. Dupontovice’s reasons for helping with the new parish are understandable (Walsh).

Along with ‘the fighting Irish,’ during the years of 1852 through 1856, Catholics all over the nation (including Madison) were abused and tormented by a political group of anti-Catholics called the Know-Nothings. While no deaths took place in Madison (as so happened in several other cities), the Know-Nothings did invade the homes of several Madison Catholics, and even boasted about their goal of tearing down St. Michael’s, which never took place (Walsh).