Yellowknife

St. Patrick’s Co-cathedral

Pastor: Fr. Gerald (Mick) Fleming, C.Ss.R. (mickcssr@gmail.com)

5206 52^nd Street Yellowknife, NT X1A 1T9

Parish Phone (867) 873-4880

facebook.com/st.patrickcocathedralparish

St. Patrick’s Co-Cathedral in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories holds an important place in the spiritual and communal life of Catholic northern Canada. As a co-cathedral of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Mackenzie–Fort Smith, it shares the role of the bishop’s church alongside St. Joseph’s Cathedral in Fort Smith, symbolizing the geographic and pastoral breadth of the diocese across a vast northern territory.

St. Patrick’s was built in 1958 and established as a parish church under the guidance of Father Maurice Beauregard, who led the local Catholic community and managed both fundraising and construction. Norm W. Byrne was one of the principal lay organizers in its foundation. In subsequent decades, the church expanded its facilities, adding a parish hall in 1977 and undergoing further renovations in 1986 to better serve its growing congregation.

The designation of St. Patrick’s as a co-cathedral — formally recognizing it alongside St. Joseph’s in Fort Smith — reflects Yellowknife’s role as both the territorial capital and a central hub for Catholic life in the Northwest Territories. While St. Joseph’s remains the historic cathedral of the diocese, St. Patrick’s functions liturgically and administratively in partnership, hosting diocesan celebrations, regular Masses, and sacramental life in a northern urban setting.

As a parish community, St. Patrick’s offers a full schedule of worship and ministries that nurture faith and fellowship. Weekend Masses and daily weekday services form the heart of parish life, supplemented by devotions such as Eucharistic adoration and the Sacrament of Reconciliation. The parish also supports local outreach through ministries like youth programs and the St. Patrick’s Vinnies Thrift Store, which provides practical assistance to people in need.

St. Patrick’s Co-Cathedral serves a broad and diverse community in Yellowknife and beyond, including Indigenous Catholics and newcomers to the North. Its presence alongside other diocesan parishes connects urban and remote Catholic experiences across the territory. Despite challenges — including a suspicious fire in 2021 that caused minor interior damage and drew attention to the building’s social significance during a period of national reflection on residential schools — the parish continued its mission of faith, resilience, and community support.

In many ways, St. Patrick’s represents both the continuity and adaptation of Catholic life in northern Canada: rooted in mid-20th-century mission beginnings, serving as a center of worship and service in a contemporary territorial capital, and reflecting the diverse cultural and pastoral realities of the people it serves within the Diocese of Mackenzie–Fort Smith.