Charleston's historic St. Patrick Catholic Church has received a $500,000 grant to restore its iconic steeple. The gift comes from the prestigious National Fund for Sacred Places, which provides financial and technical support for community-serving historic houses of worship across America.
St. Patrick is Charleston's first Black Catholic church and the city's only remaining predominately Black Catholic parish. The funding will support the launch of the church's capital campaign, aimed at restoring, renewing, and reviving this vital piece of Charleston's spiritual and cultural history.
St. Patrick is one of only 30 churches to receive the 2025 grant—out of a starting competitive pool of more than 300. The church also was recently designated by the Diocese of Charleston as the future site of Black Catholic Church Heritage Center.