Pierse, Rev. Patrick

Rev. Patrick Pierse was born in County Kerry, Ireland, on February 7, 1887. He studied classics at San Brendans Seminary before completing his theological preparation at All Hallows College in Dublin and St. Patrick’s College in Carlow. Ordained to the priesthood on May 26, 1912, for the Diocese of Monterey and Los Angeles, he left his homeland that same year to begin his ministry in California.

Upon arriving in California in the fall of 1912, Father Pierse initially served as an assistant pastor at Santa Monica’s Catholic Church in Santa Monica. In November 1917, he assumed his first pastorate as the rector of St. Paul’s Catholic Church in Coalinga, where he led a congregation of six hundred souls and conducted regular services in nearby Oilfield. An active organizer in the Knights of Columbus, he became a dedicated leader in both civic and religious life throughout Fresno County.