The Stealing of the Statue When: Feb. 23 at 2 p.m. Where: Holy Cross - Immaculata Church, Mt. Adams What: In 1970, when the Church of Holy Cross for the Irish was forced to merge with the Immaculata Church for the Germans, the Irish were not allowed to take their statue of St. Patrick to the new location. So, an Irishman snuck into Holy Cross, stole the statue and moved it to the new location. Celebrate this iconic moment, which has been celebrated every March since, in the countdown for the 57th Annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Cincinnati. Who: St. Patrick Div. No 1, Ancient Order of Hibernians Why: St. Patrick’s Day is one of the best holidays of the year, so why not get the celebrations started a bit early this year? Photo: cincinnatistpatrickaoh.org

While we count down the days until the 56th annual Cincinnati St. Patrick’s Day Parade, the first of the festivities celebrating the man who drove the snakes out of Ireland will happen this weekend with some all-in-good-fun statue-napping.

The “Stealing of the Statue” is an annual St. Patrick’s Day tradition in Mt. Adams. It kicks off Saturday, Feb. 18 with a Mass at Holy Cross – Immaculata Church starting at 2 p.m. The annual Mass honors St. Patrick and the local members of the Ancient Order of Hibernians and Ladies Ancient Order of Hibernians who have passed away over the last year.

The Mass culminates with stealing the St. Patrick statue from the church at 3 p.m. It’ll be blessed and then carried along a short parade route through the streets of Mt. Adams, accompanied by men wearing kilts and carrying bagpipes.

The annual tradition was started by the Crowley family of Crowley’s Pub in Mt. Adams.

“Family is always the focus of the Irish culture, and on this day, family means the entire Irish-American community and those who support it,” parade chairman Chris Schulte said in a press release.

Holy Cross – Immaculata Church, 30 Guido St., Mt. Adams. More info: cincinnatistpatrickaoh.org.

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This article appears in Feb 12-12, 2024.

Katherine Barrier is a graduate of the University of Cincinnati’s journalism program and has nearly 10 years of experience reporting local and national news as a digital journalist. At CityBeat, she...