Father Pat - Rossland, British Columbia, Canada - Citizen Memorials on Waymarking.com

We are fairly new to the area, but heard of Father Pat 500 miles away. He is beloved throughout British Columbia as there are other memorials placed in his honor.

The Father Pat memorial is placed at the corners of Queen Street and Columbia Avenue in a prominent location, so all passersby will see it.

This memorial has plaques on all four sides, the text is as follows:

In Memoriam
Father Pat
"He that would write an Epitaph for thee,
And do it well, must first begin to be
Such as thou wert:
For none can truly know
Thy worth, thy life,
but he that liv’d so."

The other plaques reads:

In Loving Memory of the Rev. Henry Irwin MA
First rector of St. Georges Church Rossland.
Familiarly known as Father Pat

Obit Jan 13 AD 1902

Christie’s love and his apostles twelve
He taught, but first he followed it himselve.

Also there are two smaller plaques that simply read:

"I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink."

"I was sick and ye visited me."

“The Rev. Henry Irwin, a pioneer missionary in B.C., was the first rector of both Rossland and Trail. He is better known as Father Pat, and his life and work in the Golden City from January 27th, 1896 to November 5th, 1899 won for him an abiding place in the heart and mind of all those who knew him. As there was no church at the time of his arrival, he conducted his first service in Rossland in the old Opera House on February 2, 1896.”

Excerpts from “History of St. Andrews” Anglican Church, Trail, BC website.

“The Rossland Miner’s January 28 editorial about Father Pat’s passing said:” “Father Pat’, or to speak more correctly, the Rev. H. Irwin, was a remarkable man. If one were to attempt to say in which respect he differed from his fellows, one could not put it better than to say he lived every hour of his life up to the golden rule – ‘Do unto others as ye would have them do unto you’. He was a believer in the putting into practice in everyday life of practical Christianity. Wherever sorrow was manifest or sickness had stricken down the unfortunate, there was ‘Father Pat’ with his cheery smile and open purse to help the distressed.”

Website with more information on either the memorial or the person(s) it is dedicated to: [Web Link] Location: Corners of Queen Street and Columbia Avnue in downtown Rossland.

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