Saint Patrick’s Parish was founded in 1868 to serve the largely Irish immigrant population which came to Shotts seeking work in the coal mines and ironworks situated in and around Shotts.

The present church was built in 1905 to accommodate the growing Catholic population of the parish which also includes the nearby villages of Allanton and Hartwood.

The congregation is rightly proud of their church, designed by the famous architects firm of Pugin & Pugin. A grant from the Millennium Commission helped fund a floodlighting project which ensures that the church is seen at its best even during the hours of darkness.

Being somewhat cut off from the rest of the world, thanks to a moor which surrounds the town, the parish is renowned for its very strong identity. This has forged a parish community which boasts a vibrant church choir, a parish opera group, a parish silver band, an annual trip to the coast (when about 1000 people charter two trains and head “down the coast” for the day). It is a community which is proud of its past and enthusiastic about its future.