Tim Doran said he is proud to celebrate 75 years of St. Patrick’s Guild being in business.
“We have families literally in the third generation of people that have worked here,” Doran, head of the family-owned shop in St. Paul, told “Practicing Catholic” radio show host Patrick Conley. “So, we’ve been extremely fortunate to have a very loyal staff and people that have been with us forever.”
He told Conley about the business’ beginnings.
“My grandma lived just a block or two away, and as the story goes, my dad started the store in the basement of her house with a light inventory,” Doran said. “It really started with what I’ll call a pamphlet rack service.”
Doran said his father approached representatives of some of the local parishes to see if he could put pamphlet racks on site.
“He serviced it out of his famous blue station wagon, and he had a makeshift bank,” Doran said. “People were on the honor system; they put coins or $1 bills in (and would) grab a pamphlet or a book or a Bible and he would come back whenever and collect the money.”
Doran’s father rented space in a hardware store to support the growing business. The name St. Patrick’s Guild was ultimately chosen for the business.
“Our roots are Irish Catholic,” Doran explained, saying his father also thought the inventory the store carried “could provide hope for our customers … and provide maybe a ray of light much like St. Patrick.”
Working with the St. Paul city council and mayor at the time, the business was able to secure funding through a revitalization effort to expand.
Now, Doran said the shop sells books, gifts and church goods corresponding to “baptism, Communion, confirmation, wedding(s) … what have you.”
“We represent suppliers from all over the world, including Belgium, Italy,” Doran said.
To learn more about the store’s family history and to hear what Doran is most proud of after 75 years of business, listen to the episode of “Practicing Catholic” that debuts at 9 p.m. May 24 on Relevant Radio 1330 AM and repeats at 1 p.m. May 25 and 2 p.m. May 26.
Produced by Relevant Radio and the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, the program also includes a conversation with Father Chad VanHoose who has been named chaplain of NET Ministries — a first for the national Catholic youth ministry based in West St. Paul — and with Archbishop Hebda on the appointment of Bishop Joseph Williams, most recently auxiliary bishop in the archdiocese, to the Diocese of Camden in New Jersey.
Listen to interviews after they have aired at archspm.org/faith-and-discipleship/practicing-catholic or choose a streaming platform at Spotify for Podcasters.
