NEWCASTLE — Tours of the historic St. Patrick Church at 380 Academy Hill Road are to be offered from 10 to 11 a.m. Sunday, July 4, with an open house in the church’s museum.

The events precede Mass at 11 a.m., to which all are invited.

Visitors can enjoy artifacts that reflect the history of the faith in Maine as well as the tradition of St. Patrick Church, dedicated in 1808 and the oldest active Catholic church in New England. The church is home to significant artifacts itself, like the altar of Bishop Cheverus and a bell cast by Paul Revere & Sons.

The St. Patrick Project aims to ensure that the church remains in place for generations to come.

“All Saints Parish, of which St. Patrick Church is a part, met with a restoration firm to get an estimate of costs for the restoration needs of the church,” said Fr. Thomas Murphy, pastor of All Saints Parish, according to a news release from the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland. “The cost is close to $324,000, which is our project goal.”

The firm, Kronenberger and Sons Restoration in Middletown, Connecticut, found that the church is showing signs of deterioration, especially in the roof and the brickwork.

All Saints Parish is offering three different ways to contribute to the cause:

• Donations can be placed in an envelope marked “St. Patrick’s Old Church Fund” and dropped in the offertory baskets at any parish Mass (St. Charles Borromeo Church, Brunswick; St. John the Baptist Church, Brunswick; St. Mary Church, Bath; Our Lady Queen of Peace Church, Boothbay Harbor; St. Ambrose Church, Richmond; St. Patrick Church, Newcastle; and St. Katharine Drexel Church, Harpswell);

• Donations can be mailed (write “St. Patrick Old Church Fund” in the memo line of the check) to All Saints Parish, 144 Lincoln St., Bath, ME 04530;

• Donations also can be made at allsaintsbrunswick.weshareonline.org.

Any funds over goal will be used to enhance the church even further.

For more information about the St. Patrick Project or the church itself, call 207-563-3240.