By Maggie Downs
The Cincinnati Enquirer

MOUNT ADAMS - Sunday it happened again - the annual pilfering of the St. Patrick statue from Holy Cross-Immaculata Church.

The stone statue, which stands at least six feet, was carried away by six strapping men in kilts.

"Oh, he's huge," said Chick CrowleyRiesenbeck of Mount Adams. "He's a really big saint."

Members of the Ancient Order of Hibernians carry a statue of St. Patrick from the Holy Cross Immaculata Church in Mt. Adams. (Michael E. Keating photo)

St. Patrick was then loaded into an Acme Tree Service truck, while the church congregation sang, "When Irish Eyes are Smiling." Bagpipers and dozens of others dressed in green paraded through the streets with the statue, posing for crowds with flashing cameras.

The annual thievery dates to 1970, the year Holy Cross, the traditionally Irish parish, merged with Immaculata, the German parish.

Riesenbeck, 76, was a spectator at the first theft, a prank conceived by her brother Jim Crowley.

Following the final Mass at Holy Cross church, Crowley and friends loaded St. Patrick onto a flatbed truck - but not before they swapped him with a smaller, one-foot version of St. Patrick that Crowley borrowed from Crowley's Irish Pub.

A spur-of-the-moment parade erupted.

Now St. Patrick - somewhat nicked, scratched and clutching a broken staff - resides in Immaculata Church.

The stealing and parade have since become a tradition, carried on by the Ancient Order of Hibernians, a Catholic Irish-American fraternal organization.

A monthlong celebration of Irish heritage is kicked off by the Patrick pinching, after which the saint disappears to a top-secret location. The statue reappears just in time to lead the annual Cincinnati St. Patrick's Day Parade, this year on March 14.

The statue stealing tradition has taken some determination. In 1999, more people participated in the parade than watched it, courtesy of a whopping snowstorm. And this year, the statue was covered by scaffolding during Holy Cross-Immaculata's renovation. Somehow, St. Patrick made his way next to the door, making for an easier exit.

Sunday was also the annual Hibernian memorial Mass to remember departed members.

"We do this purposely at the first green of the year, a time of rebirth," said Hibernian Pat Mallory, who was wearing an Irish medal that belonged to his great-grandfather. "There's a lot of symbolism and meaning here for everyone."

Brian Sweeney has been the director of the memorial Mass since 1987. The effort is worth it, he said, because his fellow members are like family.

"It's all about friendship, unity and Christian charity," he said. "That's our motto, after all."

"The Irish ties are like any other ties," agreed William Weber, Hamilton County Hibernian president. "We're closely knit."

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E-mail mdowns@enquirer.com