Richard Vincent Whelan was consecrated Bishop of Richmond, Virginia, on March 21, 1841, and in September 1841 visited with the Catholic families living in Wood County.

These developments brought an influx of Irish Catholic immigrants who were predominantly employed on these public works to the area.

In the U.S. Catholic Directory for the year 1849 Bishop Whelan states: "Parkersburg-a neat brick church is being erected at this point, which many circumstances indicate as likely to become prominent on the Ohio River.

"[4] On June 1, 1845 Bishop Whelan appointed Father Austin Grogan to minister to the Catholics in Parkersburg and Wood County.

On April 28, 1847 Bishop Whelan purchased a lot on Market Street for $306.00, payable in three installments, for the purpose of building Parkersburg's first Catholic Church.

A small brick church was built at a cost of $1600.00, with funds provided by the European community through the Propagation of the Faith Society.

Seeing education as a means of breaking the cycle of poverty that gripped his parishioners Father Parke opened a school for boys in the parish in 1859.

Patrick Charles Keely of New York, a prominent Irish-Catholic architect was selected to design the new St. Francis Xavier.

The pace of construction slowed for an 18-month period due to the difficulty in obtaining quality building materials following the Civil War.

On May 9, 1869, the cornerstone was laid for the church and the pace of work quickened with a large force of labor employed on the project.

[6] Media related to Saint Francis Xavier Catholic Church (Parkersburg, West Virginia) at Wikimedia Commons