The church building, which is built of stone in the Gothic Revival style, and the rectory were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2011.

James Brazil from St. Ambrose Church in Des Moines offered the first Mass in Perry in 1871.

The property at the corner of Third and Lucinda streets was purchased in 1874 and a small frame building was constructed for a church.

It was designed by Rock Island, Illinois architect George Stauduhar in the Late Gothic Revival style.

The old frame rectory was replaced by a 1½-story concrete block structure with a Lannon stone veneer.

The church building is largely rectangular in shape measuring 105 by 55 feet (32 m × 17 m), with a 98-foot (30 m) bell tower.

The interior features a 37-foot (11 m) rib vaulted ceiling that is supported by ten heavy hardwood hammer beams.

The modified U-shaped rectory is connected toward the back of the church's west elevation by a hyphen.

Media related to St. Patrick's Catholic Church (Perry, Iowa) at Wikimedia Commons