The organ at St. Patrick's is a notable three-manual instrument by Henry Erben, circa 1875.

The following description comes from the website dedicated to the restoration of the organ at Saint Patrick Oratory.

A full description of the restoration project may be found here.

Built for St. Patrick Church, Hartford, Connecticut; moved to St. Patrick Church, Waterbury in 1923 and electrified by John Peragallo Sr. (Peragallo Organ Co.), who made various tonal changes, including removal of all compound stops and original reeds. Original slider chests were retained, but Swell chamber was moved from above Choir chamber to side of Choir and façade pipes reconfigured; offset electropneumatic chests were added for 2 ranks in the Great, 1 rank in the Swell and Pedal façade Double Open Diapason.

Peragallo’s 1923 console later was replaced by a relocated Austin console in c. 1978 which was removed in 2000 and sold. By that time the Erben organ had so deteriorated from inadequate maintenance that most of it no longer was functional; consequently, a low-quality electronic organ was installed, with its speakers hidden behind the organ pipes.

In 2021 a rebuilt 1927 E. M. Skinner console was procured, and new cables installed between its refurbished keyboards (with Peterson keyboard contact assemblies and Peterson junction boards) and the 1923 spreader board. During the Erben restoration this console has been used as an electronic organ, accessing digitally recorded (“sampled”) organ pipes saved in computer audio files, with the sound coming from the same speakers installed in 2000. When restoration of the Erben has been completed, including a new solid-state control system, this console then will be switched over to play the actual pipe organ.

Three-phase 1923 Westinghouse blower motor, rebuilt in 1980s, is in excellent condition. New Square D motor starter was installed in 2021. The 1923 DC generator was replaced with a rectifier in 1998, but most 12Volt DC wiring from spreader board to wind chests is from 1923.

GREAT: (Manual II), 13 stops/17 ranks: 16 ranks on slider chest (originally 13 stops, 17 ranks), 58 notes; 2 ranks on 61-note offset electropneumatic chests.

16’ Grand Open Diapason [pipes, toe board & pipe rack missing, slider intact; bearer board had been obstructed by the 1923 façade reconfiguration; most obstructions removed in 2023]
8’ Open Diapason [bottom octave relocated to offset chest in 1923]
8’    Gamba
8’    Melodia [wood; wide scale imitative flute with inverted mouth]
8’    Stop’d Diapason [lower 2 octaves wood; remainder half-stopped metal]
4’    Principal
4’    Wald Flute [an octave Melodia]
2-2/3’ Twelfth
2’ Fifteenth
Sesquialtera III/e,g,c’ [removed in 1923; replaced in 2023 with 1870s Peter Schenkel pipes, using original pipe rack to duplicate Erben’s 1875 configuration of starting pitches & breaks. Per English usage, intended not only as a solo stop, e.g. combined with an 8′, but also as a lower pitched chorus mixture, especially when combined with the 1-octave-higher Mixture III.]
Mixture III/e’,g’,c” [removed in 1923; replaced in 2023 with adapted 1940 Wicks mixture, using original pipe rack to duplicate Erben’s 1875 configuration of starting pitches & breaks]
8’ Trumpet [replaced with Gamba in 1923, replaced with 1970s Durst Organ Supply Trumpet in 2023]
4’ Clarion [removed in 1923; currently being replaced with 1970s Clarion made by Trivo & others]
8’ Tuba [on 73-note offset electropneumatic wind chest, with 1-octave, 16’ extension in pedal; 1923 addition, intended as replacement for 1875 Trumpet and Clarion.]

SWELL: (Manual III) enclosed, 9 stops/ranks (originally 9 stops, 11 ranks), 58 notes. Originally placed above Choir division. When moved to Waterbury in 1923, the Swell was re-positioned to the side of the Choir division to avoid obscuring the large window above organ.

8’  Salicional [1923 replacement of Erben’s original 16’ Violoncello; added for use with 1923 Viol Céleste]
16’ Bourdon [wood]
8’  Open Diapason
8’  Dulciana
8’  Stop’d Diapason [lower 2 octaves wood; remainder half-stopped metal]
4’  Principal [4’ Violana is written on the toe board, but ultimately Principal was decided upon instead and a Violana was placed in Choir. Erben catalogue of 1880 offered buyers the option of substituting 4’ Violana for Swell Principal.]
8’  Viol Céleste [46 pipes, from TC (Tenor C); 1923 addition, for use with 1923 Salicional; toe board originally held a 3-rank Cornet]
Cornet III [removed in 1923, to be replaced with 1880s Baltimore Church & Concert Organ Mfg. Co. Dolce Cornet III]
8’ Cornopean [a large-scale Trumpet; Removed by John Peragallo Sr. in 1923. This toe board is empty, slider is intact]
8’  Hautboy [sic; Henry Erben used this spelling consistently; replaced in 1923 by Peragallo with a more imitative Oboe]
8’  Vox humana [on own electropneumatic wind chest; 1923 Peragallo addition. 61 notes]
Tremulant

CHOIR: (Manual I) enclosed, 8 stops/ranks, 58 notes (originally unenclosed?)

8’ Open Diapason
8’ Keraulophone [Céleste] [Its perforated tuning-slides later were removed; bottom octave originally drew from Dulciana but connecting wind conveyances now missing; now tuned sharp as a Dulciana Céleste]
8’ Dulciana
8’ Stop’d Diapason [lower 2 octaves wood, remainder half-stopped metal]
4’ Harmonic Flute
4’ Violana [sic; Henry Erben used this spelling consistently]
2’ Flageolet [conical metal, similar to Gemshorn]
8’ Clarionet [sic; Henry Erben used this spelling consistently; replaced in 1923 by Peragallo with a more imitative style Clarinet]
Chimes [1923 addition]
Tremulant

PEDAL: 4 ranks (originally 5) and 1923 extensions of Great Diapason and Tuba, 30 notes, divided between two slider wind chests; 16-foot Double Open Diapason gilt façade pipes placed on offset 1923 electropneumatic chests. To avoid obscuring the large window above organ when organ was relocated to Waterbury in 1923, the central section of the case was widened by 6 1/2 feet, the central tower was eliminated, and those central façade pipes were reconfigured with additional dummy (non-speaking) pipes and placed on electropneumatic wind chests. In 2022/23 the wind chests for the 14 façade pipes in the two “towers” and for 6 of the façade pipes in the center were altered into electromagnetic wind chests.

16’ Double Open Diapason [open metal gilt façade pipes]
16’ Open Wood [This seems to be the only documented Erben 16’ Open Wood. Cf. PipeOrganDatabase.org]
16’ Bourdon [stopped wood]
8’ Violoncello [open metal]
8’ Principal Ext. [1923 Peragallo adaptation, repurposed pipes from 1875 Great Diapason and Mixture]
4’ Fifteenth Ext. [1923 Peragallo adaptation, repurposed pipes from 1875 Great Mixture]
16’ Trombone Ext. [1 octave extension of Great Tuba; wide Tuba scale; ‘Tuba’ engraved on pipe, 1923 replacement of Erben’s 16’ Trombone. Because a Tuba rank typically speaks on a minimum of 7” wind pressure, it’s more accurate to describe this as a wide-scale Trumpet/Trombone rank]