The irish Catholic Churches of Quebec - L is for Saint Leon de Westmount

The registers of this parish opened in the year 1901, date of the appointment of the first resident parish priest. The church is built on Western Avenue, between Redfern and Clarke Streets. 

Canonical erection: February 12, 1901. The canonical decree erecting this parish was published in the Official Gazette of 1901,  

Part of Sainte-Cunegonde annexed in 1904. 

The territory of this parish is included in the city of Westmount. It includes part of the parishes of Notre-Dame-de-Grâce , Sainte-Élisabeth , Saint-Henri, Notre-Dame-de-Montréal, Sainte-Cunegonde and Saint-Jacques-le-Majeur . 

The city of Westmount is located west of the mountain of Montreal; hence the name "Westmount". The erection of the parish was decided in the year of the jubilee ordained by His Holiness Pope Leo XIII, in 1900. Hence the choice of St. Leo the First as titular. Pop. 4,000.  

The Church of Saint-Léon-de-Westmount was designated a national historic site of Canada in 1997.

The Irish Catholic Churches of Quebec - K is for Kateri Tekakwitha

Kateri Tekakwitha is first Catholic saint of North America’s indigenous peoples.

For the first time in history, a member of the indigenous population of North America has been canonized by the Catholic church. Kateri Tekakwitha was a young Mohawk woman who lived over 300 years ago. Her admirers attribute special powers to her.

Hundreds of members of the Mohawk nation and other indigenous peoples file past a tomb in the Catholic church in Kahnawake,  an Indian reservation near Montreal. Silently, they kneel to pray at the grave of a small Mohawk woman who lived over 300 years ago and did not grow older than 24. Her name is on the tomb: Kateri Tekakwitha.


“Everybody is proud of her,” says Audrey Diabo, a resident of Kahnawake who came to the church with her elderly mother. “Ever since growing up as a kid, everything is always Kateri. She was a Mohawk and we’re going to pray to her.”...more

The Irish Catholic Churches of Quebec - J is for Saint Joseph

     

In the city of Montreal. Address:
1967 rue Saint-Jacques. Saint-Henri district. 

Canonical Erection: July 2, 1867. 
Civil Erection: February 23, 1875    

The territory of this parish has been detached from Notre-Dame-de-Montréal. 

The city of Saint-Henri was incorporated December 28, 1876. 

The parish has long been called "Saint-Henri-des-Tanneries". 

This name of tanneries comes from the fact that at the beginning of this parish, tanneries were opened by Messrs. Lenoir dit Rolland. 

During its canonical erection, the parish included the villages of Délisle, Saint-Augustin, Ferme Saint-Gabriel, Saint-Pierre River and Saint-Henri-de-la-Côte-Saint-Paul, where built the church: hence the name of Saint-Henri, given to the parish. Pop. 10.675.  

The Irish Catholic Churches of Quebec - I is for Saint Ignatius of Loyola

Borough: Côte-des-Neiges-Notre-Dame-de-Grace

Address: 4455 West Broadway Street, Montreal 

Opening records: June 24, 1917 





History: 


In the city of Montreal. Canonically erected on June 16, 1917 for the English-speaking Catholics of the parishes of Notre-Dame-de-Grâce and Saint-Pierre-aux-Liens. The parish registers open in the year 1917. 

This parish is served by the RRs. PP. Jesuits at Loyola College, 2001 Sherbrooke Street West. It is for this reason that the parish was placed under the patronage of St. Ignatius Loyola, founder of the Society of Jesus. Pop. 650. (Source: Magnan, Hormisdas, Historical and Geographical Dictionary of Parishes, Missions and Municipalities of the Province of Quebec, 1925


In 1896, Loyola College was founded by English-speaking Canadian Jesuits. It was the English-speaking section of Collège Sainte-Marie de Montréal and split off to become its own institution.

In 1917, the parish of St. Ignatius was started for the local English, Welsh, Scottish and Irish population in the area. Masses were held on the campus of Loyola College.

In 1964, Loyola High School separated from the college. In 1966, a new church was built as a separate structure apart from the college. In 1968 discussions begun to merge Loyola College with other colleges. This resulted with the creation of Concordia University on 24 August 1974.

In 1982, Loyola High School moved to new building and the Jesuits handed over administration of the church to the Archdiocese of Montreal who continue to serve the parish.

The Irish Catholic Churches of Quebec - H is for Holy Cross Parish

The parish of the Holy Cross is located at 1960 Jolicoeur Street in the south-west burrough of Montreal.

The registers were opened May 17, 1925.

The Irish Catholic Churches of Quebec - G is for Church of the Gesu - Saint Mary

Photo - Jean Gagnon own work

When one tends to think of religious institutions, one thinks of tradition and stability. More often we don’t realise that its long tradition is rooted in its history and its involvement in society, and that the simple look of a building can speak a lot about its time period and the people that would have attended its services. The Church of the Gesù is one such religious institution.

The Church of Gesù was built in 1865 by Patrick C. Keeley. The church is named after the same church in which the founder of the Jesuits, Saint Ignatius of Loyola, is buried. Following the traditional Baroque style architecture that was propagated by the Jesuits, the church has the vivid ceiling decorations and its general curved structure. It was designated as an historical monument in 1975 by the provincial government and a heritage building in 2012.

Right next door to the Church of Gesù is its Centre of creativity, whose ambition is to combine the spiritual with the artistic. The Centre of creativity was formerly Sainte-Marie College, the first Jesuit educational institution in Montreal that would educate the likes of poet Émile Nelligan, engineer Lucien L’Allier, and novelist Hubert Aquin. Its amphitheatre opened to the public in 1923 and has always been in constant usage since. Later closed because of a merger with UQÀM in 1969, the amphitheatre remains in constant usage. Crowned by La Presse as the place with the optimal acoustics in Montreal, the Centre of creativity welcomes over fifty thousand visitors a year for festivals such as Just for Laughs and Francofolies.

One hundred and fifty years is no small anniversary, and to celebrate, the institution has a series of events coming up this month. First up is an organ concert given by Régis Rousseau performing Yves Daoust’s “A concert for organ and band” on January 31. Then, in February, we have an evening with Ivy and Mykalle Bielinski starting at 7:30 pm on February 19. This particular presentation, 18$, is presented with the help of Montréal en lumière and consists in an original presentation of poetry and music entwined together. 

If you want a more permanent reminder of the celebrations, the institution has two interesting gifts for you: the first, a podcast called The Gesù from 1865 to today that you can take anywhere, thanks to a download onto your Android or iPhone. The podcast has images and music that immerses you into the culture and history in the church. Secondly, the Gesù will be publishing a commemorative book about the church later this month. Published with the help of the Archives of the Jesuits in Canada, Le Gesù: 150 ans d’une église will appear later this month.

The Irish Catholic Churches of Quebec - F is for Our Lady of Fatima

At the time of World War II, there were few English-speaking Roman Catholics living in the Saint-Laurent area. The closest center of worship for them was the St. Laurent Parish Church on rue Principale, now known as Ste-Croix Avenue. After his discharge from the services, Rev. David F. McDonald was named curate in St. Malachy’s Parish.

In June 1948, a Mission dedicated to Our Lady of Fatima was formed to serve the English Catholic speaking people of Saint-Laurent. Father McDonald was placed in charge of the new mission and he continued to live at St. Malachy’s Rectory. Arrangements were made with the Commission Scolaire de St. Laurent to rent Beaudet School Hall and Mass was first said in June 1948. With the opening of more streets west of Decarie, both north and south of Cote Vertu and the building of Norgate apartments, the population of the new mission grew rapidly.

A house on Crevier St. was rented in December 1951 as a residence for the new pastor. A chapel was built in the basement by some men of the parish and Mass was celebrated in it beginning with Lent 1952.

On November 5, 1951, the mission became the Parish of Our Lady of Fatima. On Nov. 25 at a meeting of all parishioners, eight Wardens were elected and the late Mr. N. Curran became the first warden and he was succeeded by Mr. J.G. Barry on Jan. 1, 1952. A house on Crevier St. was rented in December 1951 as a residence for the new pastor. A chapel was built in the basement by some men of the parish and Mass was celebrated in it beginning with Lent 1952.

Mr. E.K. Pennefather, Mr. C. Tanner and Mr. W. Mines were elected as Trustees by the proprietors to assist in the arranging for the erection of a church. Land at the corner of Decelles and Laurentien had been purchased by St. Malachy’s Parish in the name of the new parish and it was transferred to Our Lady of Fatima in March 1952. Mr. F. Consiglio drew the plans for the church and F. L. Guay was chosen as the general contractor. The first sod was turned in the summer of 1952 after a bond issue of $ 375,000 had been floated. Mr. J. Fairhurst became warden for year 1953.

In spite of several problems, work on the new building went on well and the corner stone was laid by Bishop L.P. Whelan March 22, 1953. Towards the end of May, the parishioners were invited to tour the rectory and basement of the new church and Sunday Mass was said in the church basement on the last Sunday of May. The whole building was finished, the furniture was installed and the First mass was sung in the Church itself Christmas 1953 at Midnight.

Father Emmett Johns was named curate in June 1953 and the church was blessed by His Eminence Paul-Emile Cardinal Leger, May 16, 1954. Father McDonald died March 13, 1959 and he was succeeded by his life-long friend, the pastor of St. Barbara’s in Ville Lasalle, Father Gordon Carroll. Shortly afterwards, Father Johns became chaplain of Marian Hall and Father Kevin Griffin was named assistant. While he was chaplain of Marymount High School, Father Russell A. Schultz was in residence and administered the parish during the illness of Father Carroll. During the later sixties Fathers Felix Boudreau, Gaza Heyne, and Clark were also stationed in the rectory. With the appointment of Father Griffin to Resurrection of Our Lord Parish in Lachine, Father Bob Cornell became assistant in September 1970.

Fr. Carroll took very ill in the fall of 1970 and Father Joseph Cameron administered the parish until the return of the Pastor in February 1971. But, Father Carroll did not regain his health so he resigned at the end of the month and was succeeded by the third Pastor Rev. Russell A. Schultz on March 1, 1971. Father Carroll died shortly after on July 6, 1971.

Fr. Cornell was replaced by Fr. Charles Costigan in 1973. When Father Costigan was moved to St. Willibrord Church in Verdun during the summer of 1974, Fr. Manny Rodrigues came to Our Lady of Fatima in September 1973 as a curate until September 1977. Later we had Father Michael Shaw from October 1981 until September 1982 and Father Robert Jollett came in September 1986 until August 1990 as curates.
After a illness Father Schultz was replaced by Rev. Ron Calhoun the 1st Sep 2004 and a year later by Rev. Father Brian Moon. Fr. Moon died suddenly on 15 February 2011. At the end of May our new Pastor came to us – he is Rev Sunny Padinharidath Abraham.

Fr John Charles joined us in February 2014 within a week after coming from India.