Corpus Christi Chapel was opened and dedicated an as Archdiocesan Chapel of Perpetual Adoration by Archbishop Collins on May 29, 2005. Since its opening there has been adoration of the exposed Blessed Sacrament 24 hours a day, seven days a week. People from many different parishes have signed up for regular hours of adoration, ensuring that there is someone praying in the chapel at all times.
Located within the boundaries of St. Andrew’s Parish in Edmonton, Corpus Christi is operated by a small group of volunteers called the Corpus Christi Chapel Committee who meet monthly at St. Andrew’s parish.
St. James parish was created on January 1, 1951. Prior to the establishment of the parish mass was celebrated by the Oblate Fathers of St. John College in St. James School on the corner of 91 street and 79 avenue. Construction began on St. James church in 1951 with Father Drouin, OMI, supervising the excavation work. The basement was completed in the summer of 1952, and the first mass was celebrated in the basement of the church in the summer 1952. The church was blessed on December 14, 1952 after construction was completed. Rev. Joseph Burke was the Pastor of St. James that year. A rectory was completed in the fall of 1957 and was officially opened in February 1958.
St. James parish merged with Assumption parish in June 2000.
Sacred Heart Parish in Altario, formerly known as Bideford, was served from Consort by Father J.T. Currier and Father McQuaid until a church was built in 1927. Between 1927 and 1929 the church was a mission served from Assumption Parish in South Rosenheim. In 1929 Altario received a resident pastor, Father Schachtel who served at the parish until 1932. In 1932 Altario became a mission once again for Assumption Parish in South Rosenheim, served by Father Fidelis Becker (1932-1943) and Father Joseph Rolheiser (1943-1951).
In 1919 Father Jacob Schwebius celebrated the first mass in Compeer in a family home. Mass would continue to be celebrated in private homes in the area until the Compeer Altar Society was organized by Father Becker, pastor at Rosenheim, to raise funds to build a church. On July 23rd, 1948, after substantial renovations to a school purchased by the Altar Society Archbishop J.H. MacDonald blessed the new church and dedicated it to St. Joseph.
In 1951 both Compeer and Altario became missions of Consort. In 1968 when the diocese parishes were reorganized Altario and Compeer missions were transferred to Assumption Parish in Bodo served by Father Francis Dittrich until 1985. In 1985 both mission were transferred to Provost Parish. Finally in 1988 the missions of Compeer and Altario were amalgamated and the first mass, for the newly mergerd parishes was celebrated on August 28, 1988 in Compeer. Services continued until 1996 when due to limited resources and declining church population they were ceased. The Compeer church was closed on June 30 1996 and the building was sold on March 22, 2000.
The town of Busby was established when the Edmonton-Dunvegan and British Columbia Railroad started service in the area between 1912 and 1913. Father Eugene Rooney, pastor at Westlock organized the construction of a church in the area in 1930. The first mass was celebrated on Dec. 24, 1930 and Archbishop O’Leary blessed the church and dedicated it to St. Anthony of Padua on March 1, 1931.
Bubsy was a mission served from Mearns from 1931-1973 and from Villeneuve from 1973-2000. A Catholic school was established by Father Merchant and students were taught by the Sisters of Notre Dame who came to Busby to teach catechism after mass on Sunday. To supplement their teaching many students received correspondence catechism lessons from the sister of service in Edmonton.
On Jan.12, 2000 a Farwell Mass was held in Busby and the parish was merged with Mearns.
The mission of Big Valley was founded in 1916 by the Priests of St. Marie de Tinchebray. In 1917 the church was built and it was blessed and dedicated to Our Lady of Peace by Archbishop Legal on June 30, 1918. In the first years of the mission, monthly trips to this mission where made by Father Leconte, Father Renut, and Father Bazin. Between 1917 and 1924 Father Anciaux was the resident priests at Big Valley, however in 1924 Big Valley became a mission served from Stettler and remained a mission until 1928 when it, once again had a resident priest. Father Joseph Aherne served until 1956 when Big Valley once again became a mission of Stettler.
In 1967 the old church was replaced with a modern one and was blessed by Archbishop Jordan on July 26 1967. In 1995 Big Valley became a mission of Trochu. Mass continued until 1999 when the parish was closed.
Prior to 1927 masses were held in private homes in the area. A permanent pastor was assigned in 1927 and the building of the first church began in 1927. Clandonald has been served by many parishes and today is served by Vermillion.
Coronation is situated some 300 kilometres south east of Edmonton in a farming area. The first church was built in 1916 and Coronation Mission was served from Castor. In 1930, the first Pastor was appointed.
Sometime in the mid-twenties, a Catholic Women's League (CWL) was formed at Coronation but was later disbanded in favour of a local Altar Society. In April 1963, Fr. J. Williamson persuaded the ladies, some 25 members, to again affiliate with the Catholic Women’s League. In March 1975, the CWL disbanded again in favour of the Ladies’ Altar Society. (History of C. W. L. Councils and Their Churches, 1971, p. 37)
The first mass in the new church in Daysland was celebrated on Feb 7, 1909. On April 25, 1909 Bishop Legal blessed the church and dedicated it to St. Mark the Evangelist. In 1938 a new church was built. It was completed and blessed by Archbishop MacDonald on June 18, 1938 and dedicated to Our Lady of the Prairies. The parish continues to be active, as a mission of Killam.
In 1912 Father Patrick Beaudry obtained two lots of land in Edson from Mrs. J. O’Reilly residing in Grand Forks and a small church with a seating capacity for 40 people was built under his care in the Autumn of 1912. On November 10, 1912 it was dedicated to St. John the Evangelist and on July 22, 1922 Archbishop O’Leary blessed the church on his first visit to Edson. In 1926 the parishioners changed the name of their parish to Sacred Heart (though the reason for this change is not documented). In 1951 a new church was built an on Oct 19, 1952 Archbishop MacDonald blessed the cornerstone of the new Sacred Heart Parish. The former church was converted into a parish house. The parish was served by many Oblate, diocesan and Redemptorist fathers.
The Rosenheim District, not far from the eastern limit of the Edmonton Archdiocese, was settled mostly by German and American immigrants who arrived in the early 1900s. The first resident priest to serve them was a German Oblate of Mary Immaculate, Father Augustine Forner, who arrived in Nov. 1909 and built a house-chapel in North Rosenheim. The first mass was for a wedding on Jan. 10, 1919 celebrated in the priest’s residence.
In 1922 construction began on a new church which was blessed and dedicated to St. Norbert on July 26, 1923 by Archbishop O’Leary. On June 3, 1930 Archbishop O’Leary authorized Father Hanley to erect the Stations of the Cross. Between 1954 and 1969 Rosenheim was a mission served from Bobo. In 1969 the parish was closed and the records were transferred to Provost. In 1978 the building was declared a historical site.
St. Joseph’s Church was first established in 1898 to serve the community of Spruce Grove. From 1898 to 1922 priests serving the Stony Plain Reserve provided service in Spruce Groves. In 1925 the parish was established to continue serving the pre-dominantly French-Canadian parishioners. In 1962 the church burnt down and as a consequence St. Joseph’s became a mission served by Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Stony Plain. For 20 years the parish was without its own building and mass was celebrated in various locations including a school gymnasium and St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church. From the insurance money a new church site was purchased. In Aug. 1980 Msgr E. Donahoe conducted a sod-turning ceremony for the new church and a year later on Aug.30 1981 Archbishop J.N. MacNeil blessed the new church which served over 700 families.
In 1927 under the care of Rev. Charles Keena the first church serving the community of Stony Plain was established. Archbishop H.J. O’Leary blessed the church on July 28th, 1929 and dedicated it to St. Philip. In 1945 the church received a donation of $2000.00 from Arthur J. Labo to build a new chapel and upon completion the church was renamed Our Lady of Perpetual Help in his honour. By 1963 the church was again in need of renovations where were completed a year later in 1964.
From 1962 until the merging of the two parishes St. Joseph and OLPH shared a priest. In 1990 the two parishes established a committee with a mandate to undertake a feasibility study regarding one common facility for the two parishes due to the following reasons, a chronic shortage of priests, the overworking of the priests serving rural parishes, overcrowding at masses, and the need for a new church building for the parishioners of OLPH.
In June 1999 Archbishop McNeil announced that the parishes of St. Joseph’s and OLPH whould amalgamate. To better facilitate the amalgamation it was mandated that the two existing church be sold and a new church be constructed. In 2000 the parishes celebrated a turning-the-sod ceremony and after two years of construction the new building was complete. On February 1, 2001 the parishes of OLPH and St. Joseph were suppressed and Holy Trinity Parish was established in their place.
Sources: Information taken from the parish files for St. Josephs and Our Lady of Perpetual Help kept at the Catholic Archdiocese of Edmonton Archives.
The St. Albert Francophone Parish operates within the St. Albert Catholic Parish in St. Albert Alberta. The Archbishop of Edmonton appoints priests to look after the spiritual need of its members. While all the regular services are offered in French, the finances of the community are integrated with St. Albert Catholic Parish.
As early as 1911 Veteran was a mission served by the Priests of Our Lady of Tinchebray who resided in Castor. In the 1912 report by Rev. J. Leconte 38 Catholics are accounted for in the area. In 1921 Archbishop O’Leary visited Veteran with Father Leconte and promised the people a church of their own. Later that year the Catholic Church Extension Society in Toronto forwarded $500.00 to Archbishop O’Leary to build a memorial chapel. Two lots of land were purchase from the CPR in late 1921 and in the spring of 1922 construction began. Unfortunately funds were insufficient and the parishioners celebrated mass in the basement while they waited to raise money to complete the chapel. By 1928 the church was dedicated to St. Patrick (unfortunately the exact date of the blessing is unknown), as the construction had finally been completed.
Veteran was served from Castor (1911-1921, 1965-1967), Consort (1921-1962, 1967-1968), Coronation (1962-1965, 1968-1995), Stettler (1995-1999). Masses were ended in 1999 and the parish was closed and merged with Settler. In 2003 the church building was sold to the United Church of Canada.
As early as 1929, a priest would come from Edmonton to say Mass in the school on Sundays. Father Rolheiser was one of the priests who came out a number of times. On November 22, 1929 the Catholic Church Extension Society in Toronto forwarded a donation of $500.00 from the estate of Catherine O’Donnell for a church to be built at Warburg in honour of St. Charles. Between 1931 and 1934 Rev. Patrick McQuaide, pastor at Leduc, said mass in the Valleyview Hall for the residences of Warburg while the community raised the additional funds to purchase land for a church.
On October 29, 1934, a church site was purchased from the C. P. R. and construction began shortly thereafter. On September 4, 1938, Archbishop J. H. MacDonald blessed the new church and dedicated it to St. Charles Borromeo. Father Kennedy MacLean was the first priest residing at Warburg (1934-1940) and assumed responsibility of the parishioners in the area. In addition to serving Warburg he also served Thorsby, Brenton, Lindale, Carnwood, Winfiled, Fern Creek and Genesee.
In 1940 Father MacLean moved to Thorsby and continued to serve Warburg as a mission of Thorsby. Due to decreased parish population and declining membership regular masses ceased in 1999 and in 2006 the Church was sold.
In 1976, Pastors and Pastoral Assistants of francophone parishes in Edmonton met to discuss pastoral needs of Catholic francophones in the greater Edmonton area. In May 1979, the first meetings of “agents de pastorale francophones” were held. The group decided to continue to meet to work on education of the faith and liturgy. This group is the only one of its kind in the Archdiocese.
The parish at Consort was founded by Rev. Leconte (who also served in Castor) who searved the parish from 1911 to 11921. In 1914 Rev. Leconte received a $500.00 grant from the Catholic Church Extension Society and began a fund to build a new church. On July 15 Archbishop Legal blessed the new chapel and dedicated it to St. Andrew.
In the spring of 1969 the Archdiocesan Catechetical Team was established to implement the Canadian Catechetical Resources in areas outside the City of Edmonton. The Archdiocesan Catechetical Team provided in-service implementation and evaluation of the National Catechetical Resources used in the Archdiocese of Edmonton. At the time the committee was established, "The Born of the Sprit" (for children in kindergarten through grades 6) and "We are Strong Together" (for children in grades 7 through 12) series developed by the National Office of Religious Education and published by the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops were the only approved catechetical resources for use in the Archdiocese of Edmonton. Each rural deanery was served by an Archdiocesan Deanery Catechetical Consultant who reported to the Director of Religious Education.
The Archdiocesan Catechetical Staff had membership on the Archdiocesan Youth Commission, Vocation Team and two sub-committees of the Liturgy Commission (the Lay Presider’s Committee and the Sacraments Committee). There was also close contact with the Archdiocesan Social Justice Commission as well as with Development and Peace.