St. Pius X Parish (Edmonton, Alta.)

Archbishop John Hugh MacDonald established St. Pius X as a parish on the 18th of April, 1954 and Rev. Francis Gillis was appointed its first pastor. The original boundaries of the parish were specified in a letter from the Archbishop in which he explains that “you will have the Airport on the east, 118th Ave on the south, the railway tracks to the north, and for the present, whatever they may be to the west.” Given the rapid growth of Edmonton in the 1950s it appears that the Archbishop understood that at some point in the near future a second parish would be erected to the west.

A special ceremony was held on Saturday May 39, 1954, a special sod turning ceremony was held at 123rd Avenue and 131st Street, the site designated for St. Pius X Parish. The ceremony was held to coincide with ceremonies held in Rome to celebrate the canonization of Pope Pius X. Construction started shortly thereafter in July 1954. Although construction was incomplete, the first mass at St. Pius X Parish was celebrated by Father Francis Gillis, the first pastor, on Christmas night 1954. During construction, mass was celebrated at the Sherbrooke School (later renamed St. Pius X School). Finally in 1956 Archbishop Anthony Jordan presided at the official blessing on January 1956.

Rev. Gillis retired in 1970 and died on September 27, 1973. After his retirement he was replaced by Father Albert Laisnez. Father Albert organized the Parish Pastoral Council with recommendations taken from Vatican II. In December 1973, women in the parish began to serve as auxiliary ministers of the Eucharist. In June 1974, Sister Cecilia Hudec was chosen as Pastoral Assistant to assist Father Albert with the work of the parish. In 1977 he was transferred to Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Sherwood Park and Father Malcolm Campbell followed him as pastor.

On December 3, 1978, at the suggestion of Archbishop MacNeil, the parish welcomed 200 Spanish-speaking families living in various parts of the city. Father Campbell was tutored in Spanish by a Chilean parishioner and Sister Rita Schiller provided assistance. The Spanish-speaking community was active at St. Pius X until 1986. They would eventually go on to form Santa Maria Goretti Parish in Edmonton.

In 1996 the Lebanese (Maronite) Christian Community of Edmonton requested to use St. Pius X to celebrate the Eucharist with their priest and to participate in other pastoral functions. Unfortunately the arrangement was short-lived and the agreement was terminated in May 1998 as the community no longer had a priest.

On July 1, 2012 St. Pius X hosted its last Mass, marking the closure of the 58-year-old parish. Based on the findings of the Transformation of Parishes (ToPs) review process started in 1996 it was recommended that St. Pius X be twinned with St. Angela Merici Parish. Unfortunately due to declining membership and shortage of priests, St. Angela Merici will close its doors in June of 2013.