Reflections...

Edition 1

Reflections... St. Francis Xavier Parish

Did you know? Entering the Year 2002, the community of St. Francis Xavier Church will be marking an important historical event; the sesquicentennial of our existence as a parish in Renfrew. Prior to 1852, the Catholic community of Renfrew was serviced as a mission of Mount St. Patrick. After the donation in the mid 1840's of a parcel of land by local resident Xavier Plaunt, a new Catholic church was erected on the site where today’s building stands. In the 150 years that have since passed, a rich tapestry of people and events have evolved to make St. Francis Xavier a major contributor to the historic fabric of Renfrew. In today’s bulletin, we begin our look at some of the heritage left by those who have walked before us. These inserts will appear on a weekly basis and will conclude as our celebration draws to a close in December 2002.

Francis Xavier Plaunt

He donated land for the first church in 1844. Father John McNulty started construction of a 60' x 30' building, but it would not be completed until 1853. P 1890: Father Rougier is presented with a covered carriage for his Jubilee Year. P September 30, 1965. The Knights of Columbus held their Annual Turkey Shoot at the home of Anthony Blimkie.

Our stories. Our people. Our history.

Pastors throughout the Years...

Rev. Charles Jones 1918 - 1920

Rev. Bouvier 1852 - 1854

Rev. F.L. French 1914 - 1936

Rev. Michael Byrne 1854 - 1859

Rev. William Dooner 1936 - 1944

Rev. Almeras 1859 - 1862

Rev. T.J. Sloan 1944 - 1952

Rev. Pierre Mancip 1859 - 1862

Msgr. R. Clarke 1952 - 1965

Rev. T. Freemont 1859 - 1862

Msgr. S.P. Owens 1965 - 1981

Rev. Bouvier 1862 - 1866

Rev. Doug Morris 1981 - 1987

Rev. Paul Rougier 1866 - 1893

Rev. R.M. Tardiff 1987 - 1998

Rev. T. Patrick Ryan 1893 - 1914

Rev. P.B. McNamara 1998 - 2000

Rev. Francis. L. French 1914 - 1936

Rev. Peter Proulx 2000 - Present

Thirty-seven members of St. Francis Xavier Parish were killed in active service during World War I and World War II.

On December 13, 1964, an early morning fire ravaged St. Francis Xavier Church leaving only the stone walls standing. The church had been broken into, the alms boxes had been robbed, and according to Police Chief Tom Wark, it looked “very much like arson.” The replacement value of the church was set at between $400,000 and $500,000. Trinity-St. Andrew’s United Church, located next door to the ruined structure, offered the facilities of their church to the members of St. Francis Xavier to use in any way they saw fit. For the next while, Sunday masses would be held in the former St. Francis Xavier School Auditorium on Lochiel Street.

World War I Christopher F. Carter Thomas Henry Cruise Peter Cybulski Anthony H. Cybulski Rene Desnoyers Joseph Doyle Thomas Dregas George Dupuis Philip J. Freemark James Harty Joseph Ambrose Laplante Delphise Lapointe John Francis Leterski Michael Norlock John Arthur Ryan John Troy James Francis Valliquette

World War II Louis Brown James Brown Emery Castonguay Jerome Dominico Anthony Dorzek Wallace Ducharme Lawrence Enright John Grace John Gauthier Herb Jordan John Kedrosky Michael Laplante Arthur McMahon Stanley O’Link Harold Putinski Thomas Pulane Ambrose Rouble Earl Ricard Lawrence Schwartz Gordon St. Louis

The picture at right appeared in the April 12, 1989 edition of The Renfrew Mercury after Steven Ballard received his Masters of Divinity Degree from the University of Western Ontario.

Celebrating 75 Years

Jamesina Shields will be celebrating an anniversary of her own in 2002. After arriving from Holland in June, 1927, Jamesina was invited by Father Sullivan and Father McElligott to join the Parish Choir. She has continued with this Ministry, as well as many others, to the present day. We thank Jamesina for her 75 years of volunteer work.

A Solemn High Mass was celebrated August 16, 1958 by Father William Ryan, Society of Jesus. After being ordained in Brussels, Belgium two years before, this was Father Bill’s first mass in his native Parish of St. Francis Xavier.

Edition 2

Reflections... St. Francis Xavier Parish

Our stories. Our people. Our history.

St. Francis Xavier Youth Camp Lake Clear

Many parishioners will be able to remember times spent along the shore of Lake Clear. The parish offered a Girls’ Camp, sponsored by the C.W.L., which lasted for two weeks in July. This was followed by a Boys’ Camp for the remainder of the month. Pictured above in this 1931 photo is, in the back row from left to right, Gerald Asselin, Gerry Stubinski, Emerson Cotter, and Bun Hickey. In the middle, Maurice Perrier and Ernie Godin. In the front row, Bill Hickey, Anthony Dorzek, and Phil Freemark. Sadly, the innocence captured in this photo could not last forever. Anthony Dorzek would later be killed in action in World War II.

Rev. F.L. French

Father Francis L. French took over our parish in 1914 after Father Ryan was named bishop. This posting, however, was interrupted by the onset of World War I as Father French left to head the chaplaincy service of the Canadian Forces overseas. It would not be until 1920 that Lt. Colonel Rev. Fr. French, recipient of the Distinguished Service Order of the British Empire, would return to St. Francis Xavier as pastor. P 1849: The unfinished church is so unsuitable for mass that the Bishop, on his first pastoral visit, must use the Albion Hotel.

The sexton was a busy fellow...When Msgr.

Dooner arrived, he brought with him Peter Maass from Osceola as his sexton. The sextons looked after a large garden, cleaned the church, cut the grass, and cleared snow. They rang the bell at 6 a.m., noon, and 6 p.m. as well as for Masses, funerals, weddings, baptisms, and fires. They fired the coal furnace, raised and lowered the pulpit, and lit the altar candles. P Rev. Charles O’Gorman, right, was ordained in St. Francis Xavier Church on December 20, 1913.

An interior photograph of the old St. Francis Xavier Church. It was destroyed by fire in 1964

P Rev. Paul Rougier, right, was pastor at St.Francis Xavier from 1866 -1893

This home, built in 1853 by Rev. Joseph Bouvier, was the first residence for priests at St. Francis Xavier. A part of the old SFX steeple can be seen at the upper left. Rev. Paul Rougier, pastor from 1866 to 1893, would have been one of the home’s more familiar residents. The home was demolished in 1920

Reflections...

Edition 3

St. Francis Xavier Parish Father R.M. Tardiff took advantage of some roof repairs during the summer and fall of 1990 to climb onto the roof of St. Francis Xavier and copy the Latin inscriptions from the church bell. Translated into English by Msgr. M.J. Barry, they appear as follows: North Side “My name is Francis, after the illustrious patron of this church, St. Francis Xavier. I was consecrated for Divine Worship through the Ministry of the Most Reverend Lord N.A. Lorrain, himself recently consecrated as the first Bishop of this new Diocese.” South Side “On the advice of Rev. Paul Rougier, Pastor, and assisted by the generosity of his parishioners, They (the faithful) are led and called to this place by me (the bell)” “Preserve me God from all danger so that I may never cease to call men to bless His Holy Name.” A.D. 1882 P Rev. R. Murray Tardiff, Pastor of St. Francis Xavier Church from 1987 to 1998. He “hit the roof” in 1990 over the church bell.

Our stories. Our people. Our history. P Most Reverend N.A Lorrain Bishop of Pembroke 1882 to 1915 Newly installed as Bishop of this Diocese, he conducted the ceremony consecrating the bell of St. Francis Xavier.

Two beautiful and historic churches, Trinity St. Andrew’s United Church and St. Francis Xavier Roman Catholic Church, standing as they did, side by side, on Plaunt Street. Both churches would be destroyed by fire and replaced by more modern buildings. P In 1852, the parish is comprised of some 80 families that are mostly Irish but with some French Canadians, Scottish lumbermen, and Glengarry County traders. P Mount St. Patrick, Springtown, Snake River, and Sand Point are designated as missions.

Father John McNulty was the founder of Mount St. Patrick Parish and served as Pastor from 1842 to 1852. He would travel to Renfrew to celebrate Mass in the home of Mr. James O’Connor. It was about 1844 that Father McNulty began construction of a new church in Renfrew, possibly situated on the site of the present post office on Raglan Street.

Pastor: 1944 to 1952 V. Rev. J.J. Quilty P Celebrated his first Mass at St. Francis Xavier Church on December 23, 1900.

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Reflections...

Edition 4

St. Francis Xavier Parish

Our stories. Our people. Our history.

Together, they shall rest in the Peace of the Lord

Father Thomas Patrick Ryan

Born in Ireland on December 5, 1864,

Father Ryan came to Pembroke as a child with his parents and was ordained December 21, 1887. After the death of Father Rougier in 1893, Ryan was named pastor of St. Francis Xavier Church where he would remain until 1914, even after being consecrated as auxiliary bishop in 1912. After being raised to the bishopric in 1914, he was replaced as pastor by Father Francis L. French. Bishop Ryan served as Bishop of Pembroke until his death on April 15, 1937.

P Rev. James Burns, Assistant Pastor at St. Francis Xavier, died on January 30, 1884 at 29 years of age. P Rev. Paul Agnel, Assistant Pastor at St. Francis Xavier, died on November 18, 1888 at 45 years of age. P Rev. Paul Rougier, Pastor of St. Francis Xavier (1866-1893), died on May 8, 1893 at the age of 56. P These three priests were buried in the Sanctuary of St. Francis Xavier Church and there rested until the fire of December 1964. P After the clearing of their resting places in 1965, the remains of the three priests were relocated to St. Francis Xavier Cemetery where they currently rest beneath a single monument.

Sister Emma Castonguay,

CSJ, has devoted her entire adult lifetime to the service of God and to those fortunate enough to have been blessed by her nearness. Over the years and across the vastness of Canada, she has served at various times and places as a registered nurse, midwife, and public health nurse. Born in Renfrew, Sister had performed duties for seven years at St. Francis Xavier prior to her retirement in 1996. Although no longer a member of the pastoral staff at SFX, Sister Emma continues her Ministry with the parish, especially with the ill and elderly. Her contributions, to the parish and to humanity in general, are worthy of our congratulations and heart-felt thanks. P Refugees from Poland begin to take up residence in the Renfrew area around 1864. They will establish their own church in a house on Bonnechere Street. P Sometime later, in 1867, Polish names begin to appear in the register of St. Francis Xavier. By the 1880's, register entries involving the Polish community are much more regular, indicating the de facto joining of the two parishes under one banner.

Rt. Rev. Msgr. W.H. Dooner

Pastor from 1936 to 1944, was born in Osceola in 1880. Msgr. Dooner is credited with establishing, with the Sisters of St. Joseph in charge, a Catholic orphanage for underprivleged children in 1940 called Villa St. Joseph, located in the old St. Joseph’s Academy building. He also played a key role in the building of a new St. Joseph’s Academy for girls. Msgr. Dooner died January 6, 1944 at 66 years of age and was buried in Osceola.

P A card party and draw, sponsored by the Catholic Womens’s League on September 26, 1940, raised funds for the Canadian war effort. Euchre prizes went to Mrs. Harvey Payne and Mr. Albert Preen. Winners at “500" were Mrs. H. St. Michael and Harry Laplante, while the bridge prizes were awarded to Mrs. Allan Cardiff and Mr. Ray Clemow. P Draws for a Dresden-plate quilt, a Kenwood blanket, and an electric lamp were made after the cards had finished. Winners were Mr. George Gorman for the quilt, Rev. Father Austin of Arnprior for the blanket, and little Jane Wade, daughter of former mayor Fred Wade , for the lamp.