St. Mary’s Parish History (1872-2005)

The original St. Mary’s Church, an 85' x 42' white frame structure, dedicated in 1874 by Bishop Walsh of London, was situated on the corner of Hill and Maitland Streets on property acquired in 1872 for $600. This site was chosen to meet the needs of Irish immigrants who had settled in the area to be near their work at the Great Western Railway.

For the first 25 years, St. Mary’s remained a ‘’mission’‘ church with only a priest in charge, the first of whom was Fr. Patrick Corcoran. Priests in this capacity resided at St. Peter’s Palace and came for weekend services, the church being open from Saturday afternoon to Sunday evening.

In 1899, the parish received its first resident pastor, Fr. Hubert Traher, under whose administration a new church was to be built on the corner of Lyle and York Streets. On Thursday, May 25th, 1902, the new Gothic church, with its 154’ spire, the second oldest in the city, was dedicated in a celebratory mass by Bishop Denis O’ Connor of Toronto. Ironically, the bell tolled for the first time for the funeral of Fr. Traher who had died two days before the dedication. With its extensive boundaries, ongoing projects and heavy debt load, the new church presented a formidable administrative task. The three successive pastors over the next 25 years proved equal to the challenge, retiring the debt by 1920.

October 11, 1911, was a banner day in our early history. Bishop M. F. Fallon chose St. Mary’s for the First Diocesan Eucharistic Congress, the first in Canada. The 17 years from 1919-1936 were shepherded by Msgr. M.J. Brady and were highlighted by the installation of a Casavant pipe organ (1921), his pride and joy, redecoration of the church (1926) , by Panzerroni of New York, the same mural artist who decorated the Cathedral, culminating in Msgr. Brady’s Golden Jubilee as a priest (1932).

The early ‘30's saw a dream come true for the Ukrainian and Polish members of our congregation with the appointments of resident priests to serve the needs of each of the national communities, Frs. Ambrose and Paul Sargewitz.

During the years of World War II, our sixth pastor Fr. J. Maloney with his assistant Fr. J. Finn, kept the home fires burning for our young parishioners overseas (approximately 150) by diligently corresponding with them. St. Mary’s was the official church in the city for Catholic chaplains and soldiers with a special mass being celebrated once a month followed by breakfast served by the C.W.L.

In 1948, at the initiation of Fr. Maloney, the renown Family Rosary Crusade was launched by Fr. Patrick Peyton, Director of the Family Rosary Apostolate, at St. Mary’s and spread throughout the world.

1952 was a milestone year at St. Mary’s in the fifteen-year administration of Fr. W. T. “Tex” O’ Rourke, not just for the celebration of our Golden Jubilee but as well for the participation of our parishioners, likely for the first time in Canada, at a Mass “versus populum” (facing the people).

A hallmark year in our history, 1968, was signalled by the amalgamation of the Italian National Parish of Saint Maria Goretti with St. Mary’s. Significantly, on August 4th, the traditional festival of Madonna Della Libera was celebrated for the first time at St. Mary’s and is still celebrated annually.

1972 saw much pomp and circumstance during the celebratory activities marking our parish’s Centenary, emotionally climaxed by the attendance of Fr. Patrick Peyton, the guest speaker at the concluding banquet.

A pivotal year in the life of St. Mary’s, 1979, the parish was placed under the direction of the Italian Order of the Precious Blood for the next 18 years. Frs. O. Cerbara, J. Roche and L. Baiocchi guided the parish through the eighties, overseeing considerable interior renovation, as well as a new slate roof and the installation of an elevator (1996).

The rectory was also a hive of activity, being renovated to accommodate seminarians studying to become priests, under the direction of Fr. Roche, Director of Vocations for the Precious Blood Order in this district.

A succession of priests saw the parish through the nineties up to 1997 at which point the parish returned to diocesan jurisdiction.

St. Mary’s ushered in the new millenium with the opening of the newly renovated Chapel of the Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration. This devotion was established in 1995 by a few parishioners and St. Mary’s is one of the few sites in the diocese designated in 1999 by Bishop John Sherlock.

Suffering the ravages of time and the elements, our church was in dire need of restoration with the spire on a dangerous ‘tilt’. Assuming the helm in 1998, Fr. J. ‘’Joe” Dabrowski of the Michaelite Order of Polish Priests, put his shoulder immediately to the grindstone and embarked on an extensive program to this end.

By May 2002, considerable progress being made both restoratively and financially (a very successful fund-raising campaign), the church was in readiness in time for the festivities and fanfare of our Centenary celebration.

With this project nearing completion, our beautiful Gothic church 1902, with its 154' spire, a century later rises once again in its former glory.