BLESSED SACRAMENT PARISH (1968-1972)

Amherstview, Ontario

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An agreement was entered with the Archbishop of Kingston for the care of Bath and Amherstview parishes in this small community west of Kingston on Lake Ontario.

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ST. MARY'S COLLEGE (1920-1969)

Brockville, Ontario

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This juvenate/minor seminary was established by the Toronto Province for English-Canadian students, who had previously attended the United States juvenates at North East, Pennsylvania (1913-1919) and Kirkwood, Missouri (1913-1920) and Canadian locations at St. Ann’s, Montreal (1911-1913; 1918-1920) and St. Augustine’s, Brandon (1916-1918). Overlooking the St. Lawrence River, the college on a sprawling 260-acre campus could accommodate up to 125 students and was the site of many Redemptorist conferences and events. During the Second World War, the campus was leased to the Department of National Defence (1941-1943). In 1947, the college was reopened for students. Decline in enrolment resulted in the closure in June 1968. Bereans leased the campus, starting in 1969 until 1977 when it was purchased by Grenville Christian School, formerly Bereans.

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ANNUNCIATION PARISH (1969-1972)

Enterprise, Ontario

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At the closing of St. Mary’s College, Fr. Russell Conway of the Toronto Province served as resident priest for the parish near Brockville.

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ST. GERARD'S NOVITIATE HOUSE (1957-1974)

Keswick, Ontario

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With the closing of St. Alphonsus seminary in Woodstock and the donation of farmland, a herd of cattle and apple orchard by Dr. and Mrs. Heffering, a new Novitiate was constructed on a 100-acre site an hour’s drive north of Toronto. Construction was completed in September 1958 for the increasing number of novices. Within seven years, the Novitiate was closed. The building served as the monastery of the Redemptoristine Nuns from Barrie until 1974 when the building was sold to Georgina Township for municipal offices.

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ST. PATRICK'S PARISH (1912-1975, 2002-2016)

London, Ontario

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Bishop Michael Fallon of the London Diocese invited the Redemptorists of the Toronto Vice-Province to establish a new parish in the city’s east end. A church was opened in June 1913. An addition was completed in 1922 as well as a new monastery two years later. The London monastery also served as a regional centre for the Mission preachers and later housed Redemptorists, who attended the Divine Word Institute (1966-1970). A new church was opened in 1952. The parish was transferred to the diocese in 1972. Fr. David Furlonger returned to the parish as pastor in 2002.

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MSGR. PEREYMA CATHOLIC SECONDARY SCHOOL (1992-2002)

Oshawa, Ontario

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Fr. Donald MacLellan served as chaplain at Monsignor Pereyma Catholic Secondary School. At his retirement in 2002, he was awarded the Queen’s jubilee medal for his service at the school. Six months after his death in 2008, the school chapel was named in his memory. In 2011, the Durham Catholic School Board named the five sites of their alternative high schools as the Father Donald MacLellan schools.

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ST. CLEMENT'S MISSION HOUSE (1947-1954)

Ottawa, Ontario

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This foundation was the first Mission House for the English-speaking Redemptorists in Canada. A house was purchased in the Westboro area of the city and was sold when the mission house closed.

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HOLY FAMILY RETREAT CENTRE (1993-2008)

Oxley, Ontario

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After finishing his term as Provincial Superior of the Toronto Province, Fr. Desmond Scanlon served at the retreat centre as its director 1996 until 2008 when he retired.

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ST. ALPHONSUS LIGUORI PARISH (1944-1984)

Peterborough, Ontario

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Fr. Patrick Gallery began the community in 1944 as chaplain to the five religious congregations. The parish was formed in 1947 and the first church opened on March 6, 1949. Under the Toronto Province Redemptorists, a new church and monastery was built and blessed in 1960 while the old church became the parish hall. The Redemptorists in 1966 assumed the pastoral care of Millbrook Correctional Institute. The parish was returned to the Diocese of Peterborough.

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MANSION HOUSE (1919-1920)

Prescott, Ontario

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Mansion House served temporarily as the preparatory college until St. Mary’s College was opened in 1920.

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MISSION BAND (1942-1943)

Prescott, Ontario

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The Mission Band, which was part of the community at St. Mary’s College, took up temporary residence in a large house for a year when St. Mary’s was leased to the Armed forces during the Second World War. The house was sold in 1945.

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HOLY REDEEMER PARISH (1949-2012)

Sudbury, Ontario

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The newly-created parish in 1949 was accepted by the Toronto Redemptorists. The first masses were held in the basement of a bilingual parish in Minnow Lake, a small municipality adjunct of Sudbury. Under the Redemptorists, a new church and monastery were built in 1950. On the same street about a kilometre away, a new church was constructed in front of Sudbury and District boys home, which became the renovated rectory. The new church was opened in June 1996. The Redemptorists served the pastoral needs of Burwash parish and correctional centre as well as the outmissions in Killarney and White Fish. The parish was returned to the Diocese of Sault Ste. Marie from the Edmonton-Toronto Province.

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ST. PATRICK'S PARISH FOR THE GERMAN CATHOLICS (1929-2011)

Toronto, Ontario

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In August 1929, Fr. Paul Stroh of the Baltimore Province arrived in Toronto to care for the spiritual welfare of German-speaking Catholics in Toronto, laying the foundation for the German-Catholic parish. A German Settlement House opened in 1930 for social and educational services to assist German immigrants in their adjustment to Canadian life. Later, the Felician Sisters administered a day nursery in an adjoined building. The German parish was united with the English parish in June 2011.

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ST. CLEMENT'S JUVENATE (1942-1947)

Toronto, Ontario

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During the lease of St. Mary’s College to the armed forces, the juvenate was moved temporarily to a private dwelling at 149 St. George Street, near St. Patrick’s church. Senior students attended St. Michael’s College School. The juvenate returned to St. Mary’s College in 1947.

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OUR LADY OF THE ASSUMPTION PARISH (1949-1996)

Toronto, Ontario

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At the request of Cardinal James McGuigan, the Toronto Province Redemptorists assumed responsibility of the newly-established parish in the city’s north end. Sunday masses were held in a local movie theatre until the church was opened in 1951 under the direction of pastor Fr. Francis Cunerty, Sr. A new monastery connected to the church was built in 1955. Renovations to the church were undertaken in 1968. The parish was returned to the Archdiocese of Toronto.

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72 EDITH STREET RESIDENCE (1968-1969)

Toronto, Ontario

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After the closure of Holy Redeemer College in Windsor as a seminary, this house served as a residence for Edmonton and Toronto Province seminarians studying theology at university.

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1303 KING STREET RESIDENCE (1970-1972)

Toronto, Ontario

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Edmonton Province established a house for their students and formation.

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GERARD HOUSE, TORONTO (1972-2006)

Toronto, Ontario

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Established as a student residence and Novitiate, it was located first on Coxwell Avenue in the city’s east end until 1977. The second location was a newly-renovated house on Howland Avenue in an area north of the University of Toronto. The house was closed in 2003 and sold to the Jesuits in 2006.

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CASA KAIROS (1974-1975)

Toronto, Ontario

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The Edmonton Province established this residence for students in formation. The formation team and students moved to Scala House in Edmonton.

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ST. ALPHONSUS LIGUORI PARISH (1952-1984)

Windsor, Ontario

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The London Diocese founded the parish in 1865 and transferred it to the Toronto Province Redemptorists, well-known for their missions and retreats in the area. The parish also served as a Mission House. The parish was returned to the diocese.

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HOLY REDEEMER COLLEGE (1957-1995)

Windsor, Ontario

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Following a successful fund-raising campaign, the seminary was opened in September 1957. It was affiliated with Assumption University in Windsor. After student unrest, it was dissolved as a seminary in November 1965 but continued to offer seminary formation until 1972. The Toronto Province Novitiate was established there (1981-1992). Over the years, it operated as a Retreat Centre. The property was sold to an international boarding school.

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ST. ALPHONSUS LIGUORI SEMINARY (1930-1957)

Woodstock, Ontario

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Established as the Toronto Province’s first seminary for English-speaking Canadian students, it was located on the site of the former Woodstock Baptist College. The seminary also held Second Novitiate (1937-1946, except in 1941), and Novitiate (1947-1950 and 1957-1958). Seminarians moved to Holy Redeemer College in Windsor in 1957 and the novices a year later to St. Gerard’s in Keswick.

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PAROISSE SAINT-GÉRARD-MAJELLA (Parish: 1916-1974; Community: 1907-1969)

Ottawa, Ontario

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In 1916, the Diocese of Ottawa created a new parish to serve the needs of the francophone community living in south-east Ottawa. The new parish was carved out of the former territories of the francophone St. Francis Assisi Parish and the anglophone parish of St. Mary’s. This parish was named after St Gerard Majella. Aside from a church and rectory, a college was also established which provided the Redemptorists an opportunity to do teaching work and studies. The new church structure was a simple one-storey building attached to the college by a vestry.

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In 1937 the Redemptorists approached the City of Ottawa with plans to relocate the college and the church to a new site on Beech Street. The development, however, presented some planning issues which was ultimately not approved. The college was relocated in Aylmer (Quebec) while the Redemptorists proceeded with a smaller project at the Beech Street site. The church was lifted from its foundations and relocated to the new site on Beech Street. The Redemptorists also built a rectory for the church and incorporated a residence for some students studying to join the order. The church and rectory continued to operate at the Beech Street site until 1974 when the property was sold.

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PAROISSE NOTRE-DAME-DU-PERPÉTUEL-SECOURS (1959-1986)

Timmins, Ontario

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A centre of parish and missionary activity, the parish was officially inaugurated on May 26, 1959 which catered to around 450 French-Canadian families. Masses for the parish were held in several chapels and the priests were housed in a temporary convent before a more permanent one was inaugurated and opened in June 1961. With the closure of the mission in Tunis already foreseen, a convent large enough to accommodate the Redemptorists was built in 1964. The Redemptorists left Timmins in 1986.

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REDEMPTORIST CHURCH AND CONVENT (1943-1970)

Tunis-Devonshire, (Unorganised North) Cochrane District, Ontario

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The Redemptorists built a church and a convent in Tunis-Devonshire and served as a centre of missionary activity from 1943 to 1970. The Redemptorists ultimately left the district in 1984.

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PAROISSE NOTRE-DAME-DU-PERPÉTUEL-SECOURS (1960-2001)

Hamilton, Ontario

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Originally called Paroisse St-Charles-Garnier, the Redemptorists of the former francophone province of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré arrived in the parish on September 25, 1960 to take over from the diocese. The patron of the parish was changed to Notre-Dame-du-Perpétuel-Secours in 1961. That same year marked the signing of the documents for the purchase of land at the corner of Cumberland and Blake streets for the construction of a new church. A large house on the Blake Street lot would serve as a rectory. Thanks to a fundraising campaign set up by parishioners, with the help of organizations, $24,000 was collected, which was enough to obtain permission from the bishopric to begin construction work. Several parishioners volunteered to furnish the house that would become the rectory. At Christmas of that same year, more than 750 people attended midnight mass celebrated in the basement of the new building under construction. The inauguration of the church took place the following year on May 20, 1962. The Redemptorists gave back administration of the parish to the Diocese in 2001. Its last Redemptorist parish priest is Rev.Fr. Jacques Fortin, C.Ss.R.

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PAROISSE DU SACRÉ-COEUR (1967-)

Georgetown, Ontario

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Originally known as Holy Cross Parish from 1885-1965, it was rededicated as the Paroisse du Sacré-Coeur to serve French Roman Catholics in 1966. Many of the first families who attended the church were Acadians from New Brunswick who came to work in southern Ontario and settled in Georgetown. 

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PAROISSE SAINT-PHILIPPE (1968-1976)

Burlington, Ontario

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The diocese has bought a former baptist church and asked the Redemptorists to minister there for the local Francophone population. The parish was opened on November 14, 1968.

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STUDENTAT RÉDEMPTORISTE (1907-1939)

Bayswater Avenue, Ottawa, Ontario

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In 1906, the Redemptorists acquired land on Bayswater Avenue for the construction of a studentate to train new members of the congregation. It opened its doors on May 28, 1907, and welcomed its first students on June 4, 1907. Shortly after the college was opened, a new parish church, St. Gerard-Majella was built next to the studentate to serve the francophone Catholic population that lived in Ottawa. From 1907 to 1932, the Redemptorist studentate received and trained 144 students, 98 of which became Redemptorist priests. The studentate was moved to Aylmer, QC in 1939. The Bayswater building was eventually sold to the Sisters of Ste. Marie de Namur. 

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PAROISSE DU SACRÉ-CŒUR (2000-2005)

Welland, Ontario

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A team of 3 Redemptorists took over the administration of this Francophone parish from the Franciscans in September 2000 at the request of the local Ordinary at that time, Bishop John Aloysius O'Mara. In October of that same year, the Redemptorists from this parish also took over the administration of the Paroisse St-Antoine-de-Padoue in Niagara Falls and the Paroisse St Jean de Brébeuf in Port Colborne. The Redemptorists left the parish in August 2005. 

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