Reflections on the heritage, life & work of faith communities in Ottawa and Eastern Ontario
The March 20, 1885 issue of The Freeholder characterized the newly opened St. Finnan’s Church in Alexandria as “an exceedingly handsome and commodious edifice.” On April 19, 2026, I joined over 120 parishioners at the 10:30 AM High Mass and found that to this day, the nineteenth century newspaperman’s assessment remains accurate. The Gothic Revival basilica,…
Built in the same year as Expo 67 and mere months after Star Trek first beamed into living rooms across North America, the futuristic St Ignatius of Loyola Parish in Montreal’s west-end is among the most architecturally striking mid-century churches in Canada. I attended the Easter Vigil on April 4 at 8:00 PM, alongside 200…
Built in 1912, with a Neo-Byzantine sanctuary that can accommodate over 800 faithful in pews and an imposing Romanesque Revival exterior, Dominion-Chalmers United Church at 355 Cooper Street is among Ottawa’s early twentieth-century architectural gems. On Palm Sunday, I joined 40 members of this small, but engaged congregation for their 10:30 AM Sunday service. While…
At the height of the Cold War, on March 2, 1954 — standing before 500 people gathered at the newly dedicated Westminster Presbyterian Church — Progressive Conservative MP and soon-to-be Prime Minister John Diefenbaker declared that Christianity was “freedom’s finest fruit” and called upon “this wonderful church [to be] the embodiment of freedom.” I visited…
The Venerable Kathryn Otley will be installed as the Anglican Bishop of Ottawa on May 9, 2026. She is the first woman elected to lead the Diocese of Ottawa, which has a history stretching back to 1896. I interviewed Bishop-elect Otley on March 20. We spoke about her experience in parish ministry — most recently…
Over 300 young adults filled the pews of St. Joseph’s Church at 174 Wilbrod Street in Sandy Hill for Laetare Sunday, March 15, with Archbishop Marcel Damphousse presiding at the 7:00 PM Mass. The Archbishop of Ottawa-Cornwall had been invited as part of the commemorative year marking the 200th anniversary of the formation of the…
On the Fourth Sunday of Lent, March 15, I visited a friendly little Anglican congregation at 24 Sandridge Road in Manor Park. The 40 parishioners in attendance for the 10:00 AM Holy Eucharist included a wonderfully “churched” dog who calmly visited parishioners in the pews before the service and attentively sat through the liturgy. St….
On the Third Sunday of Lent, March 8, I joined around 100 parishioners for 10:00 AM Mass at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish in Manor Park. The establishment of a new parish for English-speaking Catholics in 1953, and the completion of the Mid-century modern A-frame church at 400 St. Laurent Boulevard in 1957 was…
Over 200 people attended a lecture by Anishinaabe writer, editor, professor and activist Niigaan Sinclair at St. Joseph’s Church in downtown Ottawa on March 5. Entitled “The Top Five Struggles of the Reconciliation Journey for the Church and Indigenous Peoples Following the 2021 Papal Apology,” the lecture was the first of an annual series of…
A uniquely amicable priest and a thoroughly multicultural congregation — those are the characteristics that struck me the most when I visited St. Elizabeth Parish at 1303 Leaside Avenue on the Second Sunday of Lent, March 1, for their 10:30 AM Mass. Around 80 parishioners seated in the pews came from a wide range of…