Earlier this year, I had read that St. Columban Parish’s future was in question. That’s what drew me to visit this architecturally lavish church in Cornwall. On October 11, I joined more than 130 parishioners of this grand and ornate church, built in 1896, for 10:30 AM Mass. Located at 36 Fourth Street West in downtown Cornwall, St. Columban was designed by architect Georges-Émile Tanguay. The church is an architectural treasure in our province and yet as we know, such treasures can be difficult and costly to maintain. What’s unique about St. Columban is how a lay-led registered charity established in 2005, the Patrons of St. Columban Foundation, has assumed much responsibility for the upkeep of the church. They raised nearly $1.2 million, investing in stonework, steeple and roofing repairs, as well as other upgrades. What I found during my visit was a beautifully preserved Romanesque Revival church, and parishioners with a lot of pride in their spiritual home.
The current church in Cornwall named after St. Columban, the sixth century monk from Ireland, was completed in 1896. The Parish’s history, however, stretches back to 1829 with the establishment of the first church. That first structure, merely forty feet in length, was a modest chapel. A second church, completed in time for Christmas Day 1865, replaced the original structure. As Cornwall had fewer than 2,000 residents in 1865, the task of erecting a new church was described by the priest then in charge of the effort, Fr. John S. O’Connor, as having been “herculean.” Nonetheless, he showered praise on the “magnificent” new Romanesque Revival church, designed to be 174 feet in length, in a public letter written to the parish priest. “Saint Columban’s Church shall remain as an enduring monument and testimonial to your own ceaseless energy, as well as to the devotion and generosity of your zealous parishioners of Cornwall…Prospere procede, pater, et regna ad multos annos!” By 1896, the parish had shown such growth that four priests served the community.
According to a report in The Freeholder, the initial Mass was attended by an “immense” number of people, including those of other faiths. And the collection plates filled with $1,500 in offerings — a considerable feat in 1896. Bishop Alexander Mcdonnell of Alexandria presided.
The Mass for the dedication of the new church included the words of the Introit: “Terrible is this place; it is the house of God and the gate of heaven, and shall be called the court of God. How lovely are they tabernacles, O Lord of Hosts! My soul longeth and fainteth for the courts of the Lord!” Mass then continued with the words of the Collect: “O God, who invisibly containest all things, but nevertheless for the salvation of mankind showest in a visible manner the signs of Thy power, illustrate this temple by the power of Thy indwelling, and grant that all who come hither to pray, may receive the blessings of Thy consolation in whatever tribulation they may cry to Thee.”
Well over a century later, our words may have changed, but the sense of awe that the architecture evokes hasn’t. “This church is a visible testimony to the durability of the Catholic faith with its reflection of the past and strong direction to the future,” wrote Brian Lynch, President of the Patrons of St. Columban Foundation, in June 2026.
Not every historic church is preserved in such a commendable state of good repair as is St. Columban. Similar care is paid to providing quality music during liturgies. At least that’s what I experienced on October 11, Thanksgiving Sunday. Eight choristers sang from the transept and they were accompanied by a pianist. Most of the hymns came from the Gather hymnal. They included many that are well-known to practicing Catholics, such as “Gather Us In,” “You Satisfy the Hungry Heart,” and “Seed, Scattered and Sown.”
The liturgy felt warm and welcoming. The presiding priest, Fr. John Onmeje Ogbaje, had a lot to do with that. Throughout Mass, and especially in his homily, he was friendly, sociable and conversational. In fact, he did more than just converse. He sang, using his capable singing voice to remind us all to telephone our loved ones on Thanksgiving Sunday by offering a cover of Stevie Wonder’s pop hit “I Just Called to Say I Love You.”
In his homily, Fr. John explored the theme of a grand banquet, as expressed in both Isaiah 25 and also in the Parable of the Wedding Feast. Sharing a meal is a sacred act, and inviting the other to the table is akin to sharing a sacred space. It’s where we reconcile. Gathering around a table is an act of care for the other, and it’s also a gesture of welcome and connection. God extends to humanity a generous invitation to meet Him at His table. But like all invitations, it’s up to us whether we accept it. God respects our freedom. “In ancient Israel, feasting at the King’s table was the highest privilege. And the same is true for us. Being in a relationship with God is the greatest thing we can receive,” Fr. John said.
St. Columban now forms a pastoral unit with Cornwall’s other English-language Catholic church, St. Francis de Sales, a smaller church building completed in 1995, replacing a mid-twentieth century structure . The two churches now share a bulletin entitled Evangelium and a joint website. The latter is still a work-in-progress. The city’s English Catholics continue to worship at two locations, but are growing ever-closer as a community. The October 11 issue of Evangelium included a piece from Fr. Jonathan Blake, the Pastor of both St. Columban and St. Francis de Sales. He wrote of both the decline in the proportion of Ontarians identifying as Catholic, as well as about Cornwall’s enduring Catholic roots. Fr. Jonathan shared:
The religious landscape around us is changing. In 2011, Catholics represented 31.4% of Ontario’s population. By 2021, that figure had declined to 26%. During the same period, the number of Ontarians reporting no religious affiliation increased from 23.1% to 31.6%, more than 4.4 million people. Here in Cornwall, however, the picture is different. Our community has a deep Catholic heritage, rooted especially in its French Canadian and Scottish-Canadian history. According to the 2021 Census, 66.5% of Cornwall’s population identified as Christian, and approximately 50% identified specifically as Roman Catholic. Catholicism remains a significant part of the life and identity of our community…
The Catholic Church is a family, and when someone is absent, we notice. Most importantly, God never stops calling us home. Returning to the Catholic faith is not something to fear or be embarrassed about. It can be a beautiful experience of rediscovering Jesus Christ, the Eucharist, the Sacraments, the Word of God, and the joy of belonging to a community of faith.
In June, officials of the Archdiocese of Ottawa-Cornwall met with hundreds of parishioners to talk about the future, in light of lower Mass attendance and the high cost of keeping two locations open. One of the options that initially emerged was the possibility of retaining a single church site, although the amount of money that laity invested in preserving St. Columban in particular could make that difficult to accept for many. The road for now, however, is leading not to the closure of either site, but to shared management and shared pastoral leadership, as well as cooperation among lay councils for the two churches.
As Mass concluded, a young member of Parish Pastoral Council spoke of Cornwall’s two English-speaking Catholic parishes becoming a single pastoral unit, one prayerful Catholic Christian community — he emphasized. He acknowledged that fears about the future exist. He requested that the faithful pray for unity as the two churches become a united worshiping community, where parishioners can move comfortably from church to church.
Christopher Adam
Born in Montreal, Christopher Adam has called Ottawa home for the past twenty years. He received his MA from Carleton University, with a thesis focusing on twentieth century European church history, and a PhD in History from the University of Ottawa. Over the years, he has published widely and works in the faith-based charitable sector in Ottawa.