St. Patrick
Digby
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Our History
Father Murphy worked diligently seeking supplies all the way from Kentville to the far ends of the Acadian Shore or the French Shore as it is commonly referred to today. He received donations from numerous businesses without which the church would not have been completed.
St. Patrick’s Church, Digby NS
The original St. Patrick’s Church … in the location of the
present-day St. Patrick’s Cemetery
Directly beneath the main section was the parish hall; it still serves as a gathering for the parishioners though it has seen considerable changes over the years. One unique feature of this church not seen in any other church was the installation of a bowling alley in its hall. Youth and adults alike used this four lane bowling alley in the 1960s. The alleys were later removed and if you go into the hall today, you can still see the alleys on the sides of the church walls. Steel posts were later added throughout this hall to give greater support to the structure above; eventually they were boarded in to adhere to fire regulations. The most recent change was the painting of the hall, a cheery yellow hue, two years ago.
There was a school constructed in 1890, the Digby Academy, but a separate school, aptly named St. Patrick’s School, was built for those of the Catholic faith. The school served as a place both for religious education as well as academic learning. Later on lay people joined the staff of this school and eventually it became part of the public schools system of Digby. Religious education, or catechism as it was commonly referred to in the earlier days, was taught in the church itself.
Fr. Joe Hattie o.m.i.
Interior of St. Patrick’s Church
Presently, Fr. Raymond, our priest who lives in the rectory at St. Patrick’s serves this church, plus St. Joseph’s in Weymouth and St. Louis’s Church in Annapolis Royal. These church communities are in the far western zone of the newly formed Corpus Christi Parish.
The number of parishioners at St. Patrick’s has dwindled in numbers like many of the churches throughout the province. That is not to say that all activities have ceased. On Shrove Tuesday there is always a pancake and sausage supper and the hall is filled by many of the town folk; the proceeds go to the soup kitchen, a program started by Fr. Henry Smolennaars during his short two year stay at St. Pat’s. A hearty meal from a chicken stew to a chili, is prepared each Friday and served up by teams of volunteers. This program serves a twofold purpose- it provides a good meal (takeouts are available) and, even more importantly, it provides an opportunity for social interaction which many of the clients appreciate. Other meals and activities take place in the hall from celebrating our patron Saint Patrick in March to having entertainment and potluck suppers.
One usually associates music with entertainment and I would be remiss if I didn’t mention Fr. Albeni d’Entremont, better known as Fr. Beni. He served St. Patrick’s for many years and his love for music is well known. While here he directed the choir with Joan Byrne as the organist. There was always a special Christmas program for the local people and Fr. Beni also took the choir on the road performing down the French Shore, and, travelling in the other direction, to Mt. St. Vincent Motherhouse in Halifax. Incidentally, our present pastor, Fr. John MacPherson, sung in the St. Patrick’s choir when he was a seminarian with Fr. Beni in the early 90s.
Fr. Beni also was responsible for establishing the Journey to Bethlehem which takes place on the First Sunday of Advent every year. Four other local churches join St. Pat’s at this time. People meet in a church where they sing, hear a Scripture passage, get a little treat then walk to the next one. When they reach the last church, a large reception follows the service. There is a rotation of churches so a different church is responsible for the reception each year. It has been a constant and popular activity since its inception.
It is impossible to include all that has taken place at St. Patrick’s over the years but I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the Jolly Julians. As far as I know we are the only Catholic church in the province with a commissioned Christian Clown Ministry. It was started by Marion Croft (Gurgles) in November of 2005 and on February 12th 2006 the clowns (Bonnie LeBlanc aka Susie Q, Lynn Boudreau aka Rainbow, Sharon Trueman aka Patty Cake, Monika Treleaven aka Mona, and, in absentia, Cathy LeBlanc aka Jelly Bean) were officially commissioned by Fr. Keith Billard at the conclusion of the Sunday Mass. Once commissioned they received a wide variety of invitations to perform from a Ladies Baptist Retreat weekend to a night honouring the Elders on the First Nation’s Reserve in Bear River, from the Fall Sunday School opening at the Digby Baptist Church to a fundraiser for the church in Amherst, Nova Scotia.
As you can see, St. Patrick’s has had a long and interesting history and we are not done yet. We look forward to what this newly constructed parish will offer us that we could not accomplish on our own. May St. Patrick look over us in the years ahead.
The sanctuary at Christmas – with the Calvary Scene from
the former Holy Cross Church in Plympton.
The Jolly Julians
St. Patrick … pray for us!
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