St. Alphonsus

 

Bridgetown

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Our History

The faith was established in Bridgetown in the early 17th century, when Acadian farmers settled lands as far up the Annapolis River as Paradise.

The Mass House (St. Laurent)

In about 1690, the Acadian Mission of St. Laurent (with priests coming from Port Royal – Annapolis Royal) was established on the north side of the river, opposite Tupperville, as a Mass House to serve the Acadian and Mi’kmaq families from Bellisle to Paradise. A cemetery was also established and this Mass House became the headquarters of the church. The parish priest from Port Royal took up residence there from the surrender of Port Royal in October 1710 to the summer of 1724. During this time Fr. Durand was arrested and taken back to the fort and there confined for a month before being taken to Boston by Governor Vetch, where he remained prisoner for ten months. He returned to St. Laurent in December, 1712.

The English demolished the chapel in 1736, after the priest had been accused of inciting his people against the English garrison. At the time of the expulsion of the Acadians, the whole parish (Port Royal and St. Laurent) had about 1000 people. Many Acadians eluded expulsion, but gradually left the area and for a while the only Catholics in this area were the Mi’kmaq.

The history for the next 100 years is a bit vague.  It is known that baptisms and marriages celebrated during this time were mostly for people of Mi’kmaq or Irish origin and that Mass was celebrated in the home of Isaac and Euphenia Bonnett, there being no established church building.  In the early 1860’s the Archbishop of Halifax celebrated what Mrs. Bonnett described as “the first public Confirmation and first public mass held in Bridgetown”.  Father O’Connor, who was priest in this area from 1867-71, recorded an inventory when he left, listing items in the church and rectory in Annapolis and a church in Bear River.  Listed for Bridgetown were: “An organ on which there is a debt, a fence around the church yard, also altar, altar stone, book and vestments with a suit of black in Annapolis”. At this time there appeared to have been a church yard with a fence, a cemetery and some inventory, but no church building.  There are unnamed graves in the churchyard belonging to many Catholics that predate the present church.

The present church was built in 1873-1874.  Mrs. Bonnett spearheaded the building of the church; it is of a style fairly common of Catholic mission churches in NS.  Sadly, Mrs. Bonnett died on June 5th, 1874, on the feast of Corpus Christi, before seeing the church finished.  Her grave is in the front part of the churchyard.

Recent History

  • November 11, 1983 – An extension to the cemetery was inaugurated.
  • 1984 – The Blessed Sacrament began to be reserved once more in St. Alphonsus. Permission was granted by the diocese due to increased attendance.
  • October 22, 1985 – A new Baptism Font and Easter Candle stand were blessed.
  • November 17, 1985 – A new Ambo/Lecturn was blessed during Mass. It was made by Jim Pelly and paid for by a memorial fund in memory of Andrew Grant, who drowned on August 30, 1984 at the age of 30.

St. Alphonsus Church before 1986

The Expansion of 1986

The congregation of St. Alphonsus continued to grow and by 1986 there was not enough seating room, even though additional pews were added. There was a great deal of church community activity, necessitating the hiring of different local halls for various functions. Sunday School was taught in homes and for a couple of years taught in the James House.

A larger church, a hall and religious education facilities were needed. The parishioners, to make the expansion affordable, made the commitment to do all the carpentry and electrical work on a volunteer basis. On August 4, 1986 the project began with the bulldozing of the site and the last Mass in the ‘old’ building was celebrated on August 31st, 1986. On December 24th (Christmas Eve), the first Mass was celebrated in the new location.

During the four months it took to move the church our parishioners were the guests of St. James Anglican Church. The Anglicans graciously loaned us the use of the church for Sunday Mass and Sunday School, a great sign of ecumenical feelings that prevail in our community of Bridgetown.

In October, 1995, thanks to the generosity and zeal of anonymous donors, a new Allen Protégé AB3 Organ was installed, and within the year new speakers were purchased. This wonderful organ was blessed on November 5th by Fr. David Stokes, and an evening of music played by St. Alphonsus’ organist, Maureen MacLean was enjoyed by all in attendance.

An inside look at St. Alphonsus Church

Yes – that’s Premier Stephen MacNeil participating in a water relay!

More recently, and on a continuing basis, many additional projects have been undertaken and carried out by parishioners on a volunteer basis to enhance and upgrade our facilities.

In August, 2013 William Black Pastoral Charge/United Church was looking to relocate and was invited to share space with St. Alphonsus Church. This arrangement has worked exceptionally well.

In 2014 the Annapolis District of the Women’s Institute of Nova Scotia bestowed the Award of Merit to the congregations of St. Alphonsus Catholic Church and the Bridgetown United Church ” in recognition of their willingness to reach out, one to the other, to share a place of worship. This sharing and caring approach, together with their communal kindness and tolerance has proved to be very successful, providing an inspiration for all of us by setting a great example of friendship fellowship and to the meaning of the words: “Love thy Neighbour”. The truth of these sentiments is what made these churches worthy of merit and well deserved recognition. Congratulations!
The Annapolis District of the Women’s Institute of Nova Scotia, November 19, 2014″

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St. Alphonsus … pray for us!

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