Last Updated: Friday - 09/24/2010
Week of March 7, 2005
Church preserves sculptures
Calgary's oldest Catholic church sits in a pastoral island
St. Patrick — March 17
By TED FITZGERALD
Special to the WCR
Midnapore, Alberta
Thousands of commuters and travellers are familiar with Calgary's famous "three little churches" that face busy Macleod Trail (Highway 2) in the Midnapore district. Each day, they speed by this pastoral island, a scenic anomaly in the sea of modern urban sprawl.
Not only is this a picturesque trio, but it includes two buildings that predate the province of Alberta, St. Paul's Anglican (1885) and the city's oldest surviving Catholic house of God, St. Patrick's. The third church is the former Anglican St. Martin's, moved onto the site later on to serve as a parish hall for St. Paul's.
Pioneer John Glenn
Calgary had hardly become an established settlement when the first of the churches was built at Fish Creek on land donated by the pioneer John Glenn family. An active, foreword-looking congregation ensured that St. Paul's would today become the longest continuously serving Anglican parish in Calgary.
With the arrival of the railway in 1891, Fish Creek was renamed Midnapore, but it was not until Aug. 14, 1904 that Mass was celebrated in a new church by Father J.J.M. Lestanc. By 1962, the City of Calgary had absorbed Midnapore and St. Patrick's became a part of the Calgary Diocese.
Parishioners attending Saturday evening Mass at St. Patrick's a quarter century ago would have experienced a sense of tranquility in the little all wood sanctuary. Massive pews and knotty pine clad walls and ceiling provided a primitive ambience reminiscent of the frontier origins of the church. Above the altar, attention would be directed to an unusual crucifix with a hand carved, dark wood corpus on a light oak cross. Also prominent was an intricately hand-carved wooden Madonna and child.
Naturally enough, a simple, traditional statue of the parish patron, clad in green bishop's vestments occupied a place of honour beneath the arched ceiling.
Patrick was raised in a Christian Roman/British family in about 390 AD, but was kidnapped and forced into slavery in Ireland when 16 years old. He escaped after six years and acquired a religious education in France.
His faith and sense of forgiveness caused him to return to the land of his captivity as a bishop to attempt conversion of the Irish. Despite the legends and folklore surrounding him, his accomplishments there were remarkable. Within 10 years of his arrival, he had established the Diocese of Armagh, ordained many native clergy and with their help, had baptized thousands. By the time of his death 30 years later, the island was essentially Christian. He is a model of the need to forgive enemies and promote the faith single-mindedly.
By the 1980s, urban sprawl had outgrown the 75-seat capacity of his Midnapore church and the overflow from two weekend Masses there was being accommodated in nearby Mother Theresa School. Plans to build were quickly implemented and in the Shawnessy district a new, much larger St. Patrick's was dedicated in 1983. Today, parishioners are served by four weekend Eucharistic celebrations.
Artifacts preserved
Artifacts from the old church have been lovingly preserved so that the people can enjoy, for example, the old wood sculptures. The single bell from the old tower, a gift from Archbishop mile-Joseph Legal to the pastor Father Albert Lacombe in 1909 has been carefully stored, waiting refurbishing. The parish patron's effigy graces the parish office.
Back on Macleod Trail, the three diminutive churches impassively watch the steady flow of traffic, a source of pleasure and perhaps inspiration to preoccupied motorists. Since the two older churches, with their cemeteries have been designated provincial historic resources, they continue to grace the roadside, symbols of the rich religious heritage of Southern Alberta.
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