For the local Catholic parish that has celebrated mass at Sacred Heart Church since 1960, the last mass held on Jan. 28 was both a tearful and joyous event for all in attendance.
By decree of Bishop William McGratton of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Calgary, weekend events marked the last time the church would be used for divine worship, with the property to be sold to fund the building of the new Shrine Church of Our Lady of the Rockies.
“Today is a very significant day, a day in which we gather to worship and celebrate the Eucharist for the last time here in Sacred Heart Church in Canmore,” said McGratten during his homily.
“It is a place of worship. It is a building, but it is also a place in which we have all encountered God and Christ through the gift of his presence and so this church has many memories; sacred memories. Memories that have touched families, touched individuals and, as you can see, has touched the lives of our priests who have come here to celebrate today.
“For all who have gathered, those who have built this church, those who come faithfully to celebrate your faith, it is important we gather on Sunday.”
Father Wayne Poile, who held the post from 1988-90, Father Dan Stevenot and Deacon Brian West joined Father Wilbert Chin Jon, who currently serves the church congregation in Canmore, for the service.
Catholic priests have held mass in Canmore since 1883, when Sacred Heart was first established and blessed on Nov. 19 that year. That original building accommodated only 50 people and it was clear by 1960 that a larger church was needed.
Construction began in April that year and the entire community of Canmore showed up to help out, remembered Donna Larson. It took only six months for the new Sacred Heart to be constructed and demonstrating the spirit of cooperation in the coalmine community.
“Everybody in town helped build the church; it didn’t matter what denomination they were,” said Larson, who moved to Canmore a few years prior, in 1958.
For the longtime resident, the final mass at the church in January marked part of her journey in the community, where she celebrated in the original church, the one that is currently being decommissioned and she expects to celebrate the Eucharist in the new shrine, scheduled to be complete in 2019.
“I saw the old church, this one and now hopefully the new one,” Larson said. “It has been a good journey.
“You go with the joy of it. From the time I came here, I was married here, my kids were baptized (in this church), I buried my father and husband here and I have met some very good priests and very good people here.”
Grade 10 Our Lady of the Snows student Hayley Finnigan remarked on the emotion of the last mass at Sacred Heart as a special celebration and the excitement for a new church as a home for the congregation.
“It is hard to see it go, because this is a community that we really built together and the community makes the church,” said Finnigan, adding she looks forward to having mass at her school in the interim.
“Like (Bishop McGratten) said in his homily, it is a new beginning for us. I don’t know how to put it into words, this is so different … I am really looking forward to (the new church) because as much as I love this one, it is going to be a new experience where we will have new memories and new moments.”
The dedication and generosity of the community is something that continues to amaze Fr. Chin Jon. The final mass was a tearful event for him to be part of, in imagining the number of weddings, baptisms, masses, confessions, funerals and celebrations that took place there over its 58 years as a Sacred Heart of the congregation.
“If you ponder on the significance of the church building, of Sacred Heart, first I am extremely grateful for the miners that built the church,” he said. “I have been told that after work they would come and build until dark and then go home and they did that the next day and the next until they finished the entire building.”
The volunteer labour worked hard, with four teams of 10 men each working in rotation five days a week on evening shifts from 6-10 p.m. It was completed in six months and created a church with a capacity for 250.
Over time, however, the space has become too small to house a growing local Catholic community and those visiting the community who wish to partake in mass while staying in Canmore on vacation. The balcony area has become structurally unable to hold the weight of the many parishioners in attendance, and there is no community hall to host the community after mass.
Even on the cold Sunday in January, at -30 C, only a few stayed behind to enjoy a cup of coffee with celebrants outside.
Having been part of the streetscape in the heart of the community for well over a century, and six decades in its current form, Chin Jon said it is going to be a significant change for everyone as the church is demolished.
The land was sold to Distinctive Homes, which hopes to develop a multi-family residential project on the four lots in the prime downtown location.
The sale has helped fund the new Shrine Church project, along with a donation of land along Palliser Trail by Stonecreek developments and its president Guy Turcotte.
The new church was officially announced as a Diocesan Marin Shrine by McGratten in December, which takes effect once it is consecrated. Chin Jon said the designation is a special honour, and he hopes the shrine church becomes a gateway to spiritually experiencing the presence of God within the magnificent beauty of the Rocky Mountains.
“It really is a place to come to experience the presence of God, the faith of the people and the beauty of the mountains,” he said. “It means that aside from functioning as a regular parish and offering spiritual services for visitors, tourists and residents, it is also playing a greater role in the Diocese of Calgary.”
The new church will also include homage to Sacred Heart in its prior forms, although the exact form that will take has yet to be finalized. Chin Jon said in addition to the religious articles from the old church, coloured glass panes and the bell outside would be part of the new shrine.
The bell rang for 10 minutes for the last time in the heart of Canmore before the final mass, marking the historical day for those that attended to worship together. It will ring again to mark the new beginning at the shrine sometime in the future.
