History

A BRIEF HISTORY OF ST. ANNE’S PARISH The history of the community of Barrhead, Alberta can be traced back to the early years of the 20th century. Early settlements and missions were built around Barrhead during the Klondike Gold Rush and before the railroad was constructed in 1927. In those early years, the Oblates of Mary Immaculate (OMI) missionaries from St. Alexander Mission, Rivière Qui Barre travelled on horseback to minister to the spiritual needs of the Catholic families of Barrhead. As there was no Catholic church, the house of Jean Baptiste Tetreau was made available to celebrate the Holy Mass and to administer the Sacraments. In 1916, Barrhead was raised as a mission and a small church was built at Mosside under the supervision of Fr. Georges Jean Vianney Cochette SCJ (Sacred Heart priest). The church was blessed in August 1917 and was named “Holy Cross Church”. The missionaries continued to make occasional visits to Mosside and surrounding areas.

From 1918 onwards, Fr. Francis Koolen SCJ from Clyde was in charge of the Barrhead mission and the surrounding area. He traveled throughout the district with his band of ponies, holding services in homes. Fr. Koolen was succeeded by Fr. James (Alfred) McIntyre in 1921. In 1923, the faith community of Naples built a small church dedicated to Our Lady of Mount Carmel at Naples. In 1927 Fr. Rooney became the parish priest of Sancta Maria Church in Westlock with Barrhead as one of his missions.

In those days, the Holy Mass was celebrated in Barrhead in the houses of parishioners until 1929 when they decided to build their own church. The initiative was undertaken by Bill Williams, manager of Beaver Lumber, and Fred Fluet, who was in the construction business. The shell of the church was completed in the same year: pews were made of nail kegs and planks and the heating system was a barrel type wood heater that crackled noisily when in use. Mark Elvin, the grain elevator agent at Manola, donated a little organ, and the church bell was donated by St. Jean the Baptist Parish, Morinville.

In 1932, Barrhead had its first resident priest, Fr. John W. Carter, who was accompanied by his aged father. The need for a rectory and house keeper was urgent, so volunteers again collected necessary funds. He was succeeded by Fr. William McPhee in 1934. However, due to ill health, he had to go back and therefore, in 1935, there were no resident priests in Barrhead.

In 1936, Fr. Connelly W. Poirier was appointed parish priest and served the missions of Naples, Mosside, Fort Assiniboine, Linaria, Camp Creek, and Vega. He furnished the interior of the church as well as the rectory. A Catholic Women’s Guild was formed following his suggestion and joined the CWL of Canada in 1956.

In 1940, Missionaries of the Religious Hospitallers of St. Joseph (R.H.S.J.) from Chatham, New Brunswick came to Barrhead and purchased the hospital run by Dr. E. J. Verreau. Sister Borden, Sister Kenny and Sister Doran formed the first  community of R.H.S.J. in Barrhead. They took over the hospital on November 1, 1940 and became an active part of St. Anne’s parish community. As the town
of Barrhead grew and the transportation facilities improved, the missions of Naples and Mosside were amalgamated to St. Anne’s Parish.

In 1947, the Sisters of R.H.S.J. left Barrhead due to lack of personnel and the administration of the hospital was taken over by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Pembroke (C.S.J.) in January 1947. Mother M. Clare together with Sisters M. Monica, M. Genevieve, M. Edith and M. Joseph formed the first community of C.S.J. in Barrhead. In 1974, due to lack of personnel, the Sisters relinquished their
ownership of the hospital, sold the hospital to the Alberta Government and left Barrhead.

In 1948, a bell tower and front portion were added to the church, the steeple was removed, and a parish hall was constructed. In 1957, the sanctuary and sacristy were added. In 1963, the parishioners raised money and bought an electric organ dedicated to the fallen war heroes of World Wars I & II. In 1961 Swan Hills was added to St. Anne’s as its mission and Fr. Lucien Morissette was appointed
assistant parish priest in charge of Swan Hills. Fr. Poirier retired in 1970 after serving the parish for 34years.

Fr. Adolph Terré (1970-1973), Fr. Hervé Tanguay (1973-1975) and Fr. Edmond Croteau (1975-1980) directed the spiritual leadership of the parish for the next decade. Fr. Casimir Bukowski took charge in 1980, and he helped to establish a council of the Knights of Columbus. In 1987, Fr. Andrew Rybak served the parish for one year. As pastor in 1988, Fr. Gerard Gauthier supervised the construction of the current parish hall, rectory, and office, which increased potential for various parish activities.

Fr. John Joseph (1991-93) from India and Fr. Kim son Nguyen (1993-97) from Vietnam were appointed parish priests the following years. In 1997, during Fr. John Adamyk’s six years, the beautiful statue of Our Lady was donated by the Knights of Columbus and dedicated to the parish. The renovation at the
cemetery was started in 2002.

Fr. Paul Thekkanath, a Carmelite priest from India, was appointed pastor in 2003. He completed the cemetery project, which included new concrete runners for the headstones, renovation of the crucifix, and a newly built shrine (2005) constructed entirely by volunteers. The property adjacent to the back of the church was purchased in 2005 for a parking lot.

Fr. Martin Jubinville arrived in June 2009. He was a young priest full of enthusiasm. During his time, the Knights of Columbus approved a Memorial for the Unborn, which was installed at St. Anne’s Cemetery in 2015. In 2012, Swan Hills’ Mission, St. John the Evangelist, was brought under St. Joseph’s Parish in Whitecourt. Due to the dwindling number of Catholics at Fort Assiniboine, the
diocese closed St. John Vianney Church there in 2012. In 2014, we began the work of replacing theshingles of the roof of St. Anne’s Church and the hall and it was completed in 2015. Also, in those years we saw a major renovation of the kitchen in the hall to bring it up to code.

On June 15, 2014 Fr. Johnny Vadakkenath Chacko IMS from India was appointed pastor and Swan Hills Mission was once again brought under St. Anne’s parish. After a special request from the Catholics of Fort Assiniboine, the bishop reopened St. John Vianney Church for weekday Mass once a month. Thus, since August 27, 2014, Mass is celebrated on the last Wednesday of each month. In July 2015, the Novena to St. Anne was started in preparation for the parish patronal feast to highlight the significance of the patron saint of the parish as a model for the spiritual life of the parish. After more than 25 years, in June of 2016, the office and rectory got a facelift with new windows, flooring, paint and some remodelling of the upstairs bedrooms and bathrooms.

On October 29, 2016, the centenary of the parish (Barrhead was raised as a Mission in 1916) was celebrated with Bishop Paul Terrio presiding over the solemn Eucharistic Celebration at 5.00 pm followed by a fellowship meal in the hall. A Pictorial History cum Directory of the parish was published to mark the occasion. On May 4, 2019, the parish celebrated the Fr. Johnny’s 25thanniversary of ordination to priesthood with Bishop Paul Terrio presiding over the Eucharistic celebration at 5.00 pm followed by potluck supper.

In March 2020, closure of churches due to COVID-19-induced lockdown affected our parish life, restricting the celebration of the Mass and other Sacraments and rites. From June 1, restrictions were eased to allow 1/3 (of fire code occupancy) preregistered, socially distanced parishioners at Mass; an additional 5 pm Mass on Sunday enabled more people to participate. In September, Catechism children studied and received the Sacraments of Reconciliation and Holy Communion before starting the new year in October. Five Masses on Christmas and three on New Year’s were celebrated in Barrhead to allow more people to celebrate God’s gifts of peace, love and joy. On July 1, 2021, all restrictions were lifted by Alberta Government which allowed us to return to normal parish life. But due to the fourth wave of the pandemic, restrictions were reimposed on September 1, 2021, limiting our interactions once again. However, on March 1, 2022, as the provincial government lifted all the restrictions for public gatherings including public worship, we returned to pre-Covid normalcy and Bishop Paul Terrio restored the Sunday obligation for Catholics of St. Paul Diocese which he had dispensed in March 2020, effective from June 5, 2022, Solemnity of Pentecost.…and the story of St. Anne’s Parish, Barrhead goes on.