St. Anne's Parish

Mission Statement: We, the people of St. Anne's Parish, Conception Harbour, continuing in the tradition of our ancestors, guided by the Holy Spirit, strengthened and united by the Sacraments and Prayer, and inspired by the Word of God, strive to be a loving, caring community reaching out to all members of our parish family and beyond.

A Brief History

Conception Harbour was originally known as  Katch Cove,as referenced in early baptismal records and as recorded on an early map at Department of Lands. The name is thought to refer to the safe anchorage the harbur provided. The name was gradually corrupted to Cat's Cove by which it was known until it was officially changed in 1870.

From 1857 until 1884 the Catholic population of the village were served as a mission of the parish of Harbour Main.  In 1884  the mission was raised to the status of parish with the  Rev. Pat O'Donnell as the first parish priest.  Rev. O'Donnell served until 1891 when Rev. William Veitch was appointed.

Under Msgr. Veitch the present church was built in 1904 on land acquired from the Walsh family, who resided near the Head (a small mountain at the junction of the Kitchuses and Bacon Cove roads). The church was dedicated by Bishop March in 1907. It is considered to be one of the most beautiful churches in Newfoundland.

Until that time the parish was served by a small church, called a chapel by the local people, which was further toward the eastern end of the community.

Msgr. Veitch served until his death in 1917. He is buried in a small priests' plot near the eastern entrance to the church.

Parish Priests

1884-1891  Rev. Patrick O'Donnell

1891-1917 Rev. Msgr. William Veitch (he spelled his name "Gulielmo")

1917-1918 Rev. Thomas D. O'Neill

1918-1926 Rev. Msgr. Joseph V. Donnelly

1919-1926 Rev. William Murphy - curate to Msgr. Donnelly

1926-1929 Rev. William Murphy

1930-1949 Rev. John Scully

1930-1936 Rev. J.R. Jones  - curate to Fr. Scully

1937-1938 Rev. Walter Walsh  - curate to Fr. Scully

1942-1943 Rev. Francis Terry  - curate to Fr. Scully

1943-1948 Rev. Joseph M. O'Brien  - curate to Fr. Scully

1948-1961 Rev. Msgr. William H. Casey

Fr. T. Thompkins served, for a brief period around 1954, as curate to Fr. Casey

1961 Rev. Edward Hearn  (part year)

1961-1977  Rev. Ronald Walsh

1977 -1978 Rev. E.A. Walsh   administered the parish from Avondale

1978-1979 Rev. Charles Costello part year and Fr. Larry George part year

1979-1980  Rev. Michael Ryan

1980-1981 Rev. Patrick Power C.S.S.R.

1981-1984 Rev. Paul Doucette C.S.S.R.

1984-1988 Rev. William Houlihan

1989-1998 Rev. David Heale

Father David Heale

1998-2000 Rev. Michael Ryan

2000- August 31, 2005) Rev. Michael Barker

August 31, 2005---present     Rev. Deodoro  Caga

Notes:

Is was well known among the priests that Fr. Murphy was sensitive about baptisms. Hence the names of many different priests appear in the Baptismal records of his term here. A notable one, for a dozen or so baptisms, was a young priest by the name of John M.. O'Neill -  later to become our bishop.

During Fr. Murphy's tenure drama flourished in the parish and the troupe made up of Jack Keating, Tim Wade, Billy O'Driscoll, Ray Mahoney, Mae (Keating) Doyle, to name a few, produced yearly plays which they presented in various parts of the bay, and on Bell Island.

Fr. Charles Costello was a retired priest from the Corner Brook Diocese who lived in the parish house for part of a year. His parents were from Conception Harbour but had moved to the west coast for employment..

The last priest to live in the parish house was Fr. Pat Power CSSR. With his brother, Rev. Brother Albert Power, he renovated the interior of the church. As well, they had the shrine to St. Anne erected and had the miraculous statue repaired and placed in it.

Rev. Paul Doucette C.S.S.R. along with Fr. J. Glavine served the parish from Harbour Main

Rev. William Houlihan served the parish from Harbour Main with Sister Margaret O'Keefe  as Administrative Assistant, and later Sister Emma Rooney as Parish Administrator.

Buried in the Priest's Plot are Monsignor Veitch, Fr. Patrick Hearn (from what is now Collieer's Parish) and Fr. Sculley

The Sisters of Mercy

Church at dedication

In 1869, three members of the Mercy Order landed in Conception Harbour to establish the first convent in the community. They looked after the schooling of the residents- in particular the girls.

The sisters continued to teach the girls until 1949. In that year, the Academy, which was exclusively for boys, merged with St. Anne's and the school became coeducational. The sisters continued to teach the elementary grades  when the high school sections from Holyrood to Collier's were consolidated  to Roncalli Central High School at Avondale in 1967.

In the years following, the presence of the sisters became little more than a token one, with one active teaching sister, and some volunteer work by a retired sister. In the final few years the sisters because of declining numbers were reduced to volunteers.

St. Anne's closed its doors permanently in 2001 when  the elementary section also moved to Roncalli.

The convent is still open and houses three sisters who are engaged in pastoral work in nearby parishes. As well the convent is used as a summer retreat for older members of the order.

Conception Bay Renewal Center

The Renewal Center is operated under a board of directors from various parts of Conception Bay.

Baptism and marriage preparation programs are conducted on a regular basis for the neighbouring parishes.

Several times each year a Healing Mass is held. Special programs such as Alpha are also presented

The center is also available for individual and group retreats.

It is, and has been, administered by members of the Presentation Sisters of Avondale, and the Mercy Sisters of Conception Harbour. The current administrator(2004) is Sister Geraldine Mason of the Mercy Order. She is assisted by Helen Keating of the parish.

Corporal Jamie Murphy

On  January 27, 2004, Jamie Murphy became the victim of the first suicide bomber attack on Canadian troops in Afghanistan.

The wake and funeral of this brave young man brought the community together as never before. The Marian Hall was turned into a virtual diner for two days as the women cooked and provided meals for the many military and other mourners who visited the funeral home and attended the funeral Mass.

The local cable company, Persona, provided a closed circuit link from the church to the parish hall where an overflow crowd of about 180 people took part in the Mass via television. The church itself had a capacity crowd of approximately 450. Rev. Brian Colbert thoughtfully came to the hall with Holy Communion for those assembled at the hall.

In early April 2004, Warrant Officer Kenny Lockyer from Camp Petawawa, Jamie's home base, made an official visit to the parish.  He presented the town with letters of thanks and commendation, and a large picture of Jamie which is displayed at the own Hall as a public memorial to our fallen son.  Warrant Officer Lockyer also presented the parish with a generous donation from the soldiers themselves as a thank-you for the good treatment they received while they were here.

The parish, along with the country, extend our condolences to Norman and Alice Murphy and their family on this tragic loss of their beloved son of whom they and the parish were so proud.

St. Anne's Shrine and Sister Gertrude

The shrine to St. Anne sits in a prominent position on the parish grounds, and is a focal point for many visitors to the parish.

As a child, the daughter of Captain Wm. Kennedy, was crippled by an accident. On a visit to the Shrine of St. Anne De Beaupre she was miraculously cured. As a young woman, she joined the Sisters of Mercy at Conception Harbour and remained there teaching and ministering until her death.

The shrine was built by Fr. Pat Power with the generous contributions of the people of the parish as they remembered their deceased family members.

A plaque commemorating the miracle and Sister Gertrude can be found in the shrine.

At the Shrine of St. Anne De Beaupre, in Quebec, there is a stained glass window honouring the parish in recognition of Sr. Gertrude's cure. A picture of that window hangs in the rear of the parish church.

Each year, a priest from the shrine comes to the parish and spends an evening of novena to St. Anne, complete with the candle light procession and veneration of the relic. This service is well attended by people from all the area and is one of the highlights of the year.

Behind the Main Altar  in the church , is a stained glass window in two parts. The upper part is dedicated to St. Anne. The  lower part was put there by the parish as a memorial to those parishoners who lost their lives during the World Wars.

Events of Note:

The Annual Garden Party is held on the first Sunday of August each year. It is the major fundraising event for the parish. The first garden party, often referred to as the "Big Garden Party"  took place in 1910 and has taken place every year since.

For the past 25 years or so a Newfoundland Night is held during the month of July - usually the Saturday night one week before the Garden Party. This consists of a dinner of traditional and contemporary foods followed by a dance. This is another premier event of the summer.

On the Thursday evening before the Garden Party, the annual Cemetery Mass is celebrated on the cemetery. This is another well attended function.

Mothers' Day Brunch : The men of the parish cooked and catered the first annual Mothers' Day brunch this year , may 2005. This is to become an annual event and is as much a social occasion as it is a fund raiser.

Societies and Solidarities:

In the 1930's and 40's the Children of Mary for girls and young women and the Holy NameSociety for men were active in the parish.

At present there is an active council of the Catholic Women's League.

Former Residents of Note

Conception Harbour has numerous teachers among its residents past and present.  As well, many of its young ladies gave their lives to the Sisters of Mercy.

Three young men, whose parents came from here, joined the Oblates of Francis de Salles in Philadelphia, USA.  They are William Walsh, Paul Kenny, and James Dalton. Fr. Walsh's twin sister, Rosemary, is a member of a religious order in the US as wel

Father Dalton's cousin, Fr. John Costello, is parish priest at Pouch Cove in the St. John's Archdiocese. Fr. Patrick Kennedy serves with the Diocese of Peterborough in Ontario.

Justice John J. Mahoney and Judge John T. Trahey were both born and raised in Conception Harbour.  So too was the late Robert P. O'Driscoll , who established the Chair of Irish Studies at the University of Toronto and was a professor there for many years.

Justice John J. Mahoney and Judge John T. Trahey were both born and raised here. So too, was the late Robert P. O'Driscoll, professor of Irish Literature at University of Toronto.