Enduring Faith - 150 Years of History

Enduring Faith celebrates 150 years in the life of a parish- but no ordinary parish. Saint Patrick's Basilica Parish was the first English-speaking Catholic parish in Ottawa, established less than thirty years after the city itself had been carved out of the wilderness. While its original vast extent has been reduced by the creation of other parishes, Saint Patrick's remains the mother church for the English-speaking Catholics of Ottawa. As a downtown parish it draws worshippers from the entire Ottawa area. Long identified with the Irish, the now multicultural parish reflects the new face of Canada. In 1995, in recognition of its historical importance, beauty and present vitality, Pope John Paul II raised Saint Patrick's to the status of a Minor Basilica. This volume, the first history of the parish to use the full archival record, tells the story of its creation and growth, and of the remarkable men who served as its pastors.

Enduring Faith traces the history of St. Patrick's Parish from a small, plain chapel beside muddy Sparks Street in mid-nineteenth century Bytown to an ornate Basilica in the heart of downtown Ottawa, Canada's capital city.

It follows the panorama of the lives of the clergy and lay people who, by the grace of God, overcame great material and spiritual obstacles to build not only a beautiful church, but schools, a home for the elderly and orphans, and a hall that served as a social centre for the Irish of Centretown.

Enduring Faith is the story of their sacrifices and their great achievements.