Advent, Christmas & New Year's Celebrations
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HISTORY |
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A Short History of St. Thomas More Parish |
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The practical beginning of our parish dates to August 22,1979 when an initial meeting was held at St. Mark's Church. That evening, with the formation of a Steering committee, the Bishop 's mandate to Fr. Hagel to start a new parish in northeast Calgary was activated. The boundaries were set at the #9 Highway to the east, 32 Ave to the south, Barlow Tr. to the west, and the city limits to the north. At this time the area encompassed only Temple, Whitehorn, and Falconridge. Since then, of course, more development has caused Castelridge, Martindale, Taradale, Coral Springs, Saddleridge, and Carmel Springs to be incorporated.
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small core of 50 people or
so, we have grown to a population estimated to be over 6,000. This is
based on a total of about 2,000 families who are registered in the parish
office. That's quite a growth in only a few years!
There are many noteworthy events which occurred during those first years. The first Mass in the parish was held on September 30, 1979 in St. Wilfrid School. That celebration was attended by perhaps 40 people but they overflowed the classroom and spilled into the hallway - surely a sign of the intense growth that was to come! Subsequently, masses were celebrated in the school gym, a location that served us for almost six years.
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As the parish grew, the need to have our own church and church centre became more and more obvious. People prayed, thought, worked, planned, sweated, and prayed some more. At last, a great milestone was reached. On August 12, 1984, the sod was turned and so was another page in our history. |
| Construction proceeded in relatively typical fashion, contending with revisions, delays, bad weather, and meetings, meetings, meetings exacted a toll on even the tried and true. |
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But all the patience and preseverance was rewarded when on July 14, 1985, Fr. Martin Hagel celebrated the first mass in our new church. It was a grand day, surpassed only, perhaps, by the official opening ceremony and Mass on October 30, 1985 when Bishop Paul O'Byrne presided at the blessing of our church. |
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PREVIOUS PASTORS AND ASSOCIATES AT ST. THOMAS MORE Rev. Martin Hagel, 1979 - 1989 Rev. John Maes, 1989 - 1995 Rev. Bill Corcoran, 1995 - 2001 Rev. Robert Kasun, CSB, 2001- 2009 Rev. John Murphy, CSB, 2001 - 2009 (Associate Pastor) |
Rev. Robert Kasun, CSB
Rev. John Murphy, CSB, Associate Pastor |
