Saint Louis

St. Louis, Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia

The present church was built in 1910 and named St. Thomas. The name was later changed to St. Louis.

At one time the parish included what are now the parishes of Middleton and Digby. The first full-time resident pastor since the expulsion of the Acadians was Fr. Thomas Grace, who spend about 29 years as pastor here. It was during his time that the present church was built.

English Mass on Sunday at 11:15 a.m. (Saturday at 7:00 p.m. June to Sept)

St. Louis, Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia

More History It was in this parish that the faith was first permanently established in what is now Canada. A chapel was built in 1605 on the site of the Habitation at Port Royal. Around 1632 a monastery, church and school were built at Lequille and staffed by the Capuchin Fathers. The parish was named St. John the Baptish. Around 1654 the church was rebuilt in what is now the Town of Annapolis Royal. This and a subsequent church were destroyed by bombardments. After 1710, when the British took control of Nova Scotia, various other sites were used for worship until the Expulsion in 1755. In 1835 a chapel was built through the initiative of the Irish soldiers at the garrison. It stood on the site of the present cemetery, and was demolished in 1930. The present church was built in 1910 and named St. Thomas. The name was later changed to St. Louis. At one time the parish included what are now the parishes of Middleton and Digby. The first full-time resident pastor since the expulsion of the Acadians was Fr. Thomas Grace, who spend about 29 years as pastor here. It was during his time that the present church was built. IN 1981 the parish rectory was sold. Since 1983 the paster has lived in rented accommodations. The parish comprises approximately 300 families, 40% of which depend on the Mission Church in Bridgetown. Places of Catholic Worship in Annapolis Royal: 1605, the Habitation. There is a record that Lescarbot gave religious instructions in a "little chapel built after the (native) fashion". Ca. 1632, a monastery, church and school were built in Lequille and staffed by Capuchin, or Recollet, monks. It was burnt in 1654. The parish was named St. John the Baptist. Ca. 1654, a church as built in the vicinity of the present Drury Lane. It was described as "fairly pretty", and there were a rectory and cemetery on the site. It was burnt in 1960. Ca. 1694, a building was acquired and altered into a church. It was described as "a poor building with wood blocks for a foundation, a straw-covered roof, and paper window panes". It was burnt about 1707. In 1708, a large chapel was built inside the fort because of the frequent bombardments and invasions that had destroyed previous structures. After the British captured the fort in 1710, they used it for many years. After 1710, the mission church (St. Lawrence) in Belleisle became the headquarters of the parish until the British demolished it in 1736. After 1713, the Mohawk fort on lower St. George Street was used for Mass. There is evidence that a church as later built in Granville Ferry, probably east of the present causeway. 1755, with the Explusion of the Acadians, the Catholic churches were destroyed. For 80 years there were no Catholic church in the Annapolis Royal area. 1835: A chapel, dedicated to St. Louis, was built with the initiative of Irish soldiers at the garrison. It was at the site of the present cementery on Chapel Street. It was demolished in 1930. 1910: The present church as begun, and the first Mass was celebrated on Christmas Eve that year. It was named St. Thomas Church. The name was changed to St. Louis Church in 1954. Priests serving Annapolis Royal: 1605-1755 - Nicholas Aubry (1605; +1605); Jesse Fleche (1601), Briard nd Masse, S.J. (1611-13); Moulin (1664- 76); Petit (1676-90); Thury, Geoffroy and Trouve; A. Mandoux (1702); Felix Pain (1702-06); Justinien Durand (1704-20); Patrice Rene (1707-08); Gaustin (1709); Charlemagne Cuvier (1721-24); de Breslay, de St-Poncy and Vaugelin (1725); Desenclaves (1742); Daudin (1753-55). 1799-1878 - Jean-Mande Sigogne (1799-1844); John Loughlans, James Dunphy, James Kennedy and B. McNamme (1835-47); Thomas Tracy (1847); Thomas Walsh (1847-48); Thomas O'Donnell (1848); L.L. Madden (1848); W. McLeod (1849); John Carmody (1949-51); James Rogers (1852-53); Edward Butler (1853-58); James Daly (1858-59, 1865); David O'Connor (1859-60, 1867-72); W.J. Smith (1863); Thomas Butler (1865-66); James Bresnan (1867); P.M. Holden (1873-76). 1878-1926 - Thomas Grace (1878, 1881-91, 1909-26); P. Walsh (1878-80); Walter J. Doody (1891-94); John Walsh (1984-95); Donald Summers (1896-1900); Joseph Hayes (1900-05); James McKinnon (1905-08); J.P. Mackey (1919-21); William Penny (1921-22); Donald Summers (1925); Louis LeBlanc (1925). 1926-1997 - L.L. Graham (1926-30); Leo Murphy (1931-44); Arcade Theriault (1939-40); William Pepper (1940- 42); Raoul Deveau (1943-44); Arcade Theriault (1944); W.P. Stone (1945-46); Anthony A. Francis (1946); William Pepper (1946-48); Oblates of Mary Immaculate; E.M. Baxter (1948-53); Walter Murphy (1948-49, 1950-53); Tom Morrow (1949-50); P.E. Miller (1953-57); Alex R. Simpson (1953-56); John M. Davis (1956-59); F. Nolan (1957-59); J.A. Shaw (1959); Yarmouth Diocesan Priests: Hector Melanson (1959); Ambroise Comeau (1959-63); Mgr. Nil Theriault (1963-68); Lloyd d'Entremont (1963-70); Bernard Landry (1970-74); Ernest Sweeney (1974- 78); Thomas LeBlanc (1978-79); George Moussa (1979-80); Raoul Deveau (1980-82; +1982); David H. Stokes (1983-). Items of Interest in the Church: The Painting "Adoration of the Shepherds" - Although the artist of this oil on canvas is unknown, evidence suggests it dates from before A.D. 1600, and may be from the Bassano School near Venice. The artist would be Francesco da Ponte the Younger (1549-92), or a student of his. This painting hung over the altar of the previous St. Louis Church in Annapolis Royal (to 1935) and later hung in the rectory, until taken to the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia in 1981 for conservation work. It was unveiled March 3rd, 1989. The Membertou Memorial - The 300th anniversary of Chief Membertou's baptism is commemorated by a brass tablet and by the Stations of the Cross. The Tablet reads: "This tablet and the Stations of the Cross in this church are erected as a memorial of the Baptism at Port Royal (now Annapolis Royal) on St. John the Baptist's Day, June 24th, 1610, of Henri Membertou, Chief of the Micmac Indians, and his family -- the first fruits of the Catholic missions and the beginning of Christianity in Canada, A.D. 1915. Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam." The pictures for the Stations were painted in oil, expressly for this memorial, by Gabriel Pippet, an English artist. They are set in applewood. The artist wrote about the paintings: "I have... attempted to give the spirit of the (old) Flemish Masters to my work .. I have tried .. to get a certain amount of originality into the pictures." (The costumes are medieval rather than first century Palestine). The Stone Holy Water Font - This a relic of old Catholic England, a piece of Barnack stone, quarried about A.D. 1105 at Stemford, Lincolnshire, shaped with an axe (stone chisels not yet having been invented), and built into the archway of the door in the parish church of Whaplode. There it remained for centuries, later somehow became buried in the vicarage garden, was found again and sent to a gentlemen in Canada, who, on his coming to Annapolis Royal to live, presented it to his church, thus restoring it to holy use on Passion Sunday of A.D. 1915. The Stained Glass Windows - These date from the 1960's. Besides representations of Christ, Mary, St. Joseph and the Holy Family, they commemorate the four principal founding peoples of the parish: French, Micmac, Irish and Scots.