St. Clement Parish (Ottawa) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids St. Clement Parish |
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Ste-Anne Church, home of St. Clement Parish
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| Location | Ottawa, Ontario |
| Country | Canada |
| Denomination | Roman Catholic |
| Website | http://www.stclement-ottawa.org/ |
| History | |
| Former name(s) | St. Clement Latin Community |
| Founded | 1968 |
| Dedication | St. Clement I |
| Administration | |
| Diocese | Archdiocese of Ottawa |
| Province | Ecclesiastical province of Ottawa |
St. Clement Parish (also called Paroisse St-Clément in French) is a special Catholic church community in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It is looked after by a group of priests called the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter.
This parish is unique because it was the first group in the world allowed to celebrate Mass and other important church ceremonies only in Latin. They follow older church traditions from before the 1960s. Since June 3, 2012, St. Clement Parish has been located at Ste-Anne Church in the Lowertown area of Ottawa.
How St. Clement Parish Started
In 1968, the Archbishop of Ottawa, Joseph-Aurèle Plourde, gave permission to a small group of Catholics. These people wanted to continue using the traditional Latin Mass, also known as the Tridentine Mass.
They found an older priest who agreed to help them. They were allowed to use the chapel at the Monastery of the Sisters Adorers of the Precious Blood in Ottawa for their Masses. At first, Canon René Martin served them, then Fr. Guy Martin.
In the early 1970s, the community was asked to use a newer form of the Mass, called the Mass of Paul VI. They did this, but they still used the Latin language. In 1981, Fr. Charles-Henri Bélanger became their chaplain. He was a former priest for the Canadian Armed Forces.
The community met at the Precious Blood Sisters' Monastery until 1984. That year, the Sisters renovated their chapel. So, the community bought their own small building in Gloucester, a suburb of Ottawa. They turned this building into a chapel. They named it after Saint Clement. They even used altars saved from the renovated Monastery chapel.
The community used this chapel until the summer of 1993. Then, Archbishop Marcel Gervais, who took over from Archbishop Plourde, offered them a larger church building. This church was built in 1957 and was located in the Sandy Hill neighborhood. It used to be a French-speaking Catholic church called St. Pie X.
In 1983, the building was sold to the Maronite church in Ottawa and renamed St. Charbel's. The Maronite community was growing quickly at that time. In 1993, the Maronites moved to an even bigger church. With this new building, the Archbishop made the St. Clement Latin Community a "quasi-parish." This means it was almost a full parish.
Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter Joins
For a while, three older priests helped the community. They knew how to celebrate the traditional Latin Mass. But these priests were getting older and their health was failing. The community worried they would have a church but no priest.
Around this time, the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter (FSSP) was about to have its first Canadian priest. The FSSP is a group of priests who are loyal to the Holy See (the Pope and the main leaders of the Catholic Church). They focus on keeping the older forms of the Roman Rite of Mass and other church ceremonies from before Vatican II. They also promote Catholic teachings.
Archbishop Gervais talked with the FSSP about the problem. They agreed that the FSSP would send a priest to help the St. Clement community. This made St. Clement the first "personal parish" given to the FSSP in their history. The first FSSP priest, Fr. Charles Ryan, started serving St. Clement on New Year's Day, 1995. The FSSP has been serving the parish ever since.
In 1997, Archbishop Gervais officially made St. Clement a full, official parish. It serves people who want to worship using the older Roman liturgy.
In June 2011, Archbishop Terrence Prendergast suggested that St. Clement parish move to Ste-Anne Church. This is a historic building in Lowertown that had closed because not many people were attending. The parish agreed to move. They started holding Masses at Ste-Anne's on June 3, 2012.
Marie Reine du Canada Pilgrimage
Members of St. Clement Parish help organize a yearly event called the Marie Reine du Canada Pilgrimage. A pilgrimage is a special journey, often for religious reasons.
This pilgrimage is a 100-kilometer (about 62-mile) walk. It goes from Saint-Joseph-de-Lanoraie to the Marian shrine of Notre-Dame du Cap in Cap de la Madeleine, Quebec.
A group of church members started this pilgrimage. The first partial walk happened in 2003. It is based on a famous pilgrimage in France from Notre-Dame de Paris to Chartres Cathedral.
The Marie Reine du Canada Pilgrimage takes place over the Labour Day weekend. Each year, over 70 people join the walk. In recent years, about 100 people have participated.
