A Brief History of Our Parish

With the beginnings of a lumber industry in place in the region since the 1850s, Pope Leo XIII created the Diocese of Pembroke to serve the needs of his people on May 4, 1898. To act as the first bishop of the new diocese, he chose Rev. N. Z. Lorrain, a man known and respected by people of all faiths.

Our Beginnings as a Mission

Settlers of Barry’s Bay were primarily of Polish or Irish descent. These Catholic peoples travelled to Our Lady of the Angels Parish (St. Mary’s) in Brudenell, established in 1858, and later to St. Stanislaus Kostka in Wilno in 1875. The Polish gathered together to build a local church, The Church of The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin, in 1896, but the remainder of peoples in Barry’s Bay continued on as a mission of St. Mary’s in Brudenell. At that time, Fr. F. L. French was pastor, and it was under his direction that the project to build a chapel in Barry’s Bay was begun. The completed chapel situated on Opengo Line was blessed by Bishop Lorrain on September 27, 1898. He dedicated it to St. Lawrence O’Toole, martyr and archbishop of Dublin.

In 1901, St. Andrew’s in Killaloe was elevated to a parish, and it assumed the mission church of St. Lawrence O’Toole from St. Mary’s. Pastor there was Fr. I. A. French, who continued his brother’s vision for St. Lawrence by moving the chapel further back on its lot to make room for a new church to be built in its place. The original chapel became the sanctuary for the church. Its cornerstone was blessed by Bishop Lorrain on July 22, 1906, and he returned on January 20, 1907 to bless the new church itself.

St. Lawrence O'Toole Becomes a Parish

Finally, by 1934 St. Lawrence O’Toole boasted 35 families, earning the status of a parish in the Diocese of Pembroke and rewarded with its first resident priest, Fr. M. S. McNamara. Ten years later, after living at the back of the church in an upstairs room, a rectory and sacristy were attached to the church. The parish continued to grow, and over the next fifty years grew to include 162 families with 464 members in its fold.

In 1961, St. Lawrence’s third resident priest, Fr. J. K. O’Brien asked the parishioners to help build a new church building. The original structure was in need of extensive repairs, was too small to accommodate everyone and lacked a church hall. Generosity came quickly, and in 1963, the new church began to appear where the rectory once stood. For a time, the old and new church stood side by side on Opeongo Line.

Bishop William J. Smith blessed this new church on Pentecost Sunday, June 6th 1965. The new facilities include an attached rectory, large hall in the basement of the church that is complete with a stage and kitchen. This new church remembers the old, however, as the large cross and corpus that adorns the wall behind the main altar was a gift to the parishioners of St. Lawrence O’Toole from visiting Redemptorists priests shortly after the first chapel was built in 1907.

Over the years, we have been touched by extraordinary persons, such as Fr. Frank French who, for his service as chaplain during World War I, was made Lieutenant Colonel and awarded the Distinguished Service Order by His Majesty King George before returning to Canada. Nine priests and twelve religious sisters have grown from our families. On the 50th anniversary of our establishment as a parish, we remembered with thanks the people who came before us and marked their faith, and Bishop J. R. Windle joined us for a celebration Mass and social evening on Sunday July 8, 1984.

(For further information, see the book made to commemorate the 50th anniversary of our parish, A History of St. Lawrence O'Toole's Parish, Barry's Bay, 1934–1984, compiled by Robert C. Corrigan.)