Immaculate Conception Church (Palmer Road)
The Immaculate Conception Church, known colloquially as Palmer Road Church is a 19th-century Roman Catholic church located in Palmer Road, Prince Edward Island, Canada. The church is a white wooden Gothic architecture, and it was constructed in 1892.[2]
| Immaculate Conception Church | |
|---|---|
 Immaculate Conception Church in 2015 | |
| Location | Palmer Road, Prince Edward Island |
| Country | Canada |
| Denomination | Roman Catholic |
| Weekly attendance | under 1,000 |
| History | |
| Former name(s) | St. Thomas Mission |
| Founded | 1892 |
| Architecture | |
| Architect(s) | Francois-Xavier Edouard Meloche[1] |
| Clergy | |
| Bishop(s) | Richard Grecco |
| Priest(s) | Albin Arsenault |
As of 2014, the church offers Saturday, Sunday and weekday services, and serves Palmer Road, St. Louis, Miminegash, Pleasant View, Skinner's Pond, southern Harper Road and other communities. The church is located at the intersection of Routes 155 and 156, across from the Palmer Road Community Center.
History
The original church at the site was built in 1867, and was originally known as the St. Thomas Mission, a mission of the St. Simon & St. Jude Church in nearby Tignish. In 1878, the church separated from St. Simon & St. Jude and became its own parish.
In 1890, the original church burned down, and was replaced by the now-existing church in 1892. Designed by Francois Xavier Edouard Meloche (1855–1917)[3] to replace the original, much smaller mission which was destroyed by fire on May 24, 1890, the cornerstone was laid August 15, 1892 on The Feast of the Acadians.[4]
The church is a wooden Gothic structure, and is the oldest wooden church on Prince Edward Island.[2] The church is an architectural gem of considerable importance, not only to the island, but to Canada as a whole. This is so not only because of its fine design and craftsmanship, both inside and out, but also because of its association with Francois Xavier Meloche, an artist/architect who has yet to take his proper place in the annals of Canadian art.[4]
In 2007, it was proposed by overseeing Bishop Vernon Fougere that the Immaculate Conception parish be dissolved and merged with nearby St. Simon & St. Jude parish due to declining church attendance.[5] This proposal was largely rejected by Immaculate Conception pastor Fr. Arthur Pendergast and parishioners alike.[6]
See also
References
- "HistoricPlaces.ca".
- "Palmer Road CAP site". Archived from the original on 2007-10-08. Retrieved 2008-05-29. — site now defunct, reference taken from cached version.
- "Biography – MELOCHE, FRANÇOIS-ÉDOUARD – Volume XIV (1911-1920) – Dictionary of Canadian Biography".
- Immaculate Conception Church - Palmer Road 1892-1922-"A Masterpeice of its Kind"
- "Bishop proposes church amalgamations". CBC News. 5 November 2007.
- "Churches need to be more open". The Guardian.