St. Michael's Basilica (Miramichi, New Brunswick)

St. Michael's Basilica, Miramichi
Basilica of St. Michael the Archangel
St. Michael's Basilica, Miramichi
Location	Miramichi, New Brunswick
Country	Canada
Denomination	Roman Catholic
History
Status	Cathedral
Dedicated	1921.
Architecture
Functional status	Active
Architect(s)	P. Keely
Architectural type	neo-Gothic
Specifications
Capacity	1,200 people
Materials	sandstone and marble

The Basilica of St. Michael the Archangel, is located on a hill overlooking the Miramichi River in the Province of New Brunswick, Canada. It is the dominant feature of the former Town of Chatham, New Brunswick and one of the largest churches in Eastern Canada. It is now included within the new City of Miramichi.

Design

St. Michael's Basilica in Miramichi, New Brunswick, is among the largest churches in Canada, east of Quebec City. The sandstone neo-Gothic structure was designed by the same architect (P. Keely) as Holy Name Cathedral in Chicago, Ste. Peter and Paul Cathedral in Providence, Rhode Island and the Church of the Gesu in Montreal. St. Michael's Basilica is 15 feet taller than Holy Name in Chicago, somewhat narrower and about the same length, Holy Name seats about 300 more people ( 1,520 vs 1,200). Construction on the cathedral started in 1903 and finished in 1921. Italian marble with veined panels was used throughout the interior of the nave and the sacristy.It is visible for miles especially as Chatham is approached from the north, across the Centennial Bridge spanning the Miramichi River.

Congregation

St.Michael's Basilica is a testament to the faith of the Irish Catholics many of whom immigrated to New Brunswick in the Great Famine and were assisted to settle into their new homes by the Acadian Roman Catholics of Chatham. As late as the 1980s the parish was getting large numbers of people attending daily mass during Lent. The Church was one of the ways that the new Catholic immigrants of all ethnic origins maintained their unique identity.

When the Irish Catholics came to Canada, unlike their counterparts in the United States, they were barred from public office and the professions. They were required in the early days to tithe to the Church of England. These barriers were lifted during the 19th century, but the sense remained of Irish Catholics as a minority who needed to band together to protect their interests and St. Michael's helped bring them all together. The parish served by St. Michael's had a long history of providing priests for the area and sending others to the foreign missions or to Western Canada. By 1975, however, vocations to the priesthood from Chatham and area had essentially dried up.

Features

With an austere beauty and pleasing lines, the Basilica was built as the cathedral of a once extensive Diocese of Chatham covering the northern part of the Province. The Diocese was relocated to the French speaking town of Bathurst in 1938.

Notable features of the Cathedral are a Lady Chapel to the west, a tall single spire (once illuminated by the Canadian Air Force because of the proximity of a fighter base) a green copper roof and a matching Bishop's Palace to the southeast. Its great bells, whether tolling a funeral, sounding the Angelus or joyously ringing in Easter or Christmas have long been a feature of life in the town. A fine stand of linden trees, planted by Bishop James Rogers, stands to the east of the basilica, in front of the palace.

Designation

The church is somewhat unique in that it started as the cathedral of the Diocese of Chatham. When that diocese became the Diocese of Bathurst in 1936, the church became a pro-cathedral, as the bishop now resided in Bathurst, a predominately French speaking community some 45 miles north. Many years later, because of its beauty and position in the life of the people of the area, it was designated a basilica. The current cathedral of the diocese is Sacred Heart Cathedral in Bathurst.

Pastors

List of parish priests since the construction of the Basilica:

• Monsignor Michael O'Keefe................1904-1934 died in office; very much the old school Irish priest
• Reverend Burns........... ..................1934-1946 died in office; a quiet man
• Reverend William J. Wallace............. 1946-1961; Chatham native who lived from 1899 to 1985. Lou Gehrig's Disease for last 26 years of his life
• Reverend Lynn McFadden..................1961-1975 deceased; formerly rector of St. Thomas University when in Chatham. Originally from Bouctouche, New Brunswick
• Reverend Bernard M.Broderick...........1975-1982 died 2006, active until close to the end; worked in the cooperative movement when younger. Originally from Kedgwick River, New Brunswick.
• Reverend Peter Bagley......................1982-1988 active ministry elsewhere
• Reverend Leon Creamer.....................1988-1993 active, semi retired; Miramichi native
• Reverend Leo Sullivan........................active ministry elsewhere; Chatham born
• Reverend Joseph Daley..................... 1993-1996 active ministry in Northwest Territories; originally from Barnaby River
• Reverend Paul Riley.......................1996-1999, originally of Saint Stephen, New Brunswick
• Reverend John Fraser...................... 1999- present

See also

• Saint Michael: Roman Catholic traditions and views

External links

• In The Wake of Dark Passage History of the Irish in New Brunswick