Holy Family Church

52 Falkland St.  Moncton, NB E1E 4S8

Holy Family Church History

1963 to 2024

Although there were scattered houses in Moncton’s west end, along the road to Salisbury, at the turn of the century, the only Catholic churches were Saint Bernard’s in the city or the Irish mission of Our Lady of Ransom (later renamed Our Lady of Mercy) on the road to Fredericton.

Holy Family Parish came about as the result of the growth in the new west end in the 1950’s due to the building of a community of married quarters for the Canadian Forces Base #5 Supply Depot called Acadia Park. This sparked the construction of other subdivisions being built and Catholics in the area began to investigate the possibility of a church being built locally.

A dedicated group approached Father McDevitt, the Pastor of Saint Bernard’s, who supported their cause, and in 1959 Father McDevitt purchased 11 building lots around Falkland Steet. The group, with the assistance of Father McDevitt and Archbishop Norbert Robichaud, approved the establishment of Holy Family Parish and appointment of Father Angus MacDonald (1963-1968) as its first pastor in 1963.

While the church was being built, Father Angus arranged sharing the chapel at Saint Bernadette’s School with the French-speaking families in the area to celebrate Mass. The church was completed with an inaugural Mass was celebrated on Christmas Eve 1964. The church was dedicated and blessed by the Archbishop on January 10, 1965.

The original church was designed to serve as a church and a hall allowing social and parish activities.

Many changes were made by Father Tony McDevitt (1973-1986) including enclosing the exterior steps at the front entrances, replacing the chairs with oak pews with kneelers, and installing beautiful stained-glass windows created by Rick Shella donated by parishioners.

The next major changes came when Father Herbert Grattan (1986-1997) had a large hall with a meeting room, full kitchen, storage closets, washrooms, an office and family room on either side of the sanctuary completed in 1988. Unique to Holy Family is a stained-glass window called “The Loves and the Fishes” entrusted in the care of Holy Family Parish in perpetuity in 1997 by the 8^th Canadian Hussars Regiment. The window came from a small chapel near Soest Germany.

The last changes in 2003, 39 years after the church opened in 1964, were made after input from everyone using the church, Father Peter McKee, Bishop Valéry Vienneau, Bishop Daniel Bohan, and parishioners. The changes included expansions to the north, west, and a reconfiguring of the body of the church. To the north, six meeting rooms, a washroom, service rooms and a storage basement were added. The main church included a large sanctuary, a large gathering area, crying room, confessional, Mary’s Chapel, and an environment room. The main entrance was to the west and barrier free. The altar was to the east with an unobstructed view to all. The sound system and lighting were upgraded. A new sloped metal roof was added. All of the new construction was to the energy standards including insulation, LED lighting installed in the main body of the church, the choir area, and exterior lighting and heat pumps.

Early in 2022 the Archbishop of the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church contacted Archbishop Valéry Vienneau in the Archdiocese of Moncton in the hope of obtaining use of a church in the Moncton area that would satisfy the needs of the faithful in the Maritime Provinces. Archbishop Valéry contacted Father Phil Mulligan the priest moderator of Saint Elizabeth of the Trinity. Father Phil presented it to the Local Pastoral Council at Holy Family. It was accepted with conditions.

The Ukrainians name and use the church under the title “The Holy Trinity Parish” while it retains the name “Holy Family Church.” The first Ukrainian priest, Father Koval, celebrated the first Mass on October 3, 2022. Father Koval presided weekly masses until the fall of 2024 before leaving for language training. The church continues to be used by the Ukrainian community for prayer sessions and Mass when visiting priests are available.