Location
St. Bernard's
56 Front Street
Finch, Ontario
Weekend Mass Schedule
Sunday 10:30 a.m.
Weekday
Mass Schedule
1st and 2nd Wednesday: 7:30 p.m.
3rd and 4th Wednesday: 9:00 a.m.
Pastoral Team
Rev. Matthew Brunet
Pastor
Rev. Peter McBride
Deacon
Margo Schwerdtfeger
Secretary
St. Bernard, the founding abbot of Clairvaux Abbey in Burgundy, was one of the most commanding Church leaders in the first half of
the twelfth century as well as one of the greatest spiritual masters of all times. >> more
Contact Information
c/o Our Lady of Grace
PO Box 218
Ingleside, ON
K0C 1M0
T. 613-537-2244
F. 613-537-2761
History of St. Bernard’s Parish
Before 1870, the parishioners of South Finch, (as it was then called), had to travel to
St. Andrew's for Mass and the Sacraments. In 1870, the first church was built in Crysler, and South Finch became part of that parish.
In 1885, a total of 221 persons were confirmed in Crysler. Because of the distance the Bishop had to travel from Kingston, confirmation
took place every four years. Records show that those first classes had to "promise solemnly that they would attend the catechetical
instructions of the priest in the Church every Sunday throughout the ensuing twelve months" (after the 10:30 a.m. Mass). The Bishop
also "obtained from all and each of them a pledge to abstain from the use of intoxicating drinks of any kind until completion of each
one's 21st year."
During his Episcopal Visitation, July 25, 1889, the Most Reverend Dr. Cleary, Bishop of Kingston, exhorted
the people of Crysler to erect a new church, "providing a fitting home for Our Lord Jesus." On the same day, the Irish section , residents
in South Finch, requested to have a Church for themselves in that district. The following day, July 26, 1889, "the Bishop warmly approved
of this project and promised to meet them tomorrow morning at 10 o'clock to choose a site. The amount of subscriptions paid by these
people within the last three years for the building of a new church in Crysler...and half of the proceeds of the recent Pic-Nic ($603),
shall be handed over to the Catholics of South Finch to help them in the erection of their new Church."
The following day, Saturday,
July 27, 1889, the Bishop, accompanied by his Secretary Rev. Thomas Kelly, and Rev. William Fox, Pastor of Crysler, proceeded to South
Finch to meet the Irish Catholics and arrange for construction of the new church there, and so Bernard's began.
Click here to
read the complete history and for a printer friendly version of the parish history.
Office Hours
Tues and Thurs
1:00 - 4:00
Wed
9:00 - 12:00
1:00 - 4:00
Click here to read Pope Benedict XVI's address concerning St. Bernard of Clairvaux during the general audience in St.
Peter's Square.
Diocèse catholique d'Alexandria-Cornwall Catholic Diocese
220, ch. Montreal Rd, C.P./Box 1388, Cornwall ON K6H 5V4 * 613-933-1138