Blessed Elizabeth of the Trinity Parish

Although there were scattered houses in Moncton’s West End at the turn of thecentury, the only churches to which Catholics had access were either St.Bernard’s in the east end of the city or the Irish Mission of Our Lady of Ransomlocated on the Fredericton Road. The area continued to grow. A new housing development for the CanadianForces Base No. 5 Depot was built in the west end of the city and named AcadiaPark. This development sparked more growth. The Catholic population in thearea grew steadily.Around 1950, Catholics in the area began studying the feasibility of establishinga new parish with their own church and pastor. With the cooperation of Fr.Anthony McDevitt, Pastor at St. Bernard’s at the time, a working group wasestablished to pursue the objective of a new parish. Membership in this workinggroup was made up of west end Catholics from St. Bernard’s Parish and militaryCatholics from Acadia Park. This group moved forward with fund-raisingprojects and eventually sought consultation with Archbishop Norbert Robichaudwho agreed with the formation of a new parish. Fr. Angus MacDonald was appointed as the first pastor of Holy Family Parish.Construction soon began on an 11 building lot site purchased by Fr. McDevitt in 1959. Construction was completed in 1964. The church was blessed and dedicated on January 10, 1965. The church was originally built so that it could be converted into a hall with stacking chairs and folding doors to close off the altar, kitchen and storage areas. Stain glass windows were added in 1984 and permanent pews were installed in 1986. Shortly after Fr. Herbert Gratton’s arrival as Pastor, a decision was made to build a hall that would be attached to the church. This hall was completed in 1988. It has served well the needs of the parish and many organizations within the parish. With the steady growth of the parish, it was decided that an expansion was necessary. Consequently, a second major renovation project was undertaken in the spring of 2003. By Christmas of that year, parishioners were now enjoying a completely new interior – one that offered a more intimate and accessible place to gather as a faith community. Additional classroom and meeting space was added to compliment the hall. Parishioners have been generous. The cost of renovations is on schedule to be paid off within a few years. Presently, we are a small but active parish. Many parishioners have come forth to serve in the many, many ministries that are necessary for a vibrant church.