BEGINNINGS
THE 20TH CENTURY
CENTENNIAL
THE 21ST CENTURY
PRIESTS

THE 20TH CENTURY

The Sisters of Notre Dame were replaced by the Sisters of Providence in 1902. During this time, land was acquired for the present Mount Calvary Cemetery, to which remains were transferred from the older cemetery beside the church.

The early 1930s saw the beginning of a development which was to have a permanent impact on the parish of Trenton. This was the opening of the Royal Canadian Air Force station. Inaugurated during the Great Depression, it brought together about 1,000 men in a relief camp to construct the first buildings. The spiritual care of these men, as well as of the Air Force personnel, was the responsibility of the priests at St. Peter's up to 1941. That year Father O'Reilly was commissioned as the first chaplain to the Base. Trenton is still one of Canada's principal military air bases, and many of its personnel make a major contribution to the life of St. Peter's Parish.

Father O'Reilly resigned in 1946, and was followed by the Reverend D.A. Cullinane. A new organ and new pews were installed during his pastorate. He was invested as a monsignor on October 23, 1949. Three years later he resigned, retiring to St. Mary's of the Lake Hospital in Kingston. His successor, the Reverend J. Vincent Meagher, was appointed pastor on June 18, 1952 but died suddenly of a heart attack on September 2 of that year.

In October 1952 Reverend William H. Carty was appointed to Trenton. A new school, St. Mary's was opened in 1957. Father Carty commenced the construction of an addition to St. Peter's Convent in 1960, but did not see the work finished due to his untimely death by drowning on June 5, 1961.

The Reverend James G. Clancy became pastor in 1961. He completed the work on the convent, had many repairs made to the church, and built an addition to St. Mary's School in 1963. In remodelling the church after Vatican II, seats were placed in the nave near the altar to accommodate the choir and to enable the people to join more fully in the responses at Mass.

In 1963 the name of the Church St. Peter-in-Chains was abbreviated to St. Peter's in accordance with the revision for the qualification for canonization issued by the Congregation of Rites.

The Reverend Monsignor Walter J. Lynett came in 1967. He had the church renovated and the rectory remodelled. A further addition to St. Mary's School was opened in 1970.

In 1983 Father Justin J. Hanley came to St. Peter’s. In the late 1980s he oversaw the complete restoration of the church, at a cost of over 1 million dollars. The ordination of pastoral interns Richard Racine (1986) and Timothy Harrison (1990) to the priesthood were joyous events celebrated at St. Peter's.

Father Hanley died in February, 2002, and was succeeded in June, 2002 by Father M. Brian McNally.

Associate pastors have been part of the life of the paish for many years, ordinarily staying for a few years prior to continuing their priestly ministry elsewhere in the archdiocese.

Two native sons of the parish are priests. The late Reverend Dan W. MacDonald was ordained in 1947; Reverend Brian Price, presently pastor of St. Francis Xavier Parish, Brockville and Archdiocesan archivist, was ordained in 1969.

In response to increased demands for office space and meeting rooms, St. Peter's Parish Centre was built in 1992, the first of its kind in the Archdiocese. Since that time the parish rectory has served only as a residence.

CENTENNIAL

On Sunday, August 21st, 1932, the Church of St. Peter-in-Chains started a week of celebration. They were commemorating the one hundredth anniversary "of the first recorded offering of The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass" in Trenton.

Preparations for the celebration included installation of a new altar, purchase of votive stands, repairs to the pews and interior woodwork, and placement of a gold-leafed metal cross on the steeple of the church at a cost of $200.00. The pastor, Father Walsh, also opened Mount Calvary Cemetery, which was fenced, graded, and given an access road for $1,600.00.

Prices are not what they were, but modern technology does make it possible to read the centennial commemorative booklet.

Thank you to Marg Pinault for making the book available.

Note: This is a very large document which, depending on your internet connection, could take quite some time to open. Acrobat Reader 5.0 or later is required. This booklet is also available in hard copy in the parish library.

A History of St. Peter's Church
published in 1966

St. Peter's Parish 1832 - 1966

A Few Pictures

Sisters Mary Stanislaus, Mary Carmel Theresa, and Mary Andrea (1950s)

Rectory 1956

Graduation 1956

Choir 1957