From 1816 to 1839, the Methodist congregation in the Burgeo area was ministered by the Fortune Bay mission, headquartered at Grand Bank. In 1839, Burgeo came under the jurisdiction of the Western Shore mission, which consisted of 52 harbours and coves with headquarters at Hermitage. Rev. William Marshall was appointed visiting missionary to the area and, in 1841, reportedly "preached in open air to a congregation too large to meet in any one house." Burgeo was described as the largest Protestant settlement on the shore at that time. From 1843 to1880, Burgeo came under the jurisdiction of the Grand Bank mission.
In 1880, Burgeo became a separate mission in the Burin District of the Methodist Church of Canada, Newfoundland Conference. Charles Myers served as the first pastor, and his charge consisted of congregations in East and West Burgeo, Ramea, and nearby communities and coves. The first Methodist church was built in Burgeo in 1882 during the pastorate of Henry Abraham. A new church was dedicated in 1924 during the pastorate of Rev. H. R. Bursey.
In 1925, the mission became part of the United Church of Canada. Rev. W. A. March served as first pastor following Church Union, with congregations in Burgeo, Ramea, and Otters Point. In 1961, the pastoral charges of Burgeo and Petites-Grand Bruit united to form the Burgeo- Petites Pastoral Charge under the ministry of Rev. Joseph Burke. The boundaries of the charge were expanded to include congregations in Burgeo, Grand Bruit, La Poile, Ramea, and West Point. In 1967, the charge was subdivided into two ministries: Burgeo Pastoral Charge, which included Ramea and Grand Bruit; and Channel Pastoral Charge, which included Petites. Currently, the Burgeo Pastoral Charge is made up of congregations in Burgeo and Grand Bruit.
Mobile, a community on the Southern Shore, Avalon Peninsula, Newfoundland, was part of several parishes between 1784 and 1996. In 1898 Mobile became the centre of a separate parish, St. Aidan's. Prior to the establishment of St. Aidan's Parish, Mobile has been part of St. John's Parish (1784-1831); St. Patrick's Parish (1831-1893), and Sacred Heart Parish (1893-1898). Documentation indicates that St. Aidan's Parish was terminated ("canonically suppressed") circa 1907-1911 and that Mobile again became part of Sacred Heart Parish. In 1921 the community of Mobile was again transferred, this time to the newly-created parish of Our Lady, Star of the Sea.
Priests who served St. Aidan's Parish included Rev. Joseph McDermott (1898-1901) and Rev. Patrick O'Brien. For a listing of priests who served the community of Mobile under other parish jurisdictions, consult the records for St. John's Parish, St. Patrick's Parish, Sacred Heart Parish, and Our Lady, Star of the Sea Parish.
Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish was established in 1927 and included the communities of Mount Carmel, Colinet, Harricott, The Tickles, North Harbour, John's Pond, St. Catherine's, and Mitchell's Brook. Prior to 1927 these communities were part of St. Joseph's Parish.
The boundaries of the parish have remained relatively stable. However, documentation if the fonds indicated that the community of St. Catherine's was transferred to St. Joseph's Parish prior to 1931. It was later restored to Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish, although the the exact year is unknown. In 1935 the parish priest was asked by Archbishop Edward P. Roche to include Markland as part of Mount Carmel's parish. In recent years, Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish has established new missions at Deer Park and Salmonier and the chapel at Salmonier Correctional Institution.
The first parish priest of Our Lady of Mount Carmel was Rev. Joseph M. Conners who stayed until 1935. He was succeeded by Rev. Albert P. Slattery who served the parish for 27 years. Some of the parish priests that followed were Rev. E. Purcell (1962-1971), Rev. J. Barbour (1971-1974), Rev. V. Power (1974-1988) and Rev. Kenneth Walsh (1988-1993).
The church of Our Lady of Mount Carmel was built in 1886 by Father John St. John, who was the parish priest of St. Joseph's Parish. At that time, Mount Carmel was part of St. Joseph's Parish.
This church is currently the oldest church in St. Mary's Bay. There are two other churches in the parish. North Harbour's church, Sacred Heart, was built in 1954 and Our Lady of Grace church at Colinet which was built around 1958.
Existing parish committees include the Parish Council who shares the responsibility of running the parish; the Altar Society who looks after the community and parish celebrations; the Building Committee who takes care of the buildings in the parish; the Liturgy Committee; the R.C.I.A. for those interested in becoming full members of the church; the Baptismal Team; the Sports Committee with additional responsibilities for youth; and the Finance Committee.
The Trinity Church of England School Board was formed c.1883, for the purpose of administering the schools of the Parish of Trinity. Schools which came under the jurisdiction of the Board were at Trinity, Lockston, Goose Cove, Dunfield, Trouty, Spaniard’s Cove, Old Bonaventure, New Bonaventure, Kerley’s Harbour, British Harbour, Delby’s Cove and Little
Harbour, Ireland’s Eye and Traytown and Ivanhoe.
School Boards were established as a result of the Education Act of 1876 which stated that schools would be administered by local denominational boards under the supervision of superintendents. The 1876 Act consolidated previous legislation, under which the government’s education grant was divided equally between the Protestant and Roman Catholic church for the administration of schools. Denominational education was entrenched under Term 17 of the Terms of Union in 1949, which confirmed the right of Churches to own and operate their own schools.
The school boards came directly under the Parish, the rector serving as chair of the Board for the parish. The Boards were responsible for organizing elementary education within their district. They built and maintained the school buildings, hired the teachers, maintained the accounts, conducted regular meetings, and made regular reports to the superintendent.
From 1962 to 1969 Trinity and Trinity East - Port Rexton Boards were combined and came under one administration. In 1969 all the Protestant denominations in Newfoundland amalgamated, reducing the number of boards from 229 to 22. The school board for the whole region has since been headquartered in Clarenville.
Source: Minutes of the board; Newfoundland Education Act 1876; Trinity-Port Rexton Board of Education Minutes.
J. W. Hodge (Change Islands, Newfoundland ) was a branch of J. W. Hodge, a fish and fishery supply business headquartered in Fogo, with branches at Twillingate, Change Islands, and Joe Batt's Arm from 1887-1918. John Wheadon Hodge established himself at the head of a business that became one of the most prominent mercantile firms operating in northeastern Newfoundland. Hodge also owned a small fleet of fishing schooners.
From the 1870s to 1887, the business at Change Islands was owned by William Waterman & Co., a partnership which included Thomas Dorman Hodge, Richard Dorman Hodge, William Waterman, and William Edward Waterman. This partnership operated businesses at Fogo, Twillingate, and Change Islands. The Change Islands branch was managed by James Cox Waterman. In 1887, John Wheadon Hodge purchased the Change Islands operations from the partnership and operated it under his own name as J.W. Hodge. He retained J. C. Waterman as agent, who was later suceeded by Lewis G. Hyde.
In 1918, J. W. Hodge withdrew from business and Hyde assumed control of the Change Islands branch, operating it independently until 1922, when he sold it to the Newfoundland and Labrador Export Company. Members of the Hodge family owned shares in the business under Lewis G. Hyde. They were also major shareholders in the Newfoundland and Labrador Export Company.
Brooking & Co. was a St. John's-based mercantile firm, with branches in Trinity and Greenspond between 1850 and 1869. The firm was a successor to Robinson Brooking & Co., a major mercantile company in St. John's in the early 1800s.
Thomas Holdsworth Brooking (b. 1790) came to Newfoundland in 1806-7 as a mercantile clerk in the firm of Hart, Eppes, Gaden & Robinson of St. John's and London. In 1818, when the Newfoundland partner George Richard Robinson (nephew of George Garland) retired to the head office in London, Brooking became the resident partner in Newfoundland. Subsequently, the company traded as Hart, Robinson & Company. In 1838 Robinson & Brooking leased the Garland premises at Trinity.
Following the retirement and death of Robinson in 1850, Brooking continued the firm under the name of Brooking & Co., with William Lockyer as agent at Trinity. The firm relinquished its lease on the Garland premises in 1869, the year in which Brooking died, and the Garland premises were taken over by Grieve & Bremner. Expensive litigation between Brooking's two sons resulted in the rapid demise of the company.
On 5 June 1784, Newfoundland was made an independent ecclesiastical territory/mission with its establishment as a Prefecture Apostolic. The arrival of Rev. James Louis O'Donel, the newly appointed prefect of Newfoundland, in St. John's in that same year is generally recognized as the date of the founding of the parish currently known as Basilica-Cathedral of St. John the Baptist. However, the name of this original St. John's-based parish is uncertain. Records comprising the fonds only make reference to the "Old Chapel" (on Henry Street) that acted as the first parish church and later cathedral when the Diocese of Newfoundland was erected on 4 June 1847. It also is unclear whether this original entity actually was established as an official parish in 1784 or as some other less formal unit (references exist to the District of St. John's). Certainly, by 1847, with the erection of Newfoundland as a Diocese, a formal parish existed in St. John's.
The Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, constructed between 1841 and 1855 (consecrated on 9 September 1855), replaced the "Old Chapel," and in 1955 was raised to the rank of Minor Basilica, giving rise to the parish's current name, Basilica-Cathedral of St. John the Baptist Parish (more popularly known as the Cathedral Parish and, later, the Basilica Parish).
The original parish boundaries stretched from La Manche to Holyrood and over time have undergone several changes. The most recent occurred in 1998 when St. Joseph's, located in the East End of St. John's, was suppressed and its congregation absorbed by the Basilica Parish. Currently, the parish boundaries include Pleasantville, Quidi Vidi, and the downtown core.
The Basilica Parish was active in the establishment and administration of schools within its boundaries, including Our Lady of Mercy, Presentation, St. Patrick's Hall, St. Bonaventure's, Holy Heart of Mary, and Brother Rice schools. The Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary Congregation (the Presentation Sisters), the Sisters of Mercy, and the Irish Christian Brothers also were closely affiliated with parish and educational affairs, supervising many of these parochial schools and participating in the general operations of the parish.
The Basilica Parish has also maintained close relations with numerous societies and organizations active within its geographical boundaries. Such past and present bodies include the Purgatorial Society, the Confraternity of the Most Holy Rosary, the Catholic Cadet Corps (CCC), the St. Vincent de Paul Society, the Third Order of St. Francis, the Total Abstinence and Benefit Society, the Propagation of the Faith Society, the Blessed Virgin Mary Society, the Legion of Mary, the Catholic Women's League (CWL), and the Knights of Columbus (KOC). Thus, the operations of the parish are intimately intertwined with several allied lay societies and organizations (the above enumeration is not exhaustive).
Structurally, the parish is currently organized along lines similar to most Roman Catholic parishes, including a Parish Pastoral Council, a Finance Committee, and a Liturgy Committee. These bodies are comprised of clergy and members of the laity, established to administer pastoral concerns and affairs. Other bodies found in the parish include the Service Committee, the Restoration Committee, the Family Care Centre and the Hospitality Committee.
The oldest parish in Newfoundland, the Basilica Parish forms part of the Archdiocese of St. John's and is the seat of the Archbishop. Thus, the parish is somewhat unique in that parish and archdiocesan affairs often converge. While the Basilica Parish is administered by an appointed priest entrusted with the pastoral care of the community, the Archbishop, officially, is the chief pastor with his cathedra (or throne) located in the Basilica-Cathedral.
The following is a list of the prelates who have presided over the Basilica Parish: James L. O'Donel, prefect and later vicar Apostolic of Newfoundland (1784-1807); Patrick Lambert, vicar Apostolic of Newfoundland (1807-1816); Thomas Scallan, vicar Apostolic of Newfoundland (1816-1830); Michael A. Fleming, vicar Apostolic and later Bishop of Newfoundland (1830-1850); John T. Mullock, Bishop of Newfoundland and later St. John's (1850-1869); Thomas J. Power, Bishop of St. John's (1870-1893); Michael F. Howley, Bishop and later Archbishop of St. John's (1895-1914); Edward P. Roche, Archbishop of St. John's (1915-1950); Patrick J. Skinner, Archbishop of St. John's (1951-1979); Alphonsus L. Penney, Archbishop of St. John's (1979-1991); James H. MacDonald, Archbishop of St. John's (1991-2000); and Brendan O'Brien, Archbishop of St. John's (2000- ).