Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish (Roman Catholic), (Mount Carmel (NL)

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.

Created - April 17, 2013

• Engels