Beacon of faith

Our Lady of Perpetual Help parish celebrated 50 years as the hub of faith in Labrador City.

Parishioners filled the basilica for a mass on June 6 in honour of the anniversary and the night before a dinner was held at O'Brien Hall where everybody shared their fond memories including Bishop of Corner Brook-Labrador, Douglas Crosby.

"You (the people) make the parish and I must say you make it a darn good parish," he exclaimed at the dinner.

Parish history

According to a parish history publication, the Carol Lake Catholic community first assembled in a mine garage for a Christmas Mass in 1959 and Fr. Theodore Roussel, the first pastor of Our Lady of Perpetual Help parish, spearheaded the erection of a church that officially opened in its doors in 1963.

It remains the only public building in Labrador West constructed of natural stone found in the area and the largest Roman Catholic Church in Northern Canada.

In 1978, Our Lady of Perpetual Help became a co-Cathedral with a church in Schefferville for the Diocese of Labrador-Schefferville.

With the mining operation's closure in Schefferville, the church was elevated to the status of Cathedral in 1987 of the re-named Diocese of Labrador City-Schefferville.

The church lost its status as a Cathedral with the creation of the new Diocese of Corner Brook-Labrador in 2007, but later that year it became a basilica - the 21st church in Canada to be given such a distinction.

Center of our life

Norm Pekham, long-time parishioner, remembers Father Roussel holding mass at a building - where the Two Seasons Inn is now located - and serving up entertainment to earn money that helped to build the church.

"I guess it was the centre of our life," said Peckham. "[Wife and I] had another child when we came here, we had 10 children, and they all went to that church. At that time there was Catholic education going on and it was very important to us."

He added that he'd like to see more people attending the church these days and more community involvement.

Dedicating the church

"I was here when they actually dedicated the church," recalled another parishioner, Joe Sheppard, who came to the 50th anniversary from Calgary. "The bishop was here and a number of priests. I remember going around the church and having the blessing, and a big party afterwards with a big cake."

"It was fabulous," he added. "You had to have seen the old building; it was one of those temporary buildings you'd see at a campsite, and it was pretty rough. To have, finally, a church of that size and beauty up here, it was just incredible."

A little bit of faith

"Father Roussel had a little shack where we used to go to mass; where the church was built there were trees," exclaimed 91-year-old parishioner, Agnes Greene. "I've always been involved with the church. I guess I just had some faith. I hope that they stay here as long as there's people here."

"The church was already built when I came," said parishioner Joan Stamp who came to Labrador West 48 years ago. "There was quite a few Catholics at that time. Before I came here from St. John's with my six children, the church was always a part of my life too. There's quite a few changes, the population has increased. I hope that the church can continue its ways, its been wonderful."

Vibrant community

Bishop Crosby remembered when he came to the parish in 1975 and found a remote community that, he said, thrived because everyone pulled together.

"The community was very young then, very vibrant, and it was a very exciting place to be," he expressed. "There was a good team of oblate priests here and there was a lot of enthusiasm. The times were good in the community. The mine was going full tilt. There was a good positive energy at that time."

New flavour

According to the parish's current pastor, Fr. Jarek Pachocki, over the years, every pastor brought something unique to the parish - a different vision or a different touch.

However, he believes that the mission overall was very similar - to serve the people, be with the people, and bring the good news to the community.

"I would always refer to the church as that people, as the community of faith," said Fr. Jarek. "What I try to achieve here is empowering people to encourage every single parishioner that we have to embrace their baptismal commitment and put that into real action, as well as to give people leadership and ownership of the community."

Different faces

"When I came here I was seeing a lot of long time parishioners retire and move away from the area, and at the same time a lot of new families were coming in," said Fr. Anthony O'Dell, the church's pastor from 2001-2007. "I found it a very exciting time in the parish and that's only accelerated as we move into where we find ourselves today."

Fr. Hanh Van Tran, assistant pastor from 2007-2010, who comes from the Philippines, reflects the changing face of the church's leadership and parishioners.

"The people here have a very strong sense of faith and community life," he said.

"I hope the people continue to keep the tradition of the faith and grow especially with the younger people to continue to let their light shine."

Looking forward

Fr. Neil Haight, the church's hospital and shut-in chaplain, expressed that he's doing the ministry he always wanted and he's looking forward to another 50 years knowing that it's up to future generations to retain their faith and build on it.

See Page 13 for photos of the 50th Anniversary celebration