A century of St. Ann’s

St. Ann’s Catholic Church in Hamilton’s east end stands nobly at Sherman Avenue and Barton Street, the city’s longest street, as a beacon of faith and service to the community for the past 100 years.

Celebrating its centennial milestone, St. Ann’s second church building is an architectural masterpiece befitting a Marian Shrine. In its own humble way, it emulates Quebec’s renowned Shrine of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupre. Built in the French-Romanesque style, St. Ann’s Church stands as a testament of love and pillar of hope for its parishioners and the surrounding community.

St. Ann’s third pastor, Msgr. Charles McColgan, called St. Ann’s “the working man’s parish.”

It was the second Roman Catholic church in the Hamilton diocese granted permission for evening Mass to accommodate shift workers: industrial workers from Hamilton’s steel mills and nurses.

St. Ann’s cornerstone was laid on June 17, 1923, which underscored the vision and determination of its former pastor of 40 years, Msgr. Joseph Englert, and the herculean efforts of “strong men and horses (that) moved the original church one foot each day for 40 days,” according to a Catholic Register article. The removal of the old building had begun only a few months earlier on Jan. 2, 1923.

The hundred-foot long, cement block building was moved behind the rectory and enlarged due to the rapid growth of eastern Hamilton after recurrent waves of immigration. Many newcomers settled in the industrial northeast.

St. Ann’s Church is shaped like a cross, seats 1,000 people and “impresses by its imposing towers and handsome rose window over the arched entrance,” The Hamilton Spectator noted in a 1924 article.

“It is the holy altar (made of ‘purest white marble and scatiola’) that speaks most eloquently of the love and devotion” of those who planned and built the church, it said.

The Eucharist, the source and summit of parish life, has drawn parishioners from diverse communities. Over the past century, Irish, Italian, Polish, Croatian and Vietnamese communities called St. Ann’s home, with some of them becoming their own parishes. Today, St. Ann’s serves parishioners from Europe, South America, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe, India, China and Japan.

One common thread through it all has been the caring community that is St. Ann’s.

“It’s been a hallmark in our local area. We are trying to care for people, to serve the community in our neighbourhood,” said current pastor Fr. Jeffery Oehring, noting its St. Vincent de Paul outreach has been running since 1906.

“St. Ann’s has a rich past and bright future, “ Oehring recalled after the recent Corpus Christi procession attended by at least 250 people on Barton Street.

“Our Masses are regularly interrupted by crying babies... offering their worship to God,” he said. “We are looking to continue to grow.”

St. Ann’s longtime organist, Dr. Gordon Okawara, has seen plenty over his years at St. Ann’s. He recalls a parish visit from then Hamilton Bishop Paul Reding, who was baptized and grew up at St. Ann’s. Reding recognized McColgan’s 49 years of service (48 years at St. Ann’s) on St. Ann’s Feast Day, elevating him to Domestic Prelate.

Okawara, 69, was asked to play the organ by McColgan in 1975. Okawara has fond memories of his pastor. When he was accepted to medical school, McColgan provided a reference letter.

Okawara is a longtime oncologist at Hamilton’s Juravinski Cancer Centre, where he ended up treating a dying McColgan.

“Monsignor developed lung cancer. He came to the Cancer Centre and wanted me to be his doctor,” he recalls.

“You are my priest and inspiration,” Okawara said to him. “Without hesitation, I said, ‘Yes.’ ”

His last visit with McColgan was at St. Joseph’s Villa, a few hours before the beloved priest died.

It was bittersweet when Okawara played at McColgan’s funeral Mass at St. Ann’s.

“It’s been my honour to play the organ at St. Ann, trying to enhance the music at the Masses, to be part of the parish, and giving the humble part that I have in joining with the dignity of the Mass,” he said.

A highlight of the parish’s upcoming centenary celebrations is the annual nine-day Novena to St. Ann in July, a tradition which began when the parish was formed in 1906. Oehring, one of only eight pastors to have served at St. Ann’s in over a century, said he will bless people with a relic of St. Ann, a piece of bone from a relic that resides at Saint-Anne-de-Beaupre.