Markham church envisioned as community hub

Never has Blessed Frédéric Ozanam Parish had a place to call its own in Markham, Ont., since it grew out of its sister parish, St. Patrick’s, in 2017.  

Remarkably, amid a transient existence of worship in various schools and other houses of worship throughout the city, the population and dynamism of this congregation has been on an ascendant trajectory in the years since COVID-19 restrictions subsided.

Fr. Ricardo Davis, the pastor since 2020, credits the welcome spirit of Blessed Frédéric Ozanam congregants as a principal reason why weekday liturgies at St. Brother André Catholic High School currently attract approximately 1,300 to 1,400 attendees, up from 900 to 1,100 before the pandemic. There is thus robust participation at weekday Masses hosted at the Rhenish Church of Canada, and local Lutheran church.

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“The heart of everything is to really have a thriving, welcoming, faith-filled community that draws lapsed Catholics and other members of the community,” said Davis. He emphasizes to his community that “we need to grow and build a community first and foremost, and fundraising will kind of happen naturally from that.”

This Catholic assembly is now ready to take the next step towards constructing a permanent house of worship. Parishioners also seek to exemplify their namesake, who founded the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, by putting faith into action for all of Markham.

The vision to achieve both goals is to erect a $10.6-million parish community centre on a 3.96-acre property where White Hills Avenue and Bur Oak Avenue meet. This represents phase one of a multi-phase campaign that will culminate in constructing a fully-fledged Blessed Frédéric Ozanam Church.

The community centre will feature a dedicated worship space for Mass, the sacraments and community prayer. Classrooms and meeting rooms will be developed for parish ministries, catechesis and sacramental preparation. And there will be an event area constructed for fellowship-building events.

When not being employed for faith purposes, Davis and his Catholic flock envision the wider Markham community using this centre to host retreats, camps, sporting events, artistic endeavours and service initiatives.

Davis said this community centre concept has “been on his heart for a long time” and it stems from his conviction that the Church has to go “beyond being in maintenance mode.”

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“We have to grow the Church, and the way to do that is engage the broader community,” said Davis. “Having things that serve the community and not just Catholics is the way to really draw people in.”

Visiting the nearby St. Maurice and St. Verena Coptic Orthodox Church along Highway 7 East helped edify Davis’ vision. Its setup includes a daycare centre, Olympic-sized gym, banquet hall, parish hall and space for youth activities.

In speaking with the senior priest, Fr. Pishoy Salama, Davis found his vision “was exactly in tune with mine.” He said they both desire growth and evangelization instead of “just maintaining the status quo.”

The capital campaign’s “silent phase” has raised over $2 million and secured another $700,000 in pledges from a select group of parishioners. Engagement with the entire parish community will launch before the end of 2026.

Blessed Frédéric Ozanam Parish is also preparing for a major Oct. 24 dinner and dance fundraiser with prizes and special guests at the Crystal Fountain Event Venue. The first rendition of this event in 2023 raised a solid $200,000. Expectations for the second iteration are even greater given the growth in parish membership.

If all proceeds well, Davis suggested the community centre could be built by 2028 or 2029. He accentuated that this is still a grassroots process, and work remains to finalize the vision.

Regular parishioners have expressed enthusiasm to Davis about the doors that will open up in the not-too-distant future.

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“I think they're just very excited to have a place that we can call our own, a place that is our home,” said Davis. “They're excited too, because when you're helping the poor, people in need, and you're serving the community, you can do it so much better when you have your own base of operations, right? When you have a solid base of operations, when you're not kind of at the mercy of living a nomadic existence, moving from place to place.”

Learn more at blessedozanam.ca/new-building-campaign.

(Amundson is an associate editor and writer for The Catholic Register.)

A version of this article appeared in the September 13, 2026 issue of The Catholic Register with the headline "Markham church envisioned as community hub"