London diocese's centennial week remembers past, looks to future

As the Diocese of London marks the 100th anniversary of its landmark Catholic Centennial Week, parishioners and faithful from afar are finding themselves able to look back at a pivotal chapter in local Church history.

A season of both remembrance and renewal, the southwestern Ontario diocese has brought a unique period of its life, Catholic Centennial Week, back to the public's attention this year. Originally taking place in 1926, the week was organized to join the City of London’s centennial celebrations, 100 years after the city’s founding in 1826.

The diocese chose to highlight major Catholic achievements and institutional openings that had been years in the making during the joint centennial week. Bishop Michael Francis Fallon was at the helm of the diocese at that time, overseeing each effort and describing 1926 as a true banner year for the Church in London.

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Events included the reopening of St. Peter’s Cathedral after being closed for 18 months for a full renovation, a solemn Requiem Mass for the Faithful Departed and an organ and vocal recital followed by the formal opening of Western University’s Brescia Hall and the opening of the new St. Peter’s Seminary and Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament at St. Peter’s Cathedral in the days directly after. 

Later, the laying and solemn blessing of the cornerstone of the new nurses’ home at St Joseph’s Hospital took place, before the official reopening of St. Mary’s Church ahead of the solemn closing of Catholic Centennial Week at the cathedral.

While it may be easy to see the week’s events as merely a cluster of minor gatherings and commemorations, Matthew Clarke, the director of communications for the Diocese of London, spoke to how significant the seven days would prove to be in the grand scheme of the diocese’s history. 

“ By piggybacking on the city’s centennial, they were able to undertake several big projects that have shaped us and stand out in our history,” he said. 

Looking back, Clarke and his colleagues did not just revive interest in Catholic Centennial Week but also made an unexpected discovery of new historical material from Bishop Fallon’s own accounts as well as a previously unknown photograph of the cathedral's plain, pre-renovation interior. 

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“We're calling this an action of the Holy Spirit. We found a letter or account written by Bishop Fallon of the first 40 years of the cathedral's life. We had no idea what the inside of the cathedral looked like prior to the 1926 renovations — we had pictures from the 1930s to the 1950s, but this year, we found a photo in the London Room collection at the London Public Library of the cathedral from 1915,” Clarke said. 

What has followed has been a special glimpse back through the Diocese of London’s past, more in-depth than the team had initially expected. Using the newly found photo as a reference, Clarke explained how the current structure was dedicated in 1885, but completed without the bell towers and the interior left largely unfinished.

After delays due to debt repayment, building a rectory and parish hall and the beginning of the First World War, London’s mother church remained largely unadorned for nearly 40 years until the mid-1920s, when a designer was chosen, the cathedral closed and a complete 16-month redecoration project began. 

Clarke attests that this moment, one that would have been in full swing in and around 1926’s centennial week, would set up what would become and still remain the home of prayer for many throughout the diocese. 

“ To see just how much work went into the church over the last 100-plus years, having gone through these major interior restorations in 1926, Vatican II and a bunch of work in the 1990s, has been special. It has continued to evolve as a building while staying open to the faithful,” he said. 

It’s a growth arc that continues even today through ongoing cathedral restoration. Scaffolding went up back in August as work to address unfinished 1990s repairs, wall cracks and other cosmetic fixes began. Clarke confirms an expected duration of up to four years before a full restoration of the 1926-era interior glory is completed. 

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In the meantime, the Diocese of London hopes to further promote its callback to Catholic Centennial Week as an inspiration. As modern construction continues while newly installed Bishop Daniel Miehm settles in, a tangible connection to the history of the diocese is present for all interested. 

For more historical photos and further information, visit dol.ca.