Saviour of the World Chinese Catholic Church
Mississauga ON

To cater to the needs of the ever-growing Chinese Catholic population in the west of the GTA and to carry out evangelization in the area, the Catholic Diocese of Toronto appointed Rev. John Lung in March 1995 to set up a Chinese church in Mississauga, the fourth in the GTA. This was the start of Saviour of the World Chinese Catholic Church.

The first mass, which was attended by about 120 members of the local Chinese community, was celebrated on March 12, 1995 in the Portuguese S Salvador Do Mundo Church at Melton Drive. In April of that year, Rev. John Lung and four core members of the group, Paul Tang, Alfred Li, Sam Ng and Reuben Wong, named the group Saviour of the World Chinese Catholic Pastoral Centre. It was affiliated to the Portuguese parish and celebrated one mass in Cantonese every Sunday. The pastoral centre served Chinese Catholics in Mississauga, Brampton and neighbouring areas, and catechized those who sought baptism to prepare them for initiation into the Catholic church.

As the congregation increased in size, the group made a move in July 1995 to St. Gertrude Elementary School at 815 Ceremonial Drive, which was used as a mass centre. The school’s auditorium and classrooms were also used for catechism classes, Sunday school, talks, seminars and other parish activities. The number of Sunday masses had by then increased to two and the number of registered Catholic families increased to 400. To cope with the increasing demand for pastoral services, a parish pastoral council was set up to assist Father Lung. The parish grew rapidly. Today there are more than 700 registered families, which are joined by close to a hundred newly-baptized Catholics each year.

As the parish continued to grow, on the recommendation of Most Reverend Terence Prendergast, Bishop of the Western Pastoral Region of the Toronto Diocese, approval was given by the Toronto Diocese for the parish to become a Catholic mission. It was named Saviour of the World Chinese Catholic Mission and Rev. John Lung was appointed Pastor. The Toronto Diocese also approved the purchase of a house at 4624 The Gallops for use as parish office and rectory. Daily mass was offered in the basement chapel. In the same year, the parish added an anticipated Sunday mass on Saturday evening. In addition to Sunday masses, it also celebrated mass on feast days and the first Friday of each month as a special devotion to the Sacred Heart. Masses were also celebrated in Mandarin. Active plans to build a church began at this point.

In 1998 also on the recommendation of Bishop Prendergast, the Toronto Diocese agreed to provide a lot of land at 30 Bristol Road West, adjacent to St. Francis Xavier School, at the intersection of Bristol Road and Hurontario Street, for the construction of Saviour of the World Chinese Catholic Church. Approval was given for the launch of fund raising activities.

After years of fund raising and active planning, the ground was broken on October 6, 2002 and construction of the church began. The project took almost two years to complete. Church members give thanks to God for the realization of their dream.

 

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http://www.sotwccc.com  

Special Devotions

Holy Mass in devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus

Date: First Friday of the month
Time: 8:00 p.m.
Place: Church

Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament
(Prayers and hymns in Cantonese, Mandarin and English)

Date: First Friday of the month
Time: 9:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m. Benediction starts at 9:40 p.m.
Place: Church

Cenacle and Divine Mercy Devotion

Date: 2nd Sunday of the month
Time: 1:00 p.m.
Place: Chapel