St. Alexander RC Church
Fonthill ON

St. Alexander's Mission Statement

Behold, I Make All Things New

We gladly welcome you to our parish, trusting that ....

if you are seeking Christ you will find Him here,

if sorrowing you will receive comfort,

if troubled in spirit you will receive the blessing of peace,

if discouraged you will rejoice in hope,

if friendless find companionship and Christian love.

That these and other blessings may be your portion is our prayer.

 

http://www.stalexander.on.ca  

 

Parish Ministries

Ministers of Holy Communion
Ministers of the Word
Altar Servers
Ministers of Hospitality
Music Ministry
Ministers to the Sick
Youth Ministry
Childrens Liturgy
Pastoral Council
Responsible Faith Ministry

Parish Groups

St. Vincent de Paul Society
Knights of Columbus
Catholic Womens League
Rite of Christian Initiation (RCIA)
Social Committee
Finances Council
Marriage Prep
Alpha Canada  

The Village of Fonthill, situated on the highest elevation in the Peninsula, boasted a population of one hundred and fifty in the year- of 1849 and was reputed to be one of the best small villages in the "Canadian West". In 1930, the population had swelled to seven hundred, "mostly retired folks who selected Fonthill as the place in which to spend their declining years". It is amazing, then to consider the vast changes that have taken place in "The Village". 'The pace of village life, the panoramic view enjoyed by the majority of the residents combine to make Fonthill the ultimate in suburban living.

In the beginning, the few Catholic families of the area were so scattered, they attended Sunday Mass at St. Mary's, Welland, Holy Rosary, Thorold, or St.Mary's, St. Catharines. In later years, with the building of St. Kevin's Church, Welland, the majority of the Catholic residents of the Fonthill area heard Mass there, and Catechism classes were then conducted on Saturday morning for the children of the rural areas in preparation for their First Holy Communion.

In 1956, Mr. David Van Herpt wrote to Cardinal James McGuigan, inquiring arrangements could be made for Sunday Mass to be said in the village, as his family had no means of transportation. On September- 8th, 1957 the first Mass in Fonthill was celebrated in the old Municipal Hall. The Celebrant was Rev. Father M. H. Delaney and the altar boys Gai Breen and Fred Tufts of St. Kevin's Welland. This entailed a great deal of work for Father Delaney and his assistant Father Wilfred McAneney as vestments, linens, candles, the Mass Book and Altar Stone all had to be packed and transported each Sunday, but the enthusiasm of those who crowded the hall proved their efforts were worthwhile.

With -the opening of the new St. Alexander's School in 1958, a double classroom was used for Sunday Mass. In 1961 the school Gymnasium was completed and Mass has been said in the Gymnasium from 1961 until 1965.

The planning and concept of this new parish church evolved from two primary factors - the interpretation of the new liturgy to building form, and the ever present problem of a small parish to establish a church within its financial capabilities and at the same time prepare the ground work for future and economical expansion. In St. Alexander's Parish, the first factor, the new liturgy, was employed in actuality to accomplish the second factor, that of economy and expansion ease. The simple design placed the sanctuary in the centre of the octagon structure - where in accordance with the new liturgy, the celebration of the Mass could be intimately observed from all sides.

Unlike the traditional, which required the many-stepped elevation of the sanctuary and altar in order to be seen from the far end of a long nave, this sanctuary remains almost flat in the centre and the floor, seating the congregation, is sloped down to it, providing an unobstructed view of the centre space. All this is accomplished by simply sloping the ground and fill upon which the concrete floor is placed. The structural frame of the church is in exposed and painted steel - again in a simple and economical material. The walls are in primary materials of brick and wood - exposed equally on the interior and exterior. The future expansion plans utilize all of these materials to the utmost flexibility and employment. Four faces of the octagon are permanent brick walls. The other four faces are 4" thick wood fastened to the steel frame -and it is these four faces which will permit the church to grow outward in four extensions to accommodate the future parish population. One of these extensions is already formed, providing the entrance, Sacristy, heating equipment room, Confessionals, storage and choir. Future expansion of the other three extensions will be accomplished by unfastening the wood walls and moving them out.

A difficult problem - which is posed by the new liturgy - in the achieving of an intimate relationship with the Sacrifice of the Mass without losing the atmosphere of sanctity and peace which the church should contain. This condition is being met by using artificial and controlled lighting to produce the importance and the focus on the sanctuary and subduing the surfaces of the walls, ceilings and outside light, which might distract attention from the sanctuary and also give the parishioner the comfortable feeling of aloneness that the semidarkness does so well.

In the preliminary stage of planning, a budget was set, and the goal was to achieve a building design, which would serve the parish now and also provide a church expandable in the - future. The building now completed, within that budget, stands as the first stage in the building growth of St., Alexander's Parish. Bishop McCarthy of the Diocese of St. Catharines presided over the blessing of this satellite Church of St. Kevin's Parish December 19, 1965.

That building has stood up for many, many years, used for Masses on Saturday and Sunday, Baptisms, First Communions, First Confessions, Confirmations, Weddings and Funerals. Until 7 years ago things were going well things looked good for many more years in the Round church of Fonthill. But things did not goals planned and cracks in the armour began to appear and a major decision had to be made.

The Journey To Find a New Direction

In November 1993, as a result of much interest in the parish, the Pastoral Council held a meeting for parishioners to renew in some form the present Church building. At this meeting a number of concerns were raised about the existing facility. A group of parishioners volunteered to form a "building committee" to investigate those and other concerns the parishioners had with respect to their use of the Church facility. The results of a questionnaire previously sent to all parishioners for their input, were also reviewed. Since that time, parishioners have raised further concerns which also need to bead dressed in an improved facility.

During this time the Committee also visited a number of other parishes that had recently either renovated or build new facilities and interviewed their pastors and building committee members to gain more insight in order to make the best recommendations possible for the parish. Planning and population information was also obtained from governmental sources.

After much study and discussion, it became apparent that the cost of upgrading and expanding the existing Church building would cost approximately$1.6 million. This option would leave us without a useable building for about a year while construction was being carried out and would still not resolve the parking and highway access problems. The cost of a totally new building design was set at approximately $2.0 million. Given these factors, it was decided to move in the direction of a new facility which might better meet the needs of the entire parish community.

A Steering Committee was set up to forge ahead with the concept of Building anew church. Many meetings and hours of work went into the layout of the building, with a worship area, especially with its Cross barrel vault design and gathering space. Also in the meetings were talk of offices and meeting rooms to provide ample space for the different ministries in the church. One of the main concerns was a hospitality room, something that the parish had never had. With its own kitchen the hospitality room was one of the priorities of this new church. The architect on the project revised the drawings time and time again until we had it right. It was also decided with the instruction and blessing of Bishop O'Mara that we revise the church to seat 500 from the original 350 that was intended. With the increase in size also came an increase in cost.

In July of the year 2000, TENDER FOR BID was sent out to contractors in the area. It was a long six weeks to wait for the bids to come in to tell us how much the church would cost. The bids were in and cost a little higher than were expected but we were undeterred from going ahead. The search was on to find ways of cutting some costs. In the weeks to follow we did find was of lowering our cost without compromising the quality and appearance of the church. All this work was done with the Bishops blessing.

The contract was finally awarded to T.R. Hinan Construction, a Pelham firm and parishioner. The congregation was thrilled at the news and was excited about starting. The project came to life in November 2000, with earth being moved and trailers being put in place. Foundations and steel structural work soon took the project into the sky and the walls began to fill in. As the stonework began the building took on a it's shape and pleasing look. The roof was massive and took weeks to cover with the shingles. Finally with the outside mostly completed, work started in earnest on the inside. This seemed to take forever. Progress was being made everyday and the building is starting to take a identity of its own. Finally the day we were all waiting for. The Bishop decided on December 16, 2001 for the official Consecration and opening of this beautiful structure, this house of worship to God.

The parishioners of St. Alexander parish are strong in faith and commitment towards this project. As each day passes the stronger our faith gets and history is continually being written. We are looking forward to many years of worship and thanksgiving. Glory Be to God for all he has given us.

The Continuation Committee of the Building on the Cornerstone of Our Faith Campaign wishes to thank all of you who have pledged to this wondrous creation in our parish and hopes that all new parishioners will find peace joy and fulfillment in our parish. We invite you to be an active part in this blessed and holy event of creating a new house of Worship to God!

Those new families and parishioners that wish to make St. Alexander your new home, are invited to join with us in enjoying our new home and can become more involved in our campaign. Call the church office and leave a message and someone will get back to you.