St. Finnan’s Basilica
Alexandria ON
K0C 1A0
Who we are
St. Finnan’s Basilica
A mission | A small parish | A church | A cathedral | A co-cathedral Basilica
We began as a small community of Highlanders from Scotland with a zealous, inspiring, and courageous leader in Fr. John MacDonald.
We continue the important mission of bringing Christ to our family, friends, and neighbours.
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Ottawa-Cornwall was recently informed that St. Finnan’s Parish, formerly the Cathedral for the Diocese of Alexandria-Cornwall, has been designated a minor basilica by Pope Francis.
St. Finnan’s becomes only the third basilica in the Archdiocese, the other two being Notre-Dame Basilica Cathedral and St. Patrick’s Basilica, both located in downtown Ottawa. A basilica is a church that has been given a special designation by the Pope. There are four major basilicas in the world, all located in Rome, and just over 1,800 minor basilicas located throughout the world. As a point of reference, there are more than 221,000 Catholic churches in the world.
With this designation, St. Finnan’s joins the ranks of such prominent minor basilicas as Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico, St. Francis of Assisi in Italy and Notre-Dame in Paris.
The occasion will be marked at the 11 am mass on Sunday, April 11th at St. Finnan’s.
A mission | A small parish | A church | A cathedral | A co-cathedral Basilica
We began as a small community of Highlanders from Scotland with a zealous, inspiring, and courageous leader in Fr. John MacDonald.
We continue the important mission of bringing Christ to our family, friends, and neighbours.
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Ottawa-Cornwall was recently informed that St. Finnan’s Parish, formerly the Cathedral for the Diocese of Alexandria-Cornwall, has been designated a minor basilica by Pope Francis.
St. Finnan’s becomes only the third basilica in the Archdiocese, the other two being Notre-Dame Basilica Cathedral and St. Patrick’s Basilica, both located in downtown Ottawa. A basilica is a church that has been given a special designation by the Pope. There are four major basilicas in the world, all located in Rome, and just over 1,800 minor basilicas located throughout the world. As a point of reference, there are more than 221,000 Catholic churches in the world.
With this designation, St. Finnan’s joins the ranks of such prominent minor basilicas as Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico, St. Francis of Assisi in Italy and Notre-Dame in Paris.
Church Website
St. Finnan’s Basilica on Social Media
St. Finnan’s Basilica YouTube Video
Facebook Video: St. Finnan’s Basilica Facebook Video
Leadership
Leader Name:
Fr. Jonathan Blake
Leader Position:
Pastor
Phone:
Fax:
613-525-0590
Leader Email:
Click here to contact Fr. Jonathan Blake
Fr. Jonathan Blake on Social Media:
Administration
Admin Name:
Mary Ellen
Phone:
Admin Email:
Click here to contact Mary Ellen
Mailing Address
P.O. Box 340
Alexandria, ON
K0C 1A0
Alexandria, ON
K0C 1A0
St. Finnan’s Basilica Mass Times
Mass Times
Daily Mass (Tue-Fri)
8:00 am at St. Finnan’s Basilica
Sunday Mass
5:00 pm (Saturday) at St. Finnan’s Basilica
8:00 am at St. Finnan’s Basilica
9:30 am at St. Catherine of Sienna Church
9:30 am at St. James Church
11:00 am at St. Anthony Church
11:00 am at St. Finnan’s Basilica
Confession
4:00 pm – 5:00 pm (Saturday) at St. Finnan’s Basilica
Adoration
8:30 am – 4:00 pm (Friday) at St. Finnan’s Basilica
Covid 19 Response
We reopened on June 11 to 15% capacity.
We are committed to making Mass, and other celebrations, available for all parishioners. You can always follow us online on our website and our Facebook page. You can also watch Mass at home on our YouTube channel. Please visit our events page for our Mass schedule.
If you wish to attend Mass in-person, we are operating on a first come first served basis.
A reminder to wear a mask and sanitize your hands upon entering the building.
Please contact your parish contact if you have any questions regarding attending Mass at any of our four churches.
We continue to livestream our weekday masses and our Saturday evening vigil Mass. We invite you to join us online.
It's been more than 2 years since the last mass times update. Please make sure to contact the church to confirm mass times.
Please contact the church to confirm Mass Times or SUBSCRIBE to updates below
Daily Mass (Tue-Fri)
8:00 am at St. Finnan’s Basilica
Sunday Mass
5:00 pm (Saturday) at St. Finnan’s Basilica
8:00 am at St. Finnan’s Basilica
9:30 am at St. Catherine of Sienna Church
9:30 am at St. James Church
11:00 am at St. Anthony Church
11:00 am at St. Finnan’s Basilica
Confession
4:00 pm – 5:00 pm (Saturday) at St. Finnan’s Basilica
Adoration
8:30 am – 4:00 pm (Friday) at St. Finnan’s Basilica
Covid 19 Response
We reopened on June 11 to 15% capacity.
We are committed to making Mass, and other celebrations, available for all parishioners. You can always follow us online on our website and our Facebook page. You can also watch Mass at home on our YouTube channel. Please visit our events page for our Mass schedule.
If you wish to attend Mass in-person, we are operating on a first come first served basis.
A reminder to wear a mask and sanitize your hands upon entering the building.
Please contact your parish contact if you have any questions regarding attending Mass at any of our four churches.
We continue to livestream our weekday masses and our Saturday evening vigil Mass. We invite you to join us online.
It's been more than 2 years since the last mass times update. Please make sure to contact the church to confirm mass times.
Please contact the church to confirm Mass Times or SUBSCRIBE to updates below
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Other information
St. Finnan’s Basilica History
St. Finnan's has been a testament to the Catholic community in Glengarry for well over a century and a half. An older church stood on this site beside the older cemetary since 1833, a year after the parish was founded by the Reverend Alexander Macdonell, first Catholic Bishop of Upper Canada.
By 1853, St. Finnan's Parish boasted 265 families of whom 134 were Macdonalds of various spellings. St. Finnan's Church was dedicated in 1885, but work continued over the next 25 years. The present steeple, bells and cross were installed in 1902.
In 1890, when the Diocese of Alexandria was created, the Reverend Alexander Macdonell became the first Bishop of Alexandria and St. Finnan's became a cathedral
"For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them."
Matthew 18:20
St. Finnan’s Basilica listing was last updated on the 15th of June, 2021
