St Raymond Parish

Serving English parishioners in 15 communities across the South Shore

Established in 2007 as a parish

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A History of the English-speaking Catholics of Candiac and its surrounding areas

In 1960 the Roman Catholic population of Candiac requested and received permission from the then bishop of the diocese of St.-Jean-Longueuil to form a parish. It was named the Paroisse de St. Marc or St. Mark’s parish. Since 30% of the population at the time was English-speaking, services were also offered in English. There was no church building so Sunday masses were celebrated in the shopping center, two in French and one in English. Daily mass was celebrated in the priest’s residence, and one daily mass per week, on Thursdays, was celebrated in English.

 In time the place of Sunday worship was moved from the shopping center to St. Mark’s elementary school on Haendel Street. At that time there were two weekend masses in English, one on Saturday evening and one on Sunday morning. In the early 1980s the Catholic community at last built its own place of worship, a Catholic community center at 59, Haendel Street.

 St. Mark’s was the only parish in the area offering English services to families in the many communities surrounding Candiac. These services included pastoral animation and sacramental initiation for the children, baptisms, weddings, and funerals.

 The English-speaking Catholic community based in Candiac has always been spiritually vibrant. The Catholic Women’s League of Canada parish council was formed two years after the creation of the parish of St. Mark. Since 1975 the parish has been serving the youth of our Catholic community through pastoral animation, Sunday school and youth groups. A Baptism team and a Liturgical committee have been active for many years at St Marks, now continuing its legacy in St Raymond’s and a Pastoral Orientation Committee has recently been established.

 Over the past 45 years the English-speaking Catholic community has seen changes in pastoral services, from having one bilingual priest serving the two linguistic communities (Fr. Pepin, Fr. Gerard Deslauriers and later Fr. Clem Sodo) to one priest for the French-speaking parishioners and for the English-speaking (Fr. Paul St.-Onge, Fr. Henry Torpey, Fr. Jacques-Andre Therrien, Fr. Gerry Jones, Fr. Jerome Mercure, Fr. Clem Sodo and our present parish priest, Fr. John Torrance).

 The re-structuring of parishes in the diocese finally affected both communities. In the early autumn of 2004, Mgr. Jacques Berthelet, C.S.V., bishop of the diocese, decreed that Paroisse St. Marc de Candiac would be dissolved and its French-speaking parishioners join with those of La Prairie, St. Philippe and St. Mathieu to form one large parish, based at La Nativite parish in La Prairie. At the same time he established the Chapelry of St. Raymond to serve the English-speaking Catholic of Candiac and its fourteen surrounding townships. The most recent census of 2001 indicates that there are about 3340 English-speaking Catholics in the territory, the majority of them living in Candiac. Our Evangelization Project will reach out to include all those in the area who are not aware of our English-speaking community.

 This community has always been spiritually vibrant, with families of all age groups. The Catholic Women’s League parish council was formed over 43 years ago. Sunday school for children started more than 30 years ago has now been replaced with children’s liturgy during the first part of mass on Sundays. A liturgy committee and a baptismal team have been active for many years. A Pastoral Orientation Committee was recently established. The successful Renew program was followed some years later by the Alpha program.

 With School Board changes and new laws reducing the time allotted for religious instruction in the schools, and with new diocesan orientations for sacramental initiation, catechesis is now offered in the parish using the Faith First program. Several volunteers from the community help with the faith education of the children enrolled in the program, under the guidance of the mandated pastoral agent and his pastoral assistant.

 Good relations continue to be maintained with the French-speaking Catholic community, with regular collaboration and participation in such joint projects as the annual community bazaar, the “guignolee” and the preparation and distribution of Christmas baskets.

 The most recent census of 2001 indicates that there are about 3340 English-speaking Catholics in the territory. Our Evangelization Project will reach out to include all those in the area who are not aware of our English-speaking community.

 The English-speaking faithful of this region are now invited to gather together to live their faith more deeply and become involved generously in service to their brothers and sisters. A warm welcome is extended to all newcomers to this wider community.

 The parish motto, derived from its patron, St. Raymond of Penyafort, is:
“May we become people of compassion and understanding for those whom we serve”