The Co-cathedral of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary on Montreal Road will soon cease to be a parish church and become a diocesan Sanctuary.

PHOTO CREDIT - Clive Marin

Cornwall - Mar. 23, 2011 - Bishop Paul-André Durocher recently announced that the Co-cathedral of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary on Montreal Road will soon cease to be a parish church and become a diocesan Sanctuary.

Whereas a parish is a gathering of Catholics under the leadership of a parish priest or curate, a sanctuary is a place of worship directed by a rector and open to all Catholics. The present curate, Fr. Laurier Rivet, will become the first rector of the new Sanctuary.

The Church of the Nativity will continue to be the French-language Co-cathedral of the diocese and will focus on Marian spirituality in keeping with its tradition and name.

As a Sanctuary, services and activities will be reduced to focus principally on the celebration of Mass. Parishioners who presently belong to Nativity will be happy to learn that they can continue to attend daily and Sunday Mass at the church, though they will officially belong to another parish in the city once the boundaries of the remaining parishes are redrawn.

Funerals will also continue to be celebrated there, though as a general rule baptisms and weddings will be held in parish churches.

At the same time, the parish rectory, situated to the east of the church, will be taken over by the diocese of Alexandria-Cornwall. It is planned that a group of three or four religious Salesian sisters will be living there.

The Salesians, which were founded by Saint John Bosco, are dedicated to working with youth. These sisters will be opening their first house in Cornwall this summer.

Similarly, the diocese will be taking over Nativity Hall, which will become a diocesan activity centre for the time being. Nativity Bowling Lanes will continue to operate there, and the Nativity Guard will continue to make its home in this hall, as will Council 9695 of the Knights of Columbus.

These changes are meant to preserve the Church of the Nativity as a patrimonial site in Cornwall, particularly for the French-Canadian population of the area.

Financial difficulties were impinging on the future of the site as parishioners found themselves unable to sustain three separate buildings and the numerous activities typical of a parish. A series of consultative meetings with parish representatives studied a number of options, and this one was adopted as the most realistic and hope-filled direction for the Church.

An administrative council will be set up to assist Fr. Rivet in running the sanctuary and will look to new sources of funding and financial support to ensure its long-term survival and growth. It is hoped that all French-Canadians in the area will commit themselves to the continued vibrant presence in our midst of a building which embodies so much of their history, culture and religious heritage.