Home - St. Bernard's, Enfield

Congratulations

To our grade 3 young people and their families on the occasion of the children's First Holy Eucharist!!

Thank you to Mrs. Mary Ashley, catechist extrodinaire, who has prepared the class with great love and wisdom; and to Mrs. Norma MacIntyre and Mrs. Bernadine Sutton whose assistance has been invaluable. We are blessed to have such wonderful stewards of faith sharing their gifts with our class.

A great thank you also to the readers, Mass Coordinators, Sacristans and musicians who share their talent to make the children's and the parish's day so very special; and to Fr. Andrew for his great care and kindness as our shephard. God smiles on us indeed.

A History of St. Bernard's Parish...

St. Bernard’s parish is one of the oldest in the Archdiocese of Halifax. The current parish comprises 700 + registered members from Enfield, Elmsdale, Lantz, Nine Mile River and surrounding areas. The first church in Enfield to hold the name St. Bernard’s was established in 1867, likely named by Archbishop Thomas Louis Connolly who visited and confirmed several parishioners that year. At about the same time St. Bernard’s also became responsible for Catholics in Hammonds Plains and Bedford, making it a truly large parish by today’s standards. In 1871 Truro & Maitland became a separate parish, and in 1919 Bedford became it's own parish; St. Bernard's then encompassed the towns of Rockingham through to Stewiake.

In 1884 a church was built in Windsor Junction to be a mission of St. Bernard’s for Catholics in what is now Fall River, Waverly area. The church there remained a mission until 1951 when it became the parish of St. Rose of Lima. Between the years of 1934 and 1937 under the direction of Fr. William J. Brown an addition to the main church of St. Bernard’s was built to be used as the sacristy and a winter chapel.

On March 19, 1944 fire broke out in St. Bernard’s church while Mass was in progress. Although everyone made it out of the church safely and some fixtures were saved, the church itself seemed irreparable. By moving the old parish hall and adding an addition, space was made to allow for Mass and parish activities but it was clear a new church was needed.

Funds for such a church were in short supply however until 1953 when a most generous bequest in the will of Mr. Edmund H. Horne provided the parish with $50,000. Fr. Devine, then pastor at St. Bernard’s fundraised to close the gap between the funds available and the $72,500 mark that represented half the cost of building the new church, as the Archdiocese would not give its approval until at least half of the funds were raised. In 1965 Anna Horne (Mrs. Edmund Horne) left a bequest of $50,000 in her will to assist in paying for the new church. This meant that the contribution from Mr. and Mrs. Horne to build the new church totalled 100,000.

In October of 1959 excavation began for the new church and with work progressing quickly and well the church was completed by the following spring. On June 26, 1960 the new church was dedicated and on June 29, 1960 Father Devine celebrated the first Mass in the new church with Archbishop Joseph Gerald Berry in attendance, as well as most of the parish.

Although some renovations have occurred over the years the current church is much as it was in the 1960’s. St. Bernard’s has evolved over the years but one thing has not changed at all, it has always been and is yet a welcoming and vibrant parish where family and friends support one another and reach out to all newcomers with joy. We are committed to sharing the Good News with all, to blessing His world by our efforts in His name.

We gratefully acknowledge the materials provided by Marie McKeen who compiled the details of this history for the celebration of St. Bernard’s 50^th anniversary. Marie relied upon the work of Rev. John M. McCarthy and the recollections of many parishioners to whom we are also grateful.