History 

The Church of St. John the Evangelist, Flinton was erected in 1873 from land donated by Moses Lessard.  Father Stanton was the priest in charge.
The parish was comprised of the Townships of Kaladar, Anglesea, Effingham, Elzivir and Barrie.  

Many of the first settlers were farmers and lumbermen of both French and Irish origin.  

From 1874-1900, St. John the Evangelist Church in Flinton was served as a mission from Erinsville by Fathers Donohue, Hogan and Cicolari. In these years, due to bad roads and slow transportation, emergency cases such as sudden death services were conducted by laymen of the mission of Flinton, who read the word of God in the Church and said prayers in Church and at the graveside.

In 1900 Archbishop Gauthier of Kingston appointed Father Bridonneau as the resident priest and Holy Mass celebrated every Sunday.
Reverend Father Bridonneau was bilingual, and the French families were happy to hear the priest address them in their own language.

Several priests have served us very well over the last one hundred and fifty years and many upgrades and renovations have been made.

Father Bridonneau was replaced by Reverend Father Grenot who finished putting seats in the Church, built the gallery and purchased the house and  lot where the present Rectory is located.

The arrival of another priest known as Father Chaillou between 1903-1910 saw the erection of a new altar in the Church, the stations of the Church and built the Rectory.

By this time Ardoch, Palmerston, Ompah and Lavant were cared for from Flinton, and from 1910-1930 Fathers Powell and Piche served as pastors.

From 1930-1949 Fathers Kinlin, Collins and Buckley served as pastors, and during this time, Holy Mass was offered each Sunday in Ardoch and the stained glass windows were put in St. John the Evangelist Church in Flinton.

In 1949-1959, Father Lamarche, who did much needed repair in the Rectory, and Father Ferguson were pastors.

Reverend Father John H. Gillis started in 1998. His coming brought some changes like the installation of an oak floor in the altar area along with an oak wainscoting. There are new stations of the cross and the flooring of the remainder of the Church. Plans were made for the addition of a washroom to the front of the Church and a kitchenette as well as a meeting room . This new addition to the front of the church was built in 2001 and  is called The Lessard Room. The stained-glass windows were refurbished and are now double glass windows.

Father Joseph Machaj arrived in 2004. Under the guidance of the building committee a new steel roof the church and Rectory have been installed, along with much needed interior repairs to the house and an uplift to the verandah.

At  present, the St. John the Evangelist Parish is blessed with Reverend Father Paul Nnamdi Njoku, SMMM. Father is from the Religious Order of Sons of Mary Mother of Mercy based in Nigeria.  He was the Provincial Superior of his Order here in Canada.
Following the end of his tenure in office, he was relocated to this Parish in 2015 and is the first black priest for the parish.

As a young man with zeal and charisma, the parish became positively different. 

In the year 2020 the COVID-19 virus infected the world. This was a hardship for all our lives & churches and still continues today. As things are slowly coming around we have learned to live with Covid in our lives. 

During his stay the church has had the air conditioner (2017) and furnace (2019) replaced and the rectory has had the air conditioner replaced (2023).  On August 20th, 2023 St. John the Evangelist Church celebrated the 150th year and in commemoration Fr. Paul suggested a spruce tree be planted. As well a new church sign was erected.

Being that August 2023 marks the 150th Anniversary of St. John the Evangelist Church in Flinton, this is a huge milestone for this small community. Worth celebrating being that St. John the Evangelist Roman Catholic Church is the oldest church still in operation in Flinton.

Below are the Priests that served St. John the Evangelist Church:

1900- Few months:  Fr. G.B. Bridonneau C.M

1900-1903:  Fr.. C. Grenot 

1903-1910:  Marist Fathers- Fr. L. Chaillou, Fr. J.M. LeNeillin & Fr. J.M. Castex

1910-1916:  Fr. John A. Powell

1916-1930:  Fr. Edgar Piche

1930-1942:  Fr. W.G. Kinlin

1942-6 months:  Fr. J.J. Collins

1942-1949:  Fr. W.J. Buckley

1949-1952:  Fr. W.J. Lamarche

1952-1959:  Fr.. J.R. Ferguson

1959-1963:  Fr.. J.F. McGarvey

1963-1970:  Fr. P.H. Murphy

1970-1977:  Fr. F.J. Patrick Carty

1977-1979:  Fr. Dan Ryan

1979-1984:  Fr. Gerry Byrne 

1984-1988:   Fr. Rene Labelle

1988-1991:  Fr. Richard Racine

1991-1998:  Fr. David Pope

1998-2002:  Fr. John Gillis 

2002-2004:  Fr. Brent Brennan

2004-2015:  Fr. Joseph Machaj

2015-Present:  Fr. Paul Njoku SMMM 

March 2024