A History of St. Joseph Parish

The first St. Joseph’s Roman Catholic Church was built in the mid-1920’s on property donated by a Mr. Glass. With donations of money and materials he organized the Catholic community to build the church. This first church was very small, with about a dozen pews for the local parishioners. St. Joseph’s Roman Catholic Church survived with itinerant traveling missionaries for many years. In 1937, Father M.P. Rooney traveled once a month by train from Mayerthorpe to hold over and continued to carry out this obligation until 1951. Often, the Catholics in Whitecourt had to do without priests on Sundays because the roads were too dangerous to travel.

In 1951, Father Neil MacKenzie became the first resident priest. He lived in an old room at the back of the church, which was so cold in the winter that he moved into the church dug-out next to the furnace to keep warm. Father MacKenzie stayed until 1953 and was succeeded by Father Louis Veil. Father Veil’s living conditions were not much better than Father MacKenzie’s. He lived in a small cold lean-to attached to the little church. It was very spartan as his bed linen consisted of 400 lb. flour sacks sewn together. However, this was soon remedied when the local women started tending to his laundry and meals. There were approximately seven practicing Catholic families, with perhaps six other families who attended church occasionally. However the Christian spirit was very strong among them; the people centered their lives on the Church and the Catholic community stayed together. The Catholic Ladies League was active and their annual June picnic was a big social event. The men of the parish were also active clearing the snow from the steps before mass and chopping wood.

Before leaving in 1956 Father Veil drew blue prints for a rectory and was able to see this built from donated lumber and labour. Father Croteau succeeded Father Veil and he in turn by Father Tellier in 1958. Father Tellier, apart from being a dedicated man was a born carpenter. It was during Father Tellier’s time that the second church was completed. It was built alongside the old one. In 1959, the original church was then moved to Greencourt in exchange for lumber.

Following Father Tellier’s departure in 1962, the Whitecourt community was served by many dedicated priests; each working in their own way to increase the spiritual growth of the Whitecourt flock.

The next St. Joseph’s church was completed in 1986. The first mass in this church was celebrated at Easter mass in 1986. This was a momentous occasion for the Whitecourt church community, as a dream had become a reality. The parish now had a beautiful place to worship and to accommodate a growing congregation.

Sadly, a fire caused by arson in September of 2004 destroyed this church and hall. Although this was a devastating blow for the community, volunteer members immediately formed a Building Committee to find the means to build a new church and hall. After four years of hard work by Committee members, Parish Council members, Fund-Raising Committee members, and dozens of volunteers, and with the generous donations of parishioners and many other concerned citizens, our new church and hall is now complete. With Father Limneo Zamora, our parish priest, the Whitecourt Catholic community entered a new phase of growth and spiritual development. From September 2009 to January 2012, Fr. Gérard Gauthier was our pastor, followed by Fr. Paulson Kannanaikal, CMI, from February 2012, to June 30, 2017. Fr. Benjamin Belgica arrived on July 1, 2017, and is leading us as our present pastor.

At present, our parish has many active organizations, including the Parish Pastoral Council, the Catholic Women's League, and Knights of Columbus Council #7299.

There are also two Catholic Schools associated with the parish: Ecole St. Mary School (Jr Kindergarten - Gr 3); and Ecole St. Joseph School (Gr 4 - Gr 12). Catholic schools and Catholic teachers are an instrument of catholic education in our society and the Whitecourt community is blessed to have these schools.

Our parish continues to grow, both spiritually and in numbers. There are many opportunities for all Catholics in the Whitecourt area to participate in their own personal spiritual development, and in the spiritual development of our community. We believe that we have received many blessing from our Lord, who has sent us many good people through the years who truly cared for our parish. Thanks be to God for His blessings, and may we work together for the Glory of God in serving the needs of our brothers and sisters.