Hundreds filled Saint Augustine Church in Augusta on Saturday, November 19, for a Mass celebrated by Bishop Robert Deeley commemorating the 100th anniversary of the first Mass held in the church.
“There is much that is good that we celebrate in this anniversary," Bishop Deeley said. "The church was built to meet the spiritual needs of a growing community. For these 100 years, it has continued that same mission. The Mass continues to be celebrated here, and those who come continue to draw spiritual strength from it. That truly is something to celebrate.
The first Mass in the current Saint Augustine Church was celebrated on Christmas Eve 1916, although the parish itself was established 29 years earlier to serve a growing number of French-Canadian immigrants.
When the immigrants first arrived, they rented a church or sometimes traveled to St. Denis in Whitefield for Mass. In 1888, however, a wooden church was built, which also housed Saint Augustine School. At the time, there were 160 families.
“We want to commemorate the fact that this building, and the one behind it, have nurtured the faith of the Catholic French community, the French-Canadian community here in Augusta,” said Father Francis Morin, pastor. “It’s our story. It’s part of our history as Catholics. French-Canadians have certainly become good American Catholics. They’re proud of their American heritage but also proud of their French-Canadian heritage, and their churches have certainly shown that with what they sacrificed to build and to maintain them.”
The French-Canadians, including Father Morin’s grandparents, immigrated to this country to work in the mills. The Edwards Mill was located down the hill from the church, and in fact, the land for both the original and the current church was either purchased or donated by the Edwards Manufacturing Company.
Father Alphonse LaRiviere, who became pastor in 1907, saw the need for a new church, and when he died, he left of a bequest of $20,000, which became the financial base for the building of the new Saint Augustine.
Father Zenon Decarie oversaw the construction of the church, for which the foundation was laid on June 4, 1915. Saint Augustine sits on the ridge of Sand Hill, and at first, architects were reluctant to build because of fears the heavy, stone building would sink into the sand. It is said that Father Decarie kept an all-night prayer vigil with hands outstretched to form a cross in adoration before the Blessed Sacrament. The next day, builders found the ledge they needed.
Many parishioners who attend the church today have roots going back to those early days.
“My grandfather and grandmother, when they built this church, there were some little houses that they had to move, and theirs was one of the houses that they had to move,” said Constance Russell, age 89, who worked in the school kitchen for more than 50 years.
“I’m from Canada, and when we moved over here, it was just like a big family. Everyone was talking French. That’s what I wanted,” said Mariette Roy, 76, who has attended the church since she was a teenager. “Everything was nice.”
“I’m almost as old as the parish. I graduated from Saint Augustine School. Back then, we had 21 sisters from the Presentation of Mary living at the convent. And they taught us so well that my first year of high school was like reviewing my whole eighth grade,” said Madeleine Tondreau, age 88.
For the first dozen years, Ursuline Sisters taught at the school, but the Sisters of the Presentation of Mary took over in 1904 and remained there until Saint Augustine School merged with Saint Mary School in 2007 to form Saint Michael School.
Sister Rachel Boucher, P.M., the last principal of Saint Augustine School and the first principal of Saint Michael, attended the anniversary Mass and shared the first reading in French.
“I really enjoyed my years here as principal. I couldn’t have asked for better,” she said. “There was a beautiful, family spirit, close-knit families.”
It’s a spirit still found in the community today.
“It’s a very close-knit community. Everybody is very friendly, very nice,” said Thaddeus Cotnoir, a Saint Michael parishioner.
The Mass not only brought together those who regularly attend Saint Augustine but members of the larger community as well, including the current and former rabbis of Temple Beth El in Augusta, who came to show their support.
“Father Frank is wonderful, and we just have such strong connections with this community,” said Rabbi Erica Asch. “Also, historically, we just celebrated our 75th anniversary, so I got to hear a lot of the stories about the founding of the synagogue, and I learned that the Catholic priests in town were so supportive of the Jewish community when we first started here and were kind of viewed as outsiders and not welcomed with as open arms as we could have been. It was the Catholic priests and the Catholic parish that really welcomed us. That is such a beautiful history to me, and I wanted to honor that.”
In his homily, Bishop Deeley urged the parishioners to continue to be a welcoming presence to others and to be examples of Christ’s mercy.
“Jesus, from the cross, his throne of love and mercy, shows us how to live. He sends us to bring his love and mercy into the world. That is an important part of what it means to be a Catholic community,” the bishop said. “Our coming together for this celebration reminds us of the bond we have as Church and of the need we have to work together for the good of the people of God. I congratulate you on this anniversary, and in our prayer together, we can ask God to continue to bless your parish community of Saint Michael and strengthen it in faith and charity.”