|
29 Midland Avenue, Kitchener, Ontario, N2A 2A9 519-893-6960
|
||||||||||||
  |
||||||||||||
|
Parish History
Saint Anthony Daniel Parish was founded as a Catholic Parish in 1966 by the late Bishop Joseph F. Ryan, Bishop of Hamilton. The first Pastor was Father R.W. O’Brien and at that time there were approximately 300 families. From the first bulletin of July 17, 1966: “May we welcome you as the very first members of this family. When future generations pause to look back upon the first beginnings, may they be able to praise God for his blessings and his generous outpouring of Divine Grace upon us in these initial endeavours”. The first Mass was celebrated in St. Daniel School Gym on July 17, 1966. The Parish has grown immensely over the years and today serves the needs of 2,200 families in the Stanley Park area of Kitchener. Average attendance at Sunday Mass is 2,400. Former Pastors: Msgr. R.W. O'Brian, Father Stephen Bodnar, Father Harry Schmuck, FatherSteve Stinson, Father Edward House. Father Earl Talbot
In 1621, Antoine Daniel, a law student, joined the Society of Jesus in Rouen, France, and was ordained a priest in 1629. He chose to go to the Jesuit missions among the Huron Indians in Canada and studied the Huron language under Father John de Brebeuf in Quebec. He set the Lord’s Prayer, in Huron, to music and taught the new song to the Natives who paddled his canoe. Later he used music to teach the children the Catholic Christian Faith. Father Daniel started several missions near Lake Couchiching which were relocated because of the threat of Iroquois attacks. On July 4, 1648, at his annual retreat at Ste. Marie (the site of Martyrs’ Shrine), as Father Daniel finished Mass, the shouts of attacking Iroquois were heard. He urged his people to rush to safety, while he, unarmed, awaited the warriors. Many Huron lives were saved while the Church and village were set on fire and Father Daniel was put to death. Like the Good Shepherd, Father Antoine Daniel gave his life for his flock. The Feast
of the North American Martyrs is celebrated in Canada on September
26. The eight Jesuit Martyrs are as follows; St. John de Brebeuf,
St. Isaac Joques, St. Rene Goupil, St. Anthony Daniel, St. Gabriel
Lalement, St. Charles Garnier, St. Noel Chabanel and St. Jean de la
Lande. These eight Jesuit Martyrs of North America were beatified by
Pope Pius XI on June 21, 1925 and canonized in 1930 by the same
Pope. Father Isaac Joques, born in Orleans, January 10, 1607, and was tomahawked and beheaded October 18, 1646. Jean de la Lande, born in Dieppe, was killed the next day, October 19, 1646. Rene Goupil, born in Anjou, May 15, 1608, was the first to die. He was tortured and tomahawked on September 19, 1642 for having made the Sign of the Cross on the foreheads of some children. Father John de Brebeuf, born in Normandy, March 15, 1563, was captured and put through four hours of extreme torture before dying on March 16, 1649. Father Anthony Daniel, born in Dieppe, May 27, 1601, was killed by the Iroquois on July 4, 1648. His body was thrown in to the chapel, which was then set on fire. Father Gabriel Lalemant, born in Paris, October 10, 1610, was horribly tortured to death along with Father Brebeuf in 1649. Father Charles Garnier, born in Paris, May 15, 1601, was shot to death as he baptized children and catechumens during an Iroquois attack on December 7, 1649. Father Noel Chabanel, born in the Diocese of Mende, February 2, 1613, had great trouble adjusting to life in the missions and was to be recalled to France. Before he could prepare to leave, he was killed by a Huron apostate on December 8, 1649. These
eight Jesuit martyrs of North America were beatified by Pope Pius XI
on June 21, 1925 and canonized in 1930 by the same Pope.
|
|||||||||||
