St. Francis Xavier Church
22 Elm Street, Cartier, Ontario
Masses / Messes
Thurs/jeu: 9:00 am
Sun/dim: 8:30 am
The Jesuits arrived in the Sudbury area in 1883 following the Canadian Pacific Railway’s expansion westward where St. Anne’s Parish was established in the spring of 1883. From St. Anne’s, the Jesuits established residential mission churches along the railway travelling as far as Cartier and Biscotasing. The construction of this part of the railway was completed in November 1884 with the first through train service between Montreal and Winnipeg occurring in November 1885.
The first Catholic Church in Cartier was built in 1893. A cemetery was established alongside the church about three months later. The church was a residential mission of St. Anne’s parish in Sudbury. As the patron saint of Roman Catholic missions and one of the seven founders of the Jesuit Order, it was no surprise that the church would be named “Saint. Francis Xavier”. The church bell rang for the first time at the christening of Anthony Chrusoskie Jr. on September 26, 1893. Anthony Chrusoskie Jr., along with his parents now rests at the cemetery in Cartier.
In 1925, the Jesuits gave up St. Francis Xavier as a residential missionary church to the Diocese of Sault Ste. Marie. The first secular priest to be assigned to the newly formed parish was Father Lionel Séguin.
St. François-Xavier served the communities of Cartier, Benny, Dowling, Larchwood, Vermillion Lake, Levack, and Biscotasing. The original building burned in the fall of 1938 when a fire started in the sacristy. The building was rebuilt within a year.
The rectory was built in 1926 for the Rev. Lionel Séguin; who for the first year travelled to Cartier from Chelmsford. The Rectory was remodeled in 1982 when the second floor of the building was removed. The rectory was later sold in 1990 to Sandra Burton during the amalgamation process with Saint Bartholomew in Levack. The amalgamation was completed in 1991.
The Catholic school Ecole Mirault opened in 1938. In September of 1941, the Gray Sisters of the Cross arrived in Cartier and established the “Convent of Our Lady of Perpetual Help” and took over the operation of the school. By 1971, the school began to shift students to Ecole St-Etienne in Dowling in preparation to be closed. By the end of June 1973, the transfer was complete and the school closed its doors.
The Sisters resided at the house of Henri Bourgeault until the convent was built in 1942. The convent was located next to the rectory. The Sisters left Cartier in 1960 or 1961 and the convent was sold and became the home of Jean-Louis and Marthe Deschamps. Lay teachers took over the operation of the school until its closing in 1973.
Last Updated on: August 13, 2024
