St. Vincent Parish / Sackville
Established around
1760 First church in 1885
First pastor in 1902
The first church built in the Sackville area, was in Chignecto, around 1750, in the settlement called, "Tintamarre", adjacent to the French Fort Beausejour. The village and the church were destroyed in the raids made by the British after the capture of Fort Beauséjour in 1755. the chalice and the bell of this church were saved and buried, to be salvaged years later and brought to Memramcook.
The first church of the parish of Sackville was located in the village of Middle Sackville.
Prior to the construction of a church in Middle Sackville, priests travelled from Memramcook to celebrate mass in the homes of parishioners, and eventually, Middle Sackville became a mission of Memramcook, with mass held every third Sunday. Father Alfred Roy, c.s.c., along with other Holy Cross Fathers of the College of Memramcook, served the fifty-three families of Middle Sackville from 1885 to 1892.
In 1902, Middle Sackville was constituted as a parish, with Port Elgin and Melrose as missions.
Father Antoine LeBlanc, their first pastor, organized the construction of the rectory in Middle Sackville. 1l1e Dominicans (Order of Preachers) cook charge of the parish in 1926.
In 1928, land from the Pickard Estate, on Charlotte Street, was acquired and the present church, dedicated to Saint Vincent Ferrier, was constructed. Its contractor was John Fillmore, and the foreman, Hypolite Leger. In 1930, the Dominicans erected their monastery, next to the church. It is now owned by Mount Allison University and used as a residence.
In 1947, the Holy Rosary School, on Salem Street, was constructed. It was blessed on August 24, 1947, and closed in 1967.
The parishes of Sackville and Middle Sackville were canonically joined together in 1975, to form the Parish of Holy Rosary -St. Vincent. St. Vincent's rectory was built in 1976.
In the late 1990's, Holy Rosary Church was closed. In 2001, St. Edward's church in Dorchester was also closed.
The participation of a number of Mount Allison University students for eight months enriches the life of the church community of St. Vincent's.
In 2005, St. Vincent's, along with Melrose and Port Elgin, was grouped with St. Bernard's parish in Moncton co form a new pastoral unit. Although St. Vincent's no longer has a resident priest since chis change, the community continues to thrive due to the commitment and strength of the laity who have responded co their baptismal call by assuming numerous leadership roles at Sc. Vincent's.