St. Raphael's Parish - Blackville & Howard, NB 2.53

OUR LADY OF MOUNT CARMEL - HOWARD, NB

On July 19, 1987 Most Reverand J. Edward Troy, Bishop of Saint John, dedicated the church at “The Forks”, as a Diocesan Marian Shrine, a place of pilgrimage, prayer and worship.
In 1836, inspired by the vision of Michael Egan, pastor of St. Patrick’s Church in Nelson, Bishop Bernard MacDonald of the Diocese of Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, authorized the construction of a church at “The Forks”, the confluence of the Cains and Southwest Miramichi rivers.
The large timbers for rafters and sills were sawed and hewed by hand. The roof and exterior walls were covered with hand-made cedar shingles, long since replaced. The interior walls were plastered. Wide white pine boards, some as wide as 20 inches, were placed horizontally around the four sides to the height of three feet. The original pews and gallery are still in use today and the fifty foot spire keeps watch over the surrounding countryside.
Bishop MacDonald happily commissioned Father Egan to bless the completed Church under the patronage of Our Lady of Mount Carmel on February 25, 1837.
Today, Our Lady of Mount Carmel is the oldest Catholic Church in continuous use in the Diocese of Saint John.
The Forks: Our Lady of Mount Carmel
I stood on the Mount of St. Mary’s
At the ancient, historical ‘Forks’,
In the midst of the forest and fairies,
And memories of many good works.
And I looked on the dear little chapel,
That stands on the beautiful hill,
At whose foot is the old house of Murdoch’s
Now silent and lonely and still.
And over the beautiful river,
To the Tom Beston tavern of old—
The old man has left it forever
For the graveyard so silent and cold.
I stood by the tomb of Tom Beston.
A marvellous matter of stone;
A dear little place ’tis to rest on,
So the old man is seldom alone.
To the right is the tomb of James Ready
Of ‘eighteen and forty three’,
A man of good habits and steady,
Of old time in Miramichi.
To the left is the tomb of John Bergin:
The three oldest tombs on the sod,
Each one with its Latin inscription
That speaketh of Heaven and God.
Dear Shades of a past generation,
Whose ashes lie scattered around,
Who came from a far-away nation,
Who sleep the last slumber profound!
I wish that my pen were more worthy
To speak of the deeds you have done,
In the days when The Forks was a centre
Of forestry, fighting and fun.
I have heard of your marvellous story,
A mixture of falsehood and truth,
And have felt the full charm of its glory
In the marvelous manner of youth.
‘Tis said that the great Charles Magnus,
Who ruled on the beautiful Rhine,
Comes oft of a sweet summer evening
To gaze on the prospect devine.
To bless the dear people who loved him,
To feast on the glorious scene,
And then steal away to his slumbers,
So sacred, so silent, serene.
I wonder if any dear spirit
Comes forth on this beautiful hill,
To gaze on the scene of past grandeur,
Now silent and lonely and still.
The glamour of all is around me,
The day that is now far away,
And I’m pleased that my fortune has found me
By the tomb on this sweet Autumn day.
Dear Shades of our fathers and mothers,
Whose bones strew this dear, holy ground,
I hope in the mansions of Heaven
The happiest homes you have found.
O merciful Father in Heaven!
Look down from thy mansion above.
And bless the dear hearts of this people
With infinite comfort and love.
By Michael Whelan
The Poet of Renous

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ST. RAPHAEL'S - BLACKVILLE, NB
Bishop James Rogers had long conceived the idea of having a church built in the little village of Blackville. In the year 1890 this became a reality. The architectural plans were secured from Mr. Patrick Troy an architect from Dalhousie and the land, a site called the Rye Field, was purchased at a cost of $260.00 from John McLaggan.
There was but 36 in number that made up the Blackville portion of the Mission at that time.
Through the good council of Bishop Rogers,
and the coperative influence of:
Morgan Hayes, his sons George, Edward, and Michael;
Stephen McCarthy and his brother James;
as well as Bernard McCormick;
Fenton McCormick;
Jacob Layton;
Fenton Brophy;
James Burns;
and Thomas Vickers and sons;
brought about the acquistion of the means necessary to pay for the church as it now stands at Blackville, with its Cross pointing heaven-ward, 115 feet from the ground.
The building of the church was completed in 1890 and on Sept. 29, 1891 the parish participated in the Blessing of St. Raphael's Church. On July 9th, 1895 Michael Whelan, the poet from Renous, composed a poem about St. Raphael's Church in Blackville.
St. Raphael's was officially proclaimed as a parish on August 1, 1896 by decree of James Rogers, Bishop Of Chatham.
The parish rectory was built in 1895 under the supervision of Father E.S. Murdock, pastor of Renous. Renovations to the rectory were made by Rev. John H. Cushing (Itinerant Priest) sometime between August 1896 and September 1897. Although there was some controversy surrounding the work done on the rectory, it was used by the parish continuously until September 1985. The rectory was then torn down and a new building was constructed on the same site under the supervision of Rev. Michael D. McGowan.
The first organists at St. Raphael's were:
Thomas Ross,and later
Elizabeth Ward, and then
Monica Donaghue
The early choir consisted of Bruno Savoie, Tom Dunn, Laura Ross, and Mrs. David McPhail.
During the week the Mass was sung by Josie, Jeannie, and Mable Donahue.
The collection was taken by Tom Dunn.
Some of the early Alter boys were Chris Hallihan, Crumley Burns, James Dunn, and Murdock Burns.
The bell was rung by Bernard McCormack and later by Gregory Donahue.
Pastors who served St. Raphael's were:
Rev. E.S. Murdock 1890 - 1896(Mission Priest from Renous)
Rev. J.H. Cushing 1896 - 1897(Itinerant Priest)
Rev. S.J. Crumley 1897 - 1929
Rev. A.A. MacKinnon 1929 - 1950
Rev. Joe McKinnon and
Rev. Francis MacGrath served as Curates in 1946 - 1947
Rev. Bernard McMahon served as Administrator 1947 - 1950
Rev. W.J. Nowlan 1950 - 1961
Rev. D.J. Warner 1961 - 1962
Rev. J.D. Woods 1962 - 1969
Rev. Reginald King 1969 - 1980
Rev. David Bona served as Curate in 1975
Rev. Leo Sullivan 1980 - 1981
Rev. Maurice Swift 1981 - 1985
Rev. Michael McGowan 1985 - 1993
Rev. Vincent Donovan 1993 - Present
The early Miramichi Church was part of the Diocese of Quebec (1674 - 1829) and was comprised of five "Mission Stations": Bartibog, Malcolm's Chapel, Burnt Church, Tabusintac and Bay du Vin. With the influx of Irish immigrants the number of Catholics rapidly increased and the area served by the Church expanded to include Blackville and the Upper-Miramichi region. The first resident priests appointed to Miramichi were:
Rev. Charles D. Ffrench (1813 - 1816),
Rev. Joseph Morrisset (1816 - 1817),
Rev. James Cook (1817 - 1823),
Rev. J.B. Kelly (1820 - 1823),
Rev. William Dollard (1823 - 1833),
Rev. Michael Egan (1833 - 1869).
From 1823 until 1833 Blackville and other areas of the Miramichi were served by Rev. William Dollard who was appointed resident missionary by Bishop Plessis of the Diocese of Quebec. Rev. Dollard made Bartibog his headquarters until 1826 at which time he moved to St. Patrick's in Nelson and served the Miramichi region from there. On 30 September 1842 the province of New Brunswick was formed into a separate diocese and Father William Dollard was appointed its first Bishop.
In October 1836 Rev Michael Egan was appointed to St. Patrick's in Nelson to serve the Miramichi region. He served the Upper-Miramichi region from St. Patrick's in Nelson until 1868 when Rev. William Morriscy was appointed Pastor of the Church at Renous.
At that time, Blackville and the upper Miramichi area were made missions of Renous and remained as such until 1896.
In 1874 St. Joachim's church was built in the mission of Boiestown and was dedicated by Rev. William Morriscy.
In 1893 Holy Name Of Mary church was built in the mission of Blissfield under the supervision of Rev. E.S. Murdock.
On August 1, 1896 Blackville became a parish and "The Forks" (Mount Carmel), Blissfield (includes Doaktown), and Boisetown became missions of Blackville.
In 1906 Our Lady of the Annunciation church was built in the mission of Doaktown.
The Blackville Parish Hall was built under the supervision of Rev. A.A. MacKinnon in 1932. All the men of the Parish gave free labour, and the ladies of the Parish went to the Priest house and took turns cooking meals for the men.
The Catholic Women's League, in the parish, started in September 1932. The President was Monica Donaghue, First Vice-President Eileen Dunn, Second Vice-President Evangeline Kehoe, Third Vice-President Alexis Underhill, Corresponding Secretary Janet Burns, Treasurer Laura Ross.
Some of the other members were: Mrs. David Cripps, Mrs. Peter Burns, Mrs. Bridget Donaghue, Mrs. Charles B. Ross, Mrs. Burt Davidson, Mrs. Alfred Underhill, Mrs. Angelia McCarthy, Mrs. Henry Brophy, and Mrs. Thomas McCarthy.
In September 1936 the first Credit Union in the province of New Brunswick was started in Blackville by Rev. A.A. MacKinnon. The Credit Union was first named "St. Raphael's Credit Union Society Ltd".
The Charter Members were: Rev. A.A. McKinnon, Earl Burns, David Cripps, Ray Hawes, Ernest McCarthy, Chris McCormack, Murdock McCormack, Frank McLaughlin, David McPhail, Charles Ross, Lawrence Ross, Marshall Ross, Philip Sipley, Alfred J. Underhill, John W. Vickers, and Howard White. In addition to the charter members some of the other members of the parish who were the first to join were: Harold Ross, Tom Ross, Susan Ross, Avilla Colford, Monica Donaghue, and Alexis Underhill.
The first officers were Earl Burns, President; Charles Ross, Vice-President; and Ernest McCarthy, Secretary-Treasurer.