About Us

Our History

A brief history of St. Theresa's Parish:

In the late 1940's the Sisters of Service, who were teaching catechism to the children of the Municipality of West St. Paul, conducted a survey of the area. The results showed that a church was needed in the area north of West Kildonan. In 1950, Archbishop Gerald Murray of the Archdiocese of Winnipeg appointed Father James Fitzgerald to serve the Catholics in the area, with a view to establishing a new mission and eventually a parish. Beginning on July 2, 1950, Mass was celebrated for six families in the auditorium of the new West St. Paul School. Within a few weeks, attendance increased to 15 families.

By September, Father Eugene Oroskovits, Chaplain at the monastery Home of the Good Shepherd on Scotia Street, began to celebrate Mass at the school and minister to the families. The old West St. Paul School, with its contiguous two acres of land, was purchased for $2,000.00 and renovations were made to the building to add pews, altar, and organ. On September 2, 1951, Archbishop Pocock blessed the church and dedicated it to St. Theresa.

By 1953, St. Theresa's Roman Catholic Parish had increased to 64 families, but the remodeled school only seated 90 people and it was necessary to hold two Masses on Sunday to accommodate the congregation. The church was hot in summer and cold in winter. It was said that in preparation for the Christmas Vigil one year, the ladies decided to wash the church floor, resulting in a 'skating rink' by the next morning - which then had to be melted down with boiling water! After several financial campaigns, sufficient funds were raised to build a suitable church. The new church was blessed by Archbishop Flahiff on October 1, 1961, the Feast of St Theresa of the Child Jesus. A rectory was built adjacent to and behind the church, and opened in 1979, providing our parishioners with a resident pastor for the first time.

Our Pastors

Many dedicated pastors have provided exceptional leadership to St. Theresa's Parish over the years:

• Reverend Father Eugene Oroskovits 1950-62
• Reverend Father Edward Morand - 1962-66
• Reverend Father Charles Vachon 1966-72
• Reverend Msgr. Maurice Cooney 1972-82
• Reverend Msgr Ward Jamieson 1982-85 and 1987-88
• Reverend Msgr. Norman Chartrand 1985-86
• Reverend Father Wayne Morissey 1986-87
• Reverend Msgr. Maurice Comeault 1988-92
• Reverend Father Robert Polz 1992-94
• Reverend Msgr. Gorgonio Zapatos 1994-97
• Reverend Msgr. Louis McCloskey 1997-2008
• Reverend Father Michael Wollbaum 2008-2015
• Reverend Father David Kowalski 2015-present

Our Patron Saint - St. Theresa of Lisieux

Thérèse of Lisieux (January 2, 1873 - September 30, 1897), or Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face, born Marie-Françoise-Thérèse Martin, was a French Carmelite nun. She is also known as "The Little Flower of Jesus". She felt an early call to religious life and, overcoming various obstacles, became a nun at 15. After nine years as a Carmelite religious, the last two spent in a night of faith, she died of tuberculosis at the age of 24. The impact of her posthumous publications, including her memoir The Story of a Soul, made her one of the greatest saints of the 20th century. Pope Pius XI called her the the star of his pontificate; she was beatified in 1923, canonised in 1925, declared co-patron of the missions with Francis Xavier in 1927, and named co-patroness of France with St. Joan of Arc in 1944. Devotion to Saint Thérèse has developed around the world. The depth and novelty of her spirituality, called the way of confidence and love, has inspired many believers (see Devotees of St. Thérèse). In 1997 Pope John Paul II made her the 33rd Doctor of the Church, recognising her exemplary writings, and life. She was the only saint he named a Doctor of the Church in his long pontificate, and she is the Church's youngest doctor. St. Theresa wrote 45 poems during her lifetime. [source: Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Th%C3%A9r%C3%A8se_of_Lisieux]