For You make me glad by Your deeds, Lord;
I sing for joy at what Your hands have done.
– Psalm 92: 4
Looking back on the years that have passed since 2012 when they first assumed stewardship of Saint Anne Church, parishioners of Saint Clement will have many reasons to give thanks for the abundance of blessings showered on their achievements.
Those many achievements – some small, others big – all share in common faith, prayer and the generosity of countless volunteer hours. To this must be added the unstinting financial support of a community of faithful anxious to see their historic 19th century church return to something of its former self.
The first project of note – the return of the bells in time to celebrate Easter 2013 delighted many and incredibly, caught the attention of national media outlets. A year later, Saint Anne’s former sanctuary lamp underwent careful restoration and after an absence of many years, was returned to its rightful place before the tabernacle. That same year parishioners’ generous response to an appeal launched on July 1st 2014, after the Mass celebrating the feast of the Precious Blood, made it possible, within just a few days, to cover the costs of installing a magnificent Limoges Stations of the Cross.
The undertaking of projects of greater scope came shortly after with the installation in 2015 of a fervently desired altar rail. Made of cherry and spanning the church’s 70-foot transept, it is the result of the skilled work of two talented parishioners. In 2018 that same team successfully met the challenge of creating a faithful replica of the original stairs that made it possible for Saint Anne to once again be fitted with a traditional pulpit. Several months later they would go on to ensure the installation of a new hardwood floor in the sanctuary.
Before and after Videos:
https://www.statuerestorers.com/restoration-videos
The result of a different set of gifts, the restoration of the church’s statuary has greatly pleased parishioners with every new workshop delivery. The statues of Saint Anne and the Virgin Mary as a Young Girl, Saint Joseph with the Child Jesus and the one of Our Lady above Mgr. Myrand’s altar, all whitewashed in the 1960s, have benefitted from the work of talented parishioners who have successfully returned them to works of art worthy of the devotions they inspire.
One other much appreciated arrival came in 2018 and was thanks to the generosity of benefactors who gifted the parish with the two statues of the Adoring Angels which had originally stood, one on either side of the High Altar in the chapel of the Monastery of the Precious Blood. Today they are thus once again united with their altar and in their intended places.
Perhaps the project dearest to parishioners to take place since the move to Lower Town was the one that saw the fulfillment of an ardent, long-held wish of theirs: the restoration of the altars of the Precious Blood carried out between 2019 and 2021.
Inexorably tied to parish identity, the altars have accompanied the people of Saint Clement Parish since the very beginning. Conceived in the last years of the 19th century for the second chapel of the Sisters Adorers of the Precious Blood, the altars have remained at the heart of the parish’s liturgical celebrations.
What can only be described as an act of providential intervention occurred in 2019 when unexpectedly, Saint Clement Parish was able to reunite two important Lower Town landmarks: Saint Anne Church and what is without doubt one of Ottawa’s finest ecclesiastical buildings – the church’s former rectory, located at number 17 Myrand Avenue.
Since 2019 the former rectory has benefitted from much needed attention in terms of new roofing, gutter replacement and exterior painting as well as the beginnings of interior refurbishment.
Built in 1921-1922, the impressive Beaux-Arts Style rectory passed through the hands of several owners over time. Today, the elegant building has returned to its original vocation and once more serves a community of Roman Catholics who worship in the stone church only an arm’s length away.
Many of the stained glass windows at Saint Anne are signed N.T. Lyon Co., Toronto, 1908, a Canadian art glass firm of the first order. Once the generous purchase of earlier parishioners, those of today have successfully undertaken the specialized work involved in restoring this precious heritage.
The first window to undergo restoration in 2016 was the one featuring the Visitation. Although some of the windows of Saint Anne still await attention, many have since then received careful, professional treatment. Much to everyone’s satisfaction, it was possible in 2020 to re-position the right way around the windows high on the sanctuary wall which, somehow and for unknown reasons, had been reversed. As a result, the four figures on either side of Our Lord are now shown facing Him as He raises His right hand in blessing.
One window that until August of this year very few really noticed and certainly never saw from the church’s interior, is the one dedicated to Saint Cecilia, patron saint of music. Installed in the church façade in 1908, it was hidden from interior view in 1917 when extensive work involving the organ pipe and wind system was undertaken. Today thanks to back-lighting, parishioners and passersby can once again admire the fine rose window image which becomes fully visible from the street after dark.
The church’s Casavant organ too has been enhanced. In 2014, after a hundred years of service, a new electric motor was installed on the air pump – the instrument’s “lungs” as it were; a necessary and not surprising thing given the instrument’s age. Recently, in 2022 it was outfitted with an enhanced level of 256 memory levels at the console making it possible for the organist to call upon an infinite variety of colours and sound changes. In short, the instrument was upgraded to the maximal potential use for our numerous, specific liturgies.
Immediately following the 2022 August Civic holiday, work began on repainting the cross, bell tower and small side turrets that adorn Saint Anne. The result of the much needed restoration work is that today, they look as bright and beautiful as they must have done immediately after their installation in 1908.
If passersby will certainly notice the new look of the steeple and turrets, they will also immediately notice that the three statues set into the façade – in the centre that of the church’s patron, Saint Anne with the Virgin as a young girl flanked by those of Saints Peter and Paul – having received a fresh bronze-coloured coat, now show to greater advantage. Watching over the church as they have always done, they will now be seen at night in the reflected light from Saint Cecilia’s window and the illuminated cross high on the steeple.
As we very rightly give thanks to God for what is without a doubt an impressive list of blessings bestowed on parish initiatives over the last ten years, it will be especially important to give Him thanks for what is unquestionably the most important and precious one of all: parish growth.
When Saint Clement Parish assumed stewardship of Saint Anne Church in 2012, a count of the number of people in attendance at the three Sunday Masses stood at 450 on average. Today, the number of faithful regularly reaches around 750. That number includes many young families and an important contingent of youth, all of whom bring to the church new life and energy which has greatly enriched the parish, breathed new life into its organizations and in some cases, been responsible for their rebirth. When next year the parish marks the 150th anniversary of the construction of Saint Anne, it will do so as a growing, dynamic parish of fervent Roman Catholics whose trust in God has been richly rewarded and who in faith, can look to the future and its challenges with confidence.
Deo Gratias!