Basilica Of Our Lady Of Perpetual Help, Labrador City
History
Fr. Jacques Laperriere, OMI, visiting from Schefferville, Quebec, said the first mass at Christmas 1959. It was held in a mine garage. The bishop appointed Fr. Theodore Roussel, OMI, as the first pastor in 1960. He led the drive to build the first church. The church was opened in 1962.
In response to Bishop Peter Sutton, OMI, request, Pope Paul VI decreed in 1976 that the church become a co-cathedral with the one at Schefferville. When mining stopped in Schefferville, the Episcopal see was transferred to Labrador City in 1980, raising the status of Our Lady of Perpetual Help to a cathedral.
In 2007, Pope Benedict XVI decreed that the cathedral was a basilica. It was the second basilica in the province and the twenty-first in Canada.
Building
The basilica is a two-storey postmodern structure with a rock façade and a steeple located next to the front entrance. The tower houses three bells.
Pastors
- Rev. Theodore Roussel, OMI, 1960 - ?
- Rev. Jaroslaw Pachocki, OMI, ?-2012
- Rev Joy Paul Kallikatukudy, OMI, -current
Footnotes
- ^ GCatholic.org
- ^ "Basilica of Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Labrador City". Archived from the original on 2009-06-16. Retrieved 2009-09-25.