St. Mary Star of the Sea Church History Page

Roman Catholics, who emigrated to Canada from Ireland and settled in the Port Credit area, were zealous in their devotion towards God and their chosen faith. Arriving in the early 1800's, with no priest or church in the immediate vicinity, they made long, arduous trips to the Fifth Line, to Trafalgar, or to St. Paul's, Toronto to attend mass and receive the sacraments.

About 1856, the first priests who came occasionally to Port Credit to say mass were Rev. John McNulty from Fifth Line and Rev. John O'Reilly from Dundas, followed by Rev. John Shea in 1861.

Local residents who had the honour of having mass said in their own homes were Michael Foley, Michael Murphy, Thomas Hickey and a Mr. McDonald, whose home was located where the present church now stands.

In 1866, Rev. William Flannery (1861-67) moved the rectory from Fifth Line Church to St. Patrick's Church in Dixie, making it a shorter distance for Port Credit Catholics to travel to mass.

In 1870, Rev. Thomas Morris (1869-72) bought land to build a church in Port Credit. The final payments on this land were completed by his successor, Rev. John McEnline (1873-76).

At a cost of $2000, the original St. Mary Star of the Sea Church was built in 1880.

Later a sacristy was added, both being constructed during the tenure of Rev. Edward Cassidy (1877-87) who was parish priest at St. Patrick's.

St. Mary Star of the Sea remained a mission church of St. Patrick's in Dixie until 1914. The Port Credit parishioners were fortunate to receive spiritual guidance from many excellent priests from St. Patrick including:

Rev. Joseph McBride (1890-91)

Rev. James Trayling (1891-95)

Rev. Patrick Coyle (1895-1903)

Rev. William Bergin (1903-04)

Rev. James Tracey (1904-13)

In 1914, St. Mary of the Sea became a separate parish and, to help the fledgling church with finances, was given a mission church in Streetsville. The first pastor was Rev. Anthony McCaffrey (1914-17) who built a rectory on the west side of the original church, just east of our present St. Mary.

One person in our parish, Elizabeth Brown, at her 100th birthday celebration recently, recalled memories of the olden days. In 1912, she was only 15 years old and played hymns on the church organ, hymns she still remembered and played again after mass on her centennial birthday.


	In 1917, Rev. James Sheridan (I917-60) was appointed pastor of the small 40 family parish, and for 2 more years was in charge of Streetsville Mission. By 1924, there were 120 families and 500-600 people at St. Mary Star of the Sea. In 1939, Rev. Dr. Jim Sheridan, nephew of Rt. Rev. James Sheridan (now a Monsignor), celebrated his first mass at St. Mary Star of the Sea. Rev. Dr. Jim continued to assist Monsignor on Sundays.
With more and more Catholics attending mass, the church became too small and in 1952, Monsignor Sheridan turned the first sod, and blessed and laid the cornerstone for a new church. Sunday Mass was said in Port Credit's Vogue Theatre until the new church basement was ready. Stained glass windows from the original St. Mary Star of the Sea were placed in the new church which was officially opened in 1953 by His Eminence Cardinal McGuigan of Toronto.
The old church was restyled and for many years served as a convent for the Grey Sisters of the Immaculate Conception. After 1960, when Rev. O'Reilly was pastor, a new rectory was built on to the back of the church.
Rt. Rev. James Sheridan, D.R served as pastor of his beloved St. Mary Star of the Sea for over 40 years (2/3 of his 60 years as a priest) and parishioners were honoured to attend his Diamond Jubilee Mass and celebration in 1958
He and all the priests who have been appointed to this parish have served tirelessly and well, tending to the many duties in a busy parish, and maintaining the church as a beautiful House of the Lord. They are deserving of our heartfelt gratitude for devoting their lives to assisting us in our journey towards spiritual and eternal salvation.
Following is the list of priests from Rt. Rev. Sheridan to present day: Rev. Wm. Harding (Associate 1954-60) Rev. E.L. Arbour (Associate 1960-63) Rev. F.X. O'Reilly (Pastor 1960-68) Rev. B. Breen (Associate 1963-68) Rev. H.E. Manley (Associate 1968-78) Rt. Rev. W.B. Kerr (Pastor 1969-80) Rev. V. Vlasic (Associate 1979-80) Rev. M.J. Wildgen (Pastor 1980-87) Rev. P.L. Cahill (Pastor 1987-90) Rev. F.J. O'Neill (Pastor 1990-95) Rev. K.G. Wallace (Pastor 1995- 2002) Rev. N. McMillan (Pastor 2002 - present)

Before the 75th Anniversary celebrations in 1989, Rev. P.L. Cahill arranged for extensive renovations to the nave and sanctuary of St. Mary Star of the Sea, added carpeting, and a sound system with a frequency for the hearing impaired.

Our previous priest, Rev. Keith Wallace, who was appointed to St. Mary Star of the Sea in 1995, has added air conditioning, an elevator for the disabled, and has remodeled the basement so it can be multi-functional with moveable walls and fresh paint throughout.

On August 18th, 2002 - we welcomed our newest Priest, Father Neil McMillan.

As His Excellency Bishop Pearce Lacey said at the 75th Anniversary Mass in 1989,

"St. Mary Star of the Sea Church is extraordinarily beautiful and symbolizes the deep significance of enhancing the House of the Lord."