The Immaculate Conception Church, known colloquially as Palmer Road Church is a 19th-century

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * Chris ...

located in Palmer Road,

Prince Edward Island Prince Edward Island (PEI; ) is one of the thirteen Provinces and territories of Canada, provinces and territories of Canada. It is the smallest province in terms of land area and population, but the most densely populated. The island has seve ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. The church is a white wooden

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

architecture, and it was constructed in 1892. — site now defunct, reference taken from cached version. As of 2014, the church offers Saturday, Sunday and weekday services, and serves Palmer Road,

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

Miminegash Miminegash is a rural municipality in Prince Edward Island, Canada. It is located northwest of Alberton and southwest of Tignish. It is part of a small area in Lot 3 known as either the ''St. Louis'', '' Palmer Road'', or ''Miminegash'' area. ...

, Pleasant View,

Skinner's Pond Skinners Pond is a rural unincorporated community in Prince County, Prince Edward Island, Canada. It is located northwest of the town of Tignish in the township of Lot 1, near the northwestern tip of the province. The primary industries for th ...

, southern Harper Road and other communities. The church is located at the intersection of Routes 155 and 156, across from the ''Palmer Road Community Center''.

History

The original church at the site was built in 1867, and was originally known as the St. Thomas Mission, a mission of the St. Simon & St. Jude Church in nearby

Tignish Tignish is a Canadian town located in Prince County, Prince Edward Island. It is located approximately northwest of the city of Summerside, and northwest of the city of Charlottetown. It has a population of 719. The name "Tignish" is derive ...

. In 1878, the church separated from St. Simon & St. Jude and became its own

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

. In 1890, the original church burned down, and was replaced by the now-existing church in 1892. Designed by Francois Xavier Edouard Meloche (1855–1917) to replace the original, much smaller mission which was destroyed by fire on May 24, 1890, the cornerstone was laid August 15, 1892 on The Feast of the Acadians.''Immaculate Conception Church - Palmer Road 1892-1922-"A Masterpeice of its Kind"'' The church is a wooden

structure, and is the oldest wooden church on Prince Edward Island. The church is an architectural gem of considerable importance, not only to the island, but to Canada as a whole. This is so not only because of its fine design and craftsmanship, both inside and out, but also because of its association with Francois Xavier Meloche, an artist/architect who has yet to take his proper place in the annals of Canadian art. In 2007, it was proposed by overseeing

Bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

Vernon Fougere that the Immaculate Conception parish be dissolved and merged with nearby St. Simon & St. Jude parish due to declining

church attendance Church attendance is a central religious practice for many Christians; some Christian denominations, such as the Catholic Church require church attendance on the Lord's Day (Sunday); the Westminster Confession of Faith is held by the Reformed Ch ...

. This proposal was largely rejected by Immaculate Conception pastor Fr. Arthur Pendergast and parishioners alike.

References

{{Coord, 46.9562, -64.1010, region:CA-PE_type:landmark, display=title Roman Catholic churches in Prince Edward Island Churches in Prince County, Prince Edward Island Historic buildings and structures in Prince Edward Island

History

See also

References