Sts. Peter & Paul Parish, Hamilton

Welcome to Sts. Peter & Paul Parish!

In 1948 the Most Rev. Joseph F. Ryan decided to found a second parish on the Hamilton Mountain to serve the growing population. He named the parish after Saints Peter and Paul, and appointed
Fr. Joseph Wilhelm pastor.

In the autumn of 1948, Sts. Peter & Paul School opened its doors, and Fr. Wilhelm began his mission of building up a community of faith. Although few in number, his parishioners were enthusiastic. Three organizations formed that first year. The Holy Name Society worked on development, the Women’s Auxiliary (years later known as the Catholic Women’s League, Charter #1560) organized neighbourhood groups to prepare for the parish bazaar, and the Our Lady Queen of the Apostles Legion of Mary Presidium devoted itself to works of mercy, such as visits to the sick, outreach to fallen away Catholics, and care for tuberculosis patients at Holbrook (now Chedoke). During the early years, social life centred around the parish. Spiritual events, such as novenas, adoration and Benediction were also popular.

By 1950, the parish families had grown. A basement church was constructed to serve them. By 1955, the parish families had doubled. An upper church was built and dedicated on December 2, 1956. In 1966, the west wing of the church was added to accommodate more parishioners. Fr. Wilhelm remained pastor until 1963, when he was made Auxiliary Bishop of Calgary. He went on in 1967 to become Archbishop of Kingston.

The parish was challenged to assimilate many changes after Vatican II, which it did with growing confidence throughout the 70’s and early 80’s. A complete renovation of the church took place during this period, under Fr. Kyran Kennedy. The late 80’s and early 90’s were a time of settling in and evaluating the whirlwind changes. Parishioners began to take more active roles in leading Church ministries as the community approached the new millennium. The parish today continues to grow under the leadership of a dedicated pastor.

Now more than 70 years later we have almost 400 families, and the parish is led by Father Joe Durkacz.

Staff

Fr. Joe Durkacz
Pastor

Rose Berrie
Administrative Assistant

Bernadette Homerski
Pastoral Assistant

Patrick & Mera Couture
Instrumentalist/Cantor (Saturday 5:15pm)

Joseph Arevalo
Instrumentalist/Cantor (Sunday 10am)