O Canada: The Passionists and Canada 1853-1971.
From the First Invitation to the Establishment of the Vicariate.
Written by Father Ken West. Summarized by Father Rob Carbonneau, C.P.
Sacred Heart Retreat
The first home of the Passionists in Canada
2003 marks the sesquicentennial anniversary of the
relationship between the Passionist Congregation and
Canada. Father West’s 1983 unpublished manuscript serves
as the basis for the following historical summary. Ordained
a Passionist in 1974, he now is a priest in Edmonton,
Alberta, Canada. To celebrate the event Father West agreed
to let me summarize the content of his one hundred and
thirty-one page manuscript which for twenty years has sat
on the shelf in the Passionist Historical Archives.
When I first read this history in the mid 1980s I was
impressed by the rich sources. Rereading it now Father
West, the Passionists, and Canadian Catholics should relish
this history. It has stood the test of time. Using the
manuscript outline structure utilized by Father West, I have
taken the liberty to summarize and select various points
which I believe may be of interest to the reader.
Historical research and writing is often a contest
between the wealth of detail and the power of narrative.
When Father West wrote this history Canadian Catholic
historiography was finding its voice. Fortunately, this
Passionist story can be set in the wider context by
consulting Mark A. Noll, A History of Christianity in the
United States. (Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B.
Eerdmans, 1992) and Terence J. Fay, A History of Canadian
Catholics: Gallicanism, Romanism, and Canadianism.
(Montreal&Kingston, Canada: McGill-Queen University
Press, 2002. In addition Professor Richard Lebrun, editor of
the Canadian Catholic Historical Association journal
Historical Studies would want all to know that even more
information on Canadian Catholic history can be found by a
visit to
www.umanitoba.ca/colleges/st_pauls/ccha.
Throughout this summary I have kept the same topical
headings used in Father West’s original manuscript. Space
limitations make me unable to employ page references,
Likewise I have refrained from using extended quotations. -Editor
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