POINT 24 | La ligne bleue | #HamiltonVilleAccueillante
ST. MARY’S PRESBYTARY | 56 Mulberry St, Hamilton
At the heart of the community since 1890.
"You have to imagine the years 1860 to 1921, when St. Mary's Cathedral and Rectory were in an expansion mode to meet the growing needs of the community.
In 1890, Father McEvay had the magnificent rectory built. Subsequently, beginning in 1899, major improvements were made to the priest's house, notable for its large wrap-around balcony.
The Rectory also benefits from the major renovations that are common to St. Mary's. The large hall is very inviting, a beautiful space ready to host large community events.
One must imagine the years 1860 to 1921, when St. Mary's Cathedral was at the centre of a vast complex of buildings including St. Joseph's Convent, St. Augustine's School, Mary's Boys School, St. Mary's Girls School and the church refectory, as well as St. Joseph's Chapel, eventually integrated into the Slovak Roman Catholic Church of Sts. Cyril & Methodius, not to mention the St. Mary's rectory.
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BEHIND THE SCENES
The site of Hamilton was visited by the French explorer René-Robert Cavalier, sieur de La Salle in 1669. He was probably preceded by Étienne Brûlé in 1616. These Frenchmen visited, but did not settle...
Things have changed a lot since then! For example, the Centre francophone Hamilton (CFH), whose offices are located in the rectory, has been a key player in the Francophone community for 50 years!
The CFH is the driving force behind the FrancoFEST Hamilton cultural festival, which brings together all the faces of the French-speaking world in Hamilton's beautiful Gage Park every year.
It collaborates with many partners to ensure an equivalent offer of socio-cultural activities in French. To this end, it’s a member of the Advisory Committee of the Communauté francophone accueillante de Hamilton, an initiative funded by IRCC and coordinated by the Réseau en immigration francophone du Centre-Sud-Ouest de l'Ontario, which is responsible for the implementation of La ligne bleue de Hamilton.
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FOR THE CURIOUS
According to the 2016 census, Hamilton's total population is 536,917, of which over 8,000 have French as their first language. In addition to the Franco-Ontarians present in Hamilton, the three largest French-speaking immigrant communities are from the Democratic Republic of Congo, France and Haiti.
Hamilton is estimated to have 48,780 people who can conduct a conversation in French, including 3,870 immigrants who have French as their first official language.
Life in French in Hamilton
The vitality of Hamilton's Francophone community can be measured by the diversity of resources and services available to it in French.
Hamilton Niagara Community Health Centre
Francophone school boards (MonAvenir and Viamonde)
And many other institutions and community organizations, not to mention all the entrepreneurs working in French and the ethnocultural associations.
For more information: http://destinationhamilton-ontario.ca/
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TOWARDS POINT 25...
(Distance = 430 metres)
Continue east and turn south on Macnab St N to York Blvd. Cross the street to the Hamilton Farmer's Market.
