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Our Francophone parish will be a vibrant community focused on proclaiming
the Gospel and determined to ardently bear witness to our Catholic faith to
Francophones, English, Spanish and all the other communities
to whom we are sent.
1942 -
During World War II, Sarnia was chosen as a construction center for petrochemical plants to aid in the war effort. In 1942, workers from everywhere answered the call for the construction of these factories (Polymer, Dow Chemical, Fiberglass, etc.) The influx of these workers and their staggered families for a short period of time saw the birth of the village of Blue Water right across from Polymer. Many of these families were French-speaking and Catholic. At the beginning, the priests of the parish of St-Joseph came to celebrate mass in the dining room of Polymer.
1944 –
Blue Water's population grew so much with the arrival of families with school-aged children that Father McCarthy had the first bilingual Catholic school built in Blue Water. It was named St. Thomas Aquinas. -soil that the church is laid out. St. Joseph Parish is overburdened and can no longer take care of this school/church which continues to grow.
1945-
On July 1, 1945, the diocese appointed the first parish priest of Saint-Thomas d'Aquin: Father Raymond Forton. Its first objective is the construction of a presbytery. Unfortunately, misfortune fell on October 24, 1945 when a major fire destroyed the school/church. The parishioners did not give up and it was in one of the Bunk Houses that the church and the school took up residence for several years.
1952 –
The construction of the new church took shape at the beginning of 1952. It was inaugurated on December 6, 1953.
1958 –
The city of Sarnia announced in 1958 the closure of the village of Blue Water for reasons of public health. It was in January 1960 that the expropriations began. The establishment of the parish of St-Thomas d'Aquin as well as the installation of many French-speaking families took place north of the city in a subdivision that was formerly called Saint-Alban. It was in 1962 that the construction of the St-Thomas d'Aquin church began with an annex for the presbytery and an annex for the St-Charles secondary school. On the same land a convent to house the nuns/teachers and the elementary school St-Thomas d’Aquin were erected. The last mass was celebrated at Blue Water on December 14, 1963.
1963 –
On December 15, 1963, Father Janisse celebrated the first mass in the parish of Saint-Thomas d'Aquin de St-Alban, which had been decreed a territorial and national parish by Mgr. J.C. Cody, Bishop of London. He had also granted all Francophones in the region the privilege of being part of it. It was the beginning of a new chapter in the history of St. Thomas Aquinas.
The French-Canadians of Blue Water worked hard to obtain the building rights that allowed the survival of their language and their religion. Today, the church is still standing after more than 70 years. St. Thomas Aquinas Parish in Sarnia offers masses in French, English and Spanish. It is the only parish in the county that serves the Francophone and Francophile population of Sarnia.