The Saved Army Invades Ottawa

6 April 1884

The nineteenth century was a time of incredible change in Europe and North America. The industrial revolution was upending the existing economic and social order. A cultural renaissance, which drew inspiration from the past, was revolutionizing the arts. Meanwhile, evangelical preachers whose aim was to revive traditional Christian values were attracting thousands of converts, and in so doing threatening long-established churches. This religious revival was intertwined with other social crusades, including the temperance and abolitionist movements.

^{Rev. William Booth, c. 1862, Wikipedia}

Among these evangelical preachers were William Booth and his wife Catharine who in 1865 began bringing the word of God to the destitute and marginalized of London’s poor East End. Booth had been a minister of the Methodist Reform Church but grew frustrated with constraints placed upon his ability to preach. Consequently, he struck out on his own, bringing the message of Christian love and redemption to parts of society that had been neglected by mainstream churches. Realizing that it is difficult to save souls if the physical body is in need, the Booths started to provide food and other essentials at their gatherings. 

Not surprisingly, this new, vigorous, evangelical movement, initially called the “Christian Mission,” irritated many. Mainstream churches were hostile. The Booths’ brash, loud approach to reaching people, via parades, public hymn singing, drums and tambourines, was viewed by some as inconsistent with the biblical admonition Let all things be done decently and in order (I Corinthians, 14:40). The parades and loud music created disturbances. Bystanders mocked adherents and sometimes threw stones causing riots. This led to members getting into trouble with the law for disturbing the peace and other offences. Some went to jail. The Booths’ opposition to the consumption of alcohol also led to enemies. Organized on military lines, with officers (i.e., ministers) and soldiers, members of this new movement called themselves the “Saved Army.” In 1878, the new movement became known as the “Salvation Army.” William Booth was its “General,” with Catharine Booth becoming the “Army Mother.” Despite opposition, the Salvation Army quickly spread through Great Britain and continental Europe. It jumped the Atlantic to the United States in 1880 and to Canada in 1882 with an open-air meeting first held in Toronto in January 1882. Units of the Army were quickly established in other cities, including London and Kingston. They were often led by British immigrants who had been Salvationists in the old country.

^{The Ottawa campaign underway, War Cry, 4 April 1885.}

The first references to the Salvation Army in the Ottawa Citizen occurred in the late 1870s and early 1880s. Most were not complementary. An 1879 editorial stated that “One of the latest outbreaks of fanaticism among the lower classes in England is a society, calling itself the ‘Salvation Army,” which marches in procession, and gets up an excitement and causes riots.” An 1882 editorial claimed that the “ravings of the Salvation Army ‘soldiers’ [brought] religion into contempt.” In 1883, the newspaper reported that the Salvation Army had become such an “intolerable nuisance” in Toronto that legal action was planned by neighbours of the Army’s Queen Street “barracks.” However, these views mellowed over time, especially after the Army came to Ottawa and its works became better known.

The first report of the Salvation Army reaching Ottawa, was a news item that appeared in the spring of 1884 reporting that a meeting connected with the Salvation Army had been held on 6 April at a private home on Duke Street in LeBreton Flats. The purpose of the meeting was to lead an assault the capital. A few weeks later, the Citizen reported that the Saved Army had commenced the religious crusade and was drawing large crowds, owing to its “novelty.” The people behind the crusade appeared to have come from Portsmouth, a small village on the outskirts of Kingston. The Citizen noted several prominent Kingston supporters of the Army, including the chaplain of the Kingston Penitentiary, and the brother of Sir Richard Cartwright, a native of Kingston who had been Minister of Finance in the government of Alexander Mackenzie.

While still cool towards the new religious organization, the Citizen said that members had conducted themselves on Ottawa streets in a “ladylike and gentlemanly manner.” If people objected to the Army’s practices, it said that they should stay away; there was no requirement to attend Salvationist meetings. The newspaper added that “nobody but a biped destitute of all feelings of decency or manhood would go into any building where a so-called sacred service was being carried on and act in a manner to hurt the feelings of those taking part in it. A gentleman…would be careful to do nothing to offend the worshippers at any shrine, in the mosque, padoga (sic), Anglican High Church or Low Church, within the walls of the Roman Catholic Church, or even among the pestilent Mormons [!].”  The newspaper later opined that the Salvation Army reached people whom the mainline churches “either wholly neglect or seem indifferent to their fates.”

Across the country, the Salvation Army began to attract adherents, particularly among working people, the unemployed, and the destitute. In November 1884, the Army started publishing a weekly Canadian edition of the War Cry, the official gazette of the Salvation Army. The newspaper featured prominent Salvationists and discussed “war news” i.e., how the Salvation Army was faring across the country.

^{Unidentified Salvation Army soldiers, Salvation Army Archives.}

One May 1885 story prominent in both in the Citizen and in the War Cry was the donation of a drum to the Ottawa corps. Henceforth, Ottawa’s officers and soldiers paraded to the beat of a bass drum, as well as tambourines. A few months later, a concertina was added. These parades, while successful in attracting a lot of attention, were not always welcome. In June 1886, regular Sunday services at St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church were disrupted as Salvationists noisily sang while parading down Wellington Street to and from their barracks at 309 Sparks Street (a former livery stable). On one Sunday, Rev. W.T. Herridge, the minister, had to stop his sermon twice as he could not be heard over the din.

While the Salvation Army gained converts as it “attacked” Ottawa, it found progress slow going. In an 1885 report on Ottawa in the War Cry, Captain Hind and Lieutenant Dalmage said that their meetings were being upset by young men led by the devil. They said that “It is surprising that in this 19^th century and especially in the Capital of Canada, to find the devil has men and women so completely in his clutches that he leads them to hoot, shout, and howl, while people are on their knees. God help Ottawa!  For with all the education, society, etc., the devil has entirely his own way so far.”

^{General Booth, 1907, postcard, Salvation Army Archives.}

Salvation came the following year when the General himself stopped in Ottawa while on a North America tour. General William Booth arrived in the capital on Friday 15 October 1886 on a CPR train from Montreal, disembarking at the Union Depot at 12:35pm. Every member of the Ottawa corps was there to cheer him when he stepped off the platform. He was accompanied by Col. Dowdie and Staff-Capt. Vint from England and Commissioner Coombs who headed up the Canadian branch of the Army. During his short visit to Ottawa, Booth stayed at the residence of John M. Mosgrove at 266 Lisgar Avenue.

On his arrival, a procession formed from the train station. Led by a brass band provided by the Kingston corps of the Army, the Ottawa corps conveyed the General to their Sparks Street barracks. That afternoon, a “holiness meeting” was held in the Grand Opera House for the area’s Salvation Army officers and soldiers, giving them an opportunity to meet the General in person. At 5pm, a banquet for 500 persons was held at the barracks, hosted by the women of the Army. The Ottawa Journal reported that long tables groaned “beneath appetizing delicacies.”  The General and the Army returned to the Opera House for an evening meeting open to all. The price of admission was 15 cents. The Citizen said that the General’s address was “most pointed and convincing.” It also “sparkled with humour, shone with earnestness and conviction and scintillated with dramatic power.” He told the audience that if people saw for themselves and examined the Salvation Army’s methods, they would have a better appreciation of the Salvation Army. Booth challenged any bishop or leading man of any known denomination to spend twenty-four hours with him, or even a Sabbath. If, after that time, the person did not support the work of the Army, Booth would donate $250 to any orphan asylum. Suffice to say, the General’s money was safe.

The following morning, General Booth left Ottawa for Western Canada on the continuation of his North American tour. A few weeks later, the Ottawa division moved into larger quarters at Victoria Hall at the corner of O’Connor and Queen Streets.

In March1907, General Booth, now 78 years old, returned to Ottawa in the context of a round-the-world tour, with stops across North America and Japan, before returning to England via India—a journey of more than 25,000 miles, a huge undertaking for a man of his age. His reception was far different from the one he received twenty-one years earlier. This time, he was a guest of Lord Grey, the Governor General, staying at Rideau Hall. His first public appearance was as the speaker at a Canadian Club luncheon held at Harmony Hall in front of 300 guests. Among them, were Lord Grey, Sir Wilfrid Laurier, Robert Borden, and Ottawa’s Mayor D’Arcy Scott.

The General spoke on the objectives of the Army, specifically the raising of men and women “out of despair and misery, from vice and drunkenness, and from harlotry and debauchery.” The Army taught them that “life was beautiful and good if only the love of their Maker was implanted in their hearts.” He told the Canadian Club that the Salvation Army had succeeded beyond his own dreams, and that it had become a force in the world for uplifting mankind.

That evening, at the Russell Theatre, the General expanded on this theme in front of a sold-out house. He noted that the Salvation Army flag flew over fifty-two countries. There were twenty-five different editions of the War Cry, translated into seventeen languages, with a weekly circulation of more than 1 million copies. The Salvation Army provided a host of social services including rescue homes, refuges, maternity houses, emigration and colonization services, as well as food and shelter for the homeless. The reasons for its success were the open declaration of its aims, the self-sacrifice of its officers and soldiers, and its confidence in the possibility of converting anybody.

He left the next day bound for Winnipeg abord a private train carriage. General Booth died in 1912 at 83 years of age.

Fast forward to today, the Salvation Army remains true to General Booth’s objectives and vision. It currently operates in 133 countries. In Canada, it is active in 400 communities, providing hope and support to vulnerable people without discrimination. In 2022, it dished out close to 4 million meals, helped 1.5 million people with food, clothing or other assistance, provided 1.2 million days worth of beds, and fed 115,000 children through school meals programs. During emergencies, the Salvation Army is there providing immediate assistance, as well as longer-term physical, emotional, and spiritual aid to victims and responders. For more information about the host of services offered by the Army and how you can help, see Salvation Army.

Sources:

Ottawa Citizen, 1879. “Editorial Briefs,” 26 September.

——————, 1881. “Editorial Notes,” 7 April.

——————, 1882. “Editorial Notes,” 23 December.

——————, 1882. “Toronto,” 20 November.

——————, 1883. “Salvation Army,” 2 April 1883.

——————, 1883. “Latest News in a Nutshell,” 14 April.

——————, 1884. “Salvation Army,” 7 April.

——————, 1884. “The ‘Saved Army,’ 19 April.

——————, 1884. “Saved Army,” 7 May.

——————, 1884. “Editorial Notes, 31 May.

——————, 1885. “A Drum For The Salvation Army,” 4 May.

——————, 1885. “An Innovation,” 13 July.

——————, 1886. “General Booth,” 16 October.

——————-, 1907. “General William Booth,” 16 March.

——————-, 1907. “Gen. Booth At The Russell,” 21 March.

Ottawa Journal, 1886. “The Salvation Army Nuisance,” 7 June.

——————-, 1886. “Salvation Army Notes,” 29 November.

——————-, 1886. “Salvation Army Notes,” 13 December.

——————-, 1907. “Founder Tells of Army Work,” 21 March.

Salvation Army, 2024. Salvation Army.

[The] Salvation War, 1883, under the Generalship of William Booth, London, Salvation Army Book Depot, 8 & 9 Paternoster Square.

[The] Salvation War, 1884, under the Generalship of William Booth, London, Salvation Army Book Depot, 8 & 9 Paternoster Square.

War Cry, 1885. “Ottawa,” 11 April.

———-, 1885. “Ottawa,” 25 April.

———-, 1885. “Ottawa,” 30 May.

———-, 1886. “The General’s Tour,” 6 November.

———-, 1886. “Montreal and Ottawa,” 13 November.

Ottawa’s First Mosque

26 March 1975

^{Ottawa Mosque, 251 Northwestern Avenue, 2009, by Muhammad, Wikipedia}

According to a 1995 Citizen article, the first Muslim immigrants to Ottawa were Hassan Mahmood Wahad and his family, who came to the capital in 1903 from the small Lebanese-Syrian town of Kfarmishki, located about 90 kilometres southeast of Beirut. At the time, the community was part of the Ottoman Empire.

The Wahad family found a home in the Byward Market alongside other recent immigrants. It must have been difficult. Initially knowing little English or French, Hassan Wahad and his family were cut off from their language, culture, and religion. Somehow, Hasan Wahad made a living as a pedlar, selling small items door to door. Other Lebanese families from Kfarmishki, including the Boushey family who became well-known in the capital for their landmark grocery store on Elgin Street, later joined the Wahad family in Ottawa.

Hassan Wahad made it to the local newspapers in 1924, when he appeared as a witness in a bigamy case involving two other members of the small but growing Muslim community in the city. Wahad gave evidence of marriage practices in Muslim Syrian communities. (The bigamy case was dismissed for lack of evidence.) Wahad’s second daughter, Afefe, was the first Muslim person born in Ottawa. At school, Afefe became known as Eva. This moniker stuck for the rest of her life. Eva Wahad was to play a key role in the establishment of the first mosque in Ottawa.

It was years before Ottawa’s Muslim community was large enough to consider the possibility of building a mosque. By the early 1960s, there were still less than five hundred Muslims living in the city. Prayers at major religious festivals such as Eid-al-Fitr and Eid-al-Adza were held at the Pakistan High Commission and the Egyptian Embassy. (Eid-al-Fitr marks the end of the month-long period of fasting of Ramadan. Eid-al-Adza, the Feast of Sacrifice, honours the willingness of Abraham to sacrifice his son Ismail in an act of obedience to Allah.)

At the 1962 Eid-al-Fitr observance at the Pakistan High Commission, four Ottawa Muslims proposed the creation of an Ottawa Muslim Association (OMA) with the objective of building a mosque. Three reasons were cited for its construction. First, the mosque was to serve the religious needs of the growing Muslim population of Ottawa. Second, it would help Muslim children stay connected with their heritage. Third, the mosque would promote better understanding among peoples of different faiths.  The Muslim Women’s Auxiliary, which was founded by Eva Wahad, was tasked with the objective of raising money for the mosque’s construction fund.

In 1962, Ottawa’s Muslim community began to hold weekly prayers at the Western United Church located at the corner of Wellington and Bronson Streets. When that building was demolished in 1965, the community’s services were moved to Northwestern United Church on Northwestern Avenue close to Scott Street. Also in 1965, the OMA was officially incorporated.

For the next ten years, Ottawa’s Muslims scrimped and saved. The Ottawa Muslim Association recommended that community members donate ten days’ salary each year to the building fund. Eva Wahad organized hundreds of events to raise funds including cultural activities, teas, and even pork-free, Chinese cooking lessons. Roughly half of the more than $500,000 ultimately needed to construct the mosque was provided by Muslim countries, including Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Iran and Malaysia.

By 1967, the Association had raised the $25,000 needed to purchase a plot of land beside the Northwestern United Church. The spot was ideal. It was serviced by three bus routes, was fairly central, and not too close to its neighbours. On the land was two old houses. One was rented out while the other was used for programs. For many years, funerals and marriages had to be performed by an Iman brought from Detroit. By the late 1960s, Dr. Farid R. Ahmed, a National Research Council physicist and the first OMA president, was able to able to perform these rites. He later became chair of the mosque construction committee.

In 1972, the OMA announced that Ottawa would finally get its first mosque to be located on the Northwest Avenue property. While all the funds necessary for construction the mosque had not yet to be donated, the organization was able to proceed with its plans. The building, with a traditional Islamic dome and 115-foot minaret, was designed by Toronto architect Anwar Asad. The call to prayers made five times a day would be delivered using an electronic amplifier.  The building would be oriented so that worshippers would facing east. As is customary with all mosques, there would be no chairs or pews. Prayers would be made kneeling on carpets. Consistent will Islamic practice, men would pray in front, then boys, then women and girls.

City hall gave the go-ahead to build the mosque in early March 1973, but not before a few hiccups. Plans for the site incorporated only twenty parking spaces instead of twenty-six as initially required by the city’s planning department. After the Board of Adjustments approved a variance, the City appealed, concerned about crowding on neighbourhood streets. However, the appeal failed since the relevant city by-law governing the required number of parking spots for a house of worship was based on the number of seats or pews, whereas a mosque had no seats or pews. Mayor Benoit also noted that a shortfall of six parking spots would make no appreciable difference to neighbourhood congestion.

With this last hurdle passed, tenders were sent out. Ground was broken at 251 Northwestern Avenue in September 1973. Two young children, Basher Ghadban and Yasmine Ismaily, turned the first sod with G. K. Chaudhry, the then president of the OMA, and other members of the Muslim community looking on.

Eighteen months later, on 26 March 1975, prayers were held for the first time in the new Ottawa mosque. While the upstairs dome and minaret were not yet complete, building inspectors had given their permission to use the basement. In the inaugural congregation were ambassadors from Muslim and Arab countries. That September, Eid-al-Fitr (marking the end of Ramadan) was celebrate for the first time in the mosque. By now, evening and Sunday prayers (not Friday) had already started, with plans underway to commence weekend Islamic classes.

In late February 1976, with the upstairs building still unfinished, prayers in the basement were disrupted by protests at the visit of Pakistan’s then prime minister Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. Bhutto, who was visiting Ottawa, had come to the mosque to pray and to pledge funds to the mosque’s building fund. A Pakistani couple who had been separated from their children by the 1972 civil war that had led to the independence of Bangladesh interrupted prayers to present a petition to Bhutto asking for his intervention to bring their children to Canada. Their earlier efforts to do so had been thwarted by death threats. Mosque officials allowed the couple to present their petition to Bhutto. However, a shouting match broke out afterwards between supporters of the couple and others in the hall. Bhutto was whisked away by RCMP officers. Two demonstrators were detained but subsequently released without charge. The following year, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto was ousted in a military coup by General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq, and was controversially executed in 1979.

After some minor last-minute finishing touches, including the installation of handrails, building inspectors gave the upstairs portion of the glass and steel mosque the green light at the end of February 1977. Although ready for occupancy, its interior was empty. There was not even a pulpit in place, as the one promised by Egypt had not yet arrived. Nevertheless, on 3 March 1977, Ottawa’s Muslim community was able to celebrate Eid Milad-un-Nabi in honour of the birth and life of Mohammed. School children gave poetry recitals. There were also prayers and a talk on the Prophet’s life. In early July 1977, Eva Wahab and the Ottawa Muslim Women’s Auxiliary hosted an “open house” at the mosque and tea to the people of Ottawa of all faiths.

Today, the Ottawa Mosque and the Ottawa Muslim Association remain central to the life of the capital’s Muslims. However, the size of the Muslim community has grown rapidly since the opening of the mosque on Northwestern Avenue, augmented by new arrivals, most recently from war-torn Syria and Somalia. With the number of Muslims now accounting for about 10 per cent of the population of Ottawa-Gatineau, or roughly 140,000 people, the Ottawa Mosque cannot accommodate them all at prayers. Consequently, additional mosques have opened across the region.

Eva Wahad and Dr. Farid Ahmed, the two Muslim pioneers who led the movement to build the first mosque in Ottawa, died in 2005 and 2021, respectively.

Sources:

Durrani, Palvashah, 2014. First Muslim Born in Ottawa: Visionary & Community Builder Eva Wahab, Muslim Link, 3 October.

Khalfan, Zufl M., 2021. Farid Ahmed: A Pioneer Muslim Passes Away, 20 December.

Ottawa Citizen, 1962. “Moslem Group Plans to Have Ottawa Mosque,” 5 April.

——————, 1969. “Muslim women are cooking up a mosque,” 8 February.

——————, 1970. “Religion can still save a troubled world,” 23 July.

——————, 1972. “Malaysia donates $5,000 to Ottawa mosque project,” 4 March.

——————, 1973. ‘City’s 1^st mosque plan gets all-clear,” 9 March.

——————, 1973. “Ottawa’s Muslims will get their mosque,” 9 June.

——————, 1975. “Moslems hold first prayers in new mosque,” 20 September.

——————, 1976. “Capital Diary,” 18 February.

——————, 1976. “Bhutto church visit disrupted,” 23 February.

——————, 1977, “Ottawa mosque nearly complete,” 5 February.

——————, 1977. “Moslems to mark their ‘Christmas.’” 22 February.

——————, 1977. “Open house,” 9 July.

Ottawa Journal, 1972. “City will hear call to Allah,” 2 June.

——————-, 1975. “Muslim pioneers build a future,” 17 May.

——————-, 1976. “Hard work built Mosque,” 9 December.

Ottawa Mosque, 2023. About OMA.

Pope John Paul II

19 September 1984

^{Pope John Paul II in Canada, 1984, LAC, 4444461, author unknown.}

Karol Cardinal Wojtyla of Poland was elected supreme pontiff, the apostolic successor to Saint Peter, head of the Roman Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State on 16 October 1978. He chose the name John Paul II as a tribute to his predecessor, John Paul I who had died just 33 days after himself being elected Pope in August 1978. Pope Jean Paul II was the first non-Italian pope in more than 450 years.

Almost immediately, Pope John Paul II began travelling, ministering to the Catholic faithful around the world. His first international visit was to the Dominican Republic and Mexico in January 1979. Later that year, he travelled to his native Poland which at the time was still run by the Communist Party.

He came to Canada in 1984 for a twelve-day, cross-country, pastoral visit, the first Pope ever to visit this country. However, it wasn’t the man’s first trip to the country. Cardinal Wojtyla had spent time in Canada in 1968. Then the Archbishop Metropolitan of Krakow, he was invited on a tour of the country by the Canadian Polish Conference. Newly appointed Cardinal Priest by Pope Paul VI in 1967, he toured Polish parishes in Alberta. He also visited Ottawa.

The first papal visit to Canada began on 9 September 1984 when Pope John Paul arrived by airplane at Quebec City. Security was tight during his twelve-day stay in Canada. Three years earlier, a Turkish gunman had shot and severely wounded him in an assassination attempt in St. Peter’s Square. Reportedly, 25,000 RCMP, provincial and municipal police covered his trip with security blanket. The cost of the papal visit, including security, was approximately $50 million, of which $30 million was paid for by the federal government, with the remaining $20 million covered by the Catholic Church. Each diocese that the Pope visited was responsible for their share of the expenses.

In addition to Quebec City, the Pope visited major cities from coast to coast, including Montreal, Toronto, Moncton, Halifax, Winnipeg, Edmonton, Yellowknife, Vancouver and, finally, Ottawa where his tour ended. He made more than 30 major speeches in both English and French. His one regret was his inability to stop at Fort Simpson, owing to fog and a tight schedule, disappointing thousands of mostly Indigenous people. Native leaders from Fort Simpson declined the Pope’s invitation to meet later in Ottawa. Unable to speak in public to First Nations due to the schedule change, the Pope broadcasted his speech instead. It was an attempt at reconciliation.

Knowing what we know now about what happened in residential schools, many of which were run by the Catholic Church, his speech did not go very far. While saying that Indians, Inuit and Métis had repeatedly been the victims of injustice and admitting that Catholic missionaries had made mistakes, he reportedly extolled their contribution over the past four centuries, opining that they always had the best interest of native peoples at heart.

The Pope’s visit to Ottawa began on 19 September. While short, approximately 30 hours, it was jam-packed with events. He arrived mid-afternoon at Uplands Airport where he was greeted by Prime Minister Mulroney and his wife Mila, as well as senior Church officials. He was then whisked away by limousine to the marina at Dow’s Lake on the Rideau Canal. There, he boarded a specially-built, blue and white barge for the first ever papal water parade. On board, the Pope was protected by two tonnes of bullet-proof glass. RCMP officers captained and crewed the watercraft. They had earlier x-rayed its pontoons to ensure against possible bombs. Divers also searched the canal for mines.

_{The Papal Barge on the Rideau Canal, 19 September 1984, Source: Lost Ottawa, author unknown.}

Travelling along the Rideau Canal to the downtown Conference Centre (the former Union Station) at a leisurely 10 miles per hour, the Pontiff was cheered by as many as 200,000 people who lined his route 30 persons deep in some places. Classical music played over loudspeakers strategically placed along the canal’s length. While the Pope had a chair, he stood, waving and blessing the crowd with the sign of the cross.

For security reasons, the outer two lanes of the Queensway, which crossed above the canal, were closed to traffic. Four other bridges over the canal—Bronson Avenue, Bank Street, Laurier Avenue and Mackenzie King—were reserved for girl guides and boy scouts. The Pretoria Street drawbridge was raised to allow the Pope’s barge and accompanying flotilla of boats to proceed underneath. In case of possible mechanical difficulties, the bridge was raised early so that there would be time for emergency repairs.

After the 45-minute water journey to the Conference Centre, Pope John Paul disembarked from the papal barge and entered the “popemobile”—a modified, white pick-up truck in which the Pope could stand or sit visible to spectators in a bullet-proof, plexiglass box. From the Conference Centre, he was conveyed to the Couvent des Servantes de Jésus-Marie on Laurier Street in Hull. More than 50,000 people lined his route. At the convent, he conduced a mass that was broadcasted live over a large screen television to more than 5,000 persons at Parc Jacques-Cartier. After the mass, the Pope met two inmates at the Hull jail as a symbolic gesture to all Canadian convicts. That evening, the Pope was the guest of honour at a private reception at Rideau Hall hosted by Governor General Jean Sauvé.

Spending the night at the Apostolic Nunciature in Rockcliffe Park, the Pope started his day early with a brief ceremony during which the Knights of Columbus presented the Pontiff with a cheque for $1 million. Starting at 7:00am, he was serenaded for an hour by 70 children dressed in red and white uniforms singing choral music in English and Polish. The children were part of the St. Hyacinthe Church Choir under the direction of Polish Ursuline sisters. The choristers received a personal blessing and hugs from the Pontiff.

Forty minutes behind schedule, the pope left the nunciature at 8:40am for Notre Dame Basilica to give a personal thank you to the volunteers who had made his cross-Canada journey possible. Thousands packed the sidewalks and the grounds of the basilica in order to get a glimpse of the Pope. Inside, the congregation of 500 sang “Our Father” in Latin. 

The next event was a crucial meeting with 127 Canadian cardinals, archbishops and bishops at the Mother House of the Sisters of Charity on Bruyère Street. Outside on the sidewalk were patients from the Elizabeth Bruyère Health Centre and St. Vincent’s Hospital waiting, in some cases several hours, wrapped in blankets to see and hopefully speak to the Pope.

The 3½ hour meeting with senior Canadian Church officials was conducted behind closed doors. However, it was revealed that topics of discussion included social activism, a peace role for bishops, the crisis in religious manpower as fewer and fewer men were becoming priests, and the need for a greater emphasis on traditional gospel teaching.

At the conclusion of the meeting, Pope John Paul was whisked away by motorcade to the grand finale of his Canadian tour—an open-air mass at LeBreton Flats. Despite poor weather, people had begun to congregate on the site the night before, bringing lawn chairs, sleeping bags, food and umbrellas. By the time of the Pope’s arrival, thirty minutes late, the crowd had swelled to over 250,000. To manage the hordes, volunteers shepherded the faithful or the before the curious into fifty “pews” of 5,000 persons. Fortuitously, with the arrival of the Pope, the clouds parted and the sun began to shine.

Pope John spoke of the historical importance of the Ottawa region, the United Nations and the arms race—“the breathtaking spiral of armaments” that brought a real threat of death to many and diverted funds from economic development.

The actual Mass began at 4:30pm. Amongst the quarter million worshippers in attendance, were Prime Minister Mulroney and his wife. Adding colour to the event were the Knights of Columbus who stood on guard in their black robes and plumed hats. At the end of the Mass, the Pope thanked Ottawa for its hospitality on his “pilgrimage of faith, hope and love.” As he walked to his limousine, he blessed and touched people.

At the airport, before boarding a chartered flight for the return journey to Rome, the Pope gave a farewell speech. He expressed his disappointment about not being able to go to Fort Simpson and invited himself for a return visit. Three years later, he honoured his vow when he went to Fort Simpson to meet with the Indigenous communities in the North. Pope John Paul made a third visit to Canada in 2002 to attend World Youth Days in Toronto.

In July 2022, Pope Francis came to Canada on a six-day tour, including stops in Edmonton, Quebec City, and Iqaluit. At Maskwacis, Alberta he met with First Nations, Inuit and Métis communities to apologize for the role members of the Catholic Church played in the residential schools. He said “I have come to your native lands to tell you in person of my sorrow, to implore God’s forgiveness, healing and reconciliation, to express my closeness and to pray with you and for you.” He called his trip “a penitential pilgrimage,” and begged “forgiveness for the evil committed by so many Christians against the Indigenous Peoples.”

Sources:

CBC News, 2022. “‘I am deeply sorry’: Full text of residential school apology from Pope Francis,” 25 July.

CTV News, 2022. “A timeline of previous papal visits to Canada,” 26 July.

Ottawa Citizen, 1984. “You’ll have many chances to see the Pope in Ottawa,” 8 September.

——————, 1984. “12 historic days in Canada,” 8 September.

——————, 1894. “Popeboat makes first big splash,” 15 September.

——————, 1984. “Mass sites like mini police states,” 17 September.

——————, 1984. “Pope-watchers begin lining canal 10 hours before boat cruise,” 19 September.

——————, 1984. “Fog cancels John Paul’s visit to Fort Simpson,” 19 September.

——————, 1984. “Natives’ wait ends in disappointment,” 19 September.

——————, 1984. “Overhead, underwater around the corner—the police will be watching you,” 19 September.

——————, 1984. “Canal trip first ever papal parade on water,” 19 September.

——————, 1984. “Pope awakens to music of young choir,” 20 September.

——————, 1984. “Bishops, Pope hold vital talks,” 20 September.

——————, 1984. “A capital welcome for John Paul,” 20 September.

——————, 1984. “Thousands hold vigil at LeBreton mass site,” 20 September.

——————, 1984. “Pontiff says he hopes to return,” 21 September.

Edmonton Journal, 1968. “Polish cardinal coming,” 3 September.

Congregation Adath Jeshurun

14 March 1892 and 15 September 1895

It is generally believed that the first Jewish person to settle in Ottawa was Moses Bilsky who came to the city possibly as early as 1856 or 1857. While some dispute this date saying that Bilsky only arrived in the mid-1870s, he was nonetheless a Jewish pioneer to the nation’s capital. Born in Lithuania in 1829, he established a thriving pawnbroking and jewellery business on Rideau Street in the late nineteenth century.

_{Advertisement for Moses Bilsky’s store, Ottawa Daily Citizen, 23 October 1885.}

During these early years, there was no synagogue in the city. Ottawa’s Jewish population was simply too small and too poor. According to Anna Bilsky, the great-granddaughter of Moses Bilsky in her book A Common Thread, religious services for the faithful were held at Moses Bilsky’s home as well as at other private residences. The devoutly Orthodox Bilsky also provided a home for a shochet (a ritual slaughterer) to permit Ottawa’s Jewish community to keep Kosher.

Over time, the number of Jews in the capital increased owing to emigration from Eastern Europe, especially Czarist Russia where there were regular pogroms against Jewish communities living there. As was the case with other newcomers to the city, most of these poor Jewish immigrants settled in Lowertown close to the Byward Market. By the late nineteenth century, there were perhaps thirty Jewish families in Ottawa. With their numbers rising, thoughts turned to the establishment of a permanent place of worship. 

In her book, Anna Bilsky writes that a group representing roughly a dozen families held the first formal meeting of the Adath Jeshurun (Hebrew for Congregation of the Faithful) Congregation on 14 March 1892. She noted that this was an auspicious day since it was the day that year on which the Jewish festival of Purim was celebrated. Purin recalls the deliverance of the Jews from persecution by Haman, an official of the Persian King, in the fifth century BCE. Among its founding members were Moses Bilsky and Caspar Caplan. Caspar Caplan was to establish Caplan’s Department Store on Rideau Street.

The congregation then set out to find a rabbi and a permanent home for the new Adath Jeshurun community. A three-person team, which included Moses Bilsky, went to New York City to find a rabbi. The man chosen was Jacob Mirsky, a 35-year-old Talmudic scholar and cantor. Mirsky had arrived in New York in 1893 from Russia. According to a newspaper report, he is quoted as saying that he had accepted “a vague offer” to come to Ottawa in the winter of 1894. He was to reside in the city for the next 48 years.

_{Rabbi Jacob Mirsky, age 83, Ottawa 20 April 1942, Ottawa Journal.}

Guided by Rabbi Mirsky, Ottawa’s Jewish community raised the necessary funds for the city’s first permanent synagogue. It was built at a cost of $1,300 at 264 Murray Street. The lot itself cost $250. This would have been a significant sum of money for the largely working-class families who made up its congregation. John Dover was the congregation’s first president.

The wooden synagogue was dedicated on 15 September 1895. The Dominion Jewish Chaplin, Rabbi Veld of Temple Emanu-El in Montreal, gave the dedication sermon. The synagogue was filled for the event. As Ottawa’s Jewish community at that time was largely of the Orthodox branch of Judaism, men and women would normally pray in separate parts of the synagogue. An exception was made that night owing to the many Christians who had contributed to the building fund being in the congregation. It was also a courtesy extended to Rabbi Veld who followed the Reform branch of Judaism.

The Ottawa Evening Journal described the simple dedication ceremony in detail. At 7:30pm, when the congregation was seated, Rabbi Veld, accompanied by several leaders of the congregation, appeared outside the entrance door of the tabernacle bearing the Torah—the scroll of the Law. Rabbi Veld then said: “Open unto me the gates of righteousness and I will enter them and praise the Lord.” As he spoke those words, doors opened and an orchestra up in the gallery, where women would typically have prayed, struck up a slow march to which Rabbi Veld and the congregation elders proceeded. As he walked, Rabbi Veld said: “How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob.” As the procession neared the ark, Rabbi Veld cried out “Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the Lord.” After saluting the ark, the procession circled the synagogue several times while Psalms were chanted by the congregation, including Psalm xxx—a psalm of thanksgiving sung at the dedication of the house of David.

This was followed by Rabbi Veld’s address. He began by saying “You have raised a permanent testimony to the existence of Judaism in the capital of the Dominion of Canada in the erection of this neat synagogue wherein the sacred duties of religion may be performed. Till now you have met in rooms for the purpose of divine worship. After many attempts you have succeeded in becoming an assembly of Jeshurun.  You have added another stone to the grand structure of Judaism…”

Rabbi Veld noted that the Jewish community in Canada consisted of between ten and fifteen thousand people with twelve permanent places of worship and fourteen congregations meeting in halls across the country. He thanked the kindness of their Christian brethren who had helped to build the synagogue and who had promised additional assistance. Recalling the persecution many had experienced in Russia and elsewhere, he said that under the Canadian flag they were enjoying rights and privileges that they did not have in the countries from which they came. He admonished the congregation to “not abuse them.” He enjoined the congregation to live in concord and harmony with each other and to not let petty jealousies cause strife. He added: “You have planted, you have watered, Trust in God for increase. Be earnest and faithful to each other.”

Rabbi Veld concluded his remarks saying: “Today Jews strive with all mankind to make education, science, spiritual knowledge and nobleness of mind the possession for all. With these sentiments let us invoke the blessing of God on this synagogue.”

The service ended with prayers, including one for the Queen, Governor General and the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, a hymn and the closing benediction.

In 1902, a group of about twenty-five families split from the Adath Jeshurun community to form a second Rideau Street synagogue called Agudath Achim (Hebrew for Association of Brothers). According to Anna Bilsky, the reason for the split is unclear. She speculated that it was possibly due to differences of opinion on the location of the synagogue. However, a 1914 Ottawa Journal article put it down to the growth in the Jewish community. The small synagogue at 264 Murray Street was simply too small to accommodate everybody. Jacob Mirsky moved to the new synagogue. Mr. Fyne became the rabbi at Adath Jeshurun.

^{Adath Jeshurun Synagogue, 375 King Edward Avenue, Topley Studio, Library and Archives Canada, 3325448.}

In 1904, the Adath Jeshurun community moved into new larger premises at 375 King Edward Avenue. While it is possible that the congregation had again outgrown its wooden Murray Street synagogue, as suggested by Ottawa’s newspapers, Anna Bilsky puts it down to unsavoury neighbours. It seems that a food processing plant that made pork and beans was in adjoining lot. Consequently, the devout had to contend with the smell of roasting pork during their prayers.

The new brick and stone Adath Jeshurun synagogue was designed by John W. Watts. It featured two onion-shaped domes reminiscent of synagogues in Eastern Europe. Equipped with a gallery, the new synagogue could accommodate 400 persons. The basement housed a school and a caretaker’s apartment. The lot of land for the new place of worship was purchased for $2,200, with the building itself costing $10,000.

The cornerstone of the new synagogue was laid by Aaron Rosenthal on 24 July 1904. Aaron Rosenthal was a prominent Ottawa merchant who owned a jewellery and optical store on Sparks Street. (Two years after his death in 1909, his business was purchased by Henry Birks.) As was the case with the older wooden synagogue built on Murray Street, the new King Edward synagogue was built in part with the financial support of Christians. Lumber barons William Edwards and John Rudolphus Booth were both contributors to the building fund.

^{Chairman of Build Committee, Ottawa Journal, 15 December 1904.}

The building committee was chaired Archibald J. Freiman. Only 34 years of age at the time, Freiman was already an influential member of Ottawa’s Jewish community and an important merchant, being the head of the Canadian Home Furnishing Company. He and his wife Lillian (née Bilsky) were also great philanthropists to both Jewish and Gentile organizations. Freiman was later to become the owner of the eponymous A.J. Freiman’s Department Store on Rideau Street. In June 1944, he passed away in the very synagogue he helped to build after unveiling a memorial plaque in honour of his old friend, the cantor Rev. Jacob Mirsky, who had died two years earlier.

Opening day for the new home of the Adath Jeshurun community on King Edward Street was 14 December 1904. Rabbi Mendola de Sola, Rabbi S. Spruce and Rabbi H. Abramontz of Montreal and Rabbi M. Levin of Ottawa gave addresses. Ottawa’s Mayor Ellis attended the ceremony.

^{The former synagogue at 375 King Edward Avenue, now a Seventh Day Adventist Church, Google Streetview.}

The Adath Jeshuran synagogue on King Edward Street prospered. In 1956, the Adath Jeshurun community reunited with the Agudath Achim community. Together, the two merged to form Congregation Beth Shalom (Hebrew for House of Peace).

With the movement of people, including its Jewish residents, to Ottawa’s suburbs, the centre of gravity of city’s Jewish community began to shift. In 1957, the Beth Shalom community moved to a new synagogue on Chapel Avenue. New congregations were also formed in the west end of the city and in Alta Visa. The old synagogue building on King Edward Street was sold to the Chevra Kadisha (Hebrew for burial society) and used as a memorial chapel. In 1999, the Ontario Conference of Seventh Day Adventists purchased the site. It is now the place of worship for Église Adventiste du Septième Jour d’Ottawa. In 2016, the City of Ottawa named the building a heritage site.

With its congregation aging and a continued shift of families to the west of Ottawa, the Beth Shalom synagogue closed in 2015 with its site sold to developers. The following year, the Beth Shalom community merged with the Agudath Israel congregation to form Kehillat Beth Israel (Hebrew for Community of the House of Israel), using the latter’s synagogue on Coldrey Avenue close to Kirkwood Avenue.

Sources:

Amdur, Reuel, S. 2020. “The Storied History of 375 King Edward Street, From Synagogue to Adventist Church,” Ottawa Life Magazine, 12 February.

Bilsky, Anna, 2009. A Common Thread: A History of the Jews of Ottawa, General Store Publishing House, Renfrew.

Kehillat Beth Israel, 2023. Our history.

Koven, Diane, 2016. “Conservative shuls merge to create new congregation,” The Canadian Jewish News, 29 April.

Ottawa Citizen, 1944. “Archibald J. Freiman, Jewish Leader, Dies After Unveiling In Synagogue,” 5 June.

——————, 1957. “500 Worshippers Take Part As House of Pease Blessed,” 18 September.

——————, 2015. “End of an era as Beth Shalom synagogue relocates from downtown core,” 27 March.

Ottawa Journal, 1895. “Synagogue Dedicated,” 16 September.

——————-, 1904. “Formal Opening of A New Jewish Synagogue,” 15 December.

——————-, 1914. “Jewish Population of Ottawa Is Growing – Three Synagogues Built And Another Is Proposed,” 14 February.

——————-, 1923. “Citizens of All Creeds Unite to Pay Tribute to Memory of Bytown Pioneer, Moses Bilsky, 8 January.

——————-, 1942. “Rev. J. Mirsky Noted Jewish Cantor Dies,” 30 April.

——————-, 1957. “New Jewish Edifice Formally Dedicated,” 18 September.

The Marian Congress

18 June 1947

The Most Rev. Alexandre Vachon, the Archbishop of Ottawa, did not think small. With the approach of the 100^th anniversary of the founding of the diocese of Bytown (Ottawa) in 1847 by Bishop Joseph-Bruno Guigues, he wanted to celebrate the centenary in style. He also wanted the occasion to serve as a national, indeed international, opportunity to pray for lasting world peace. While World War II was over, global tensions were once again on the rise with the Cold War between the western Allies and the Soviet Union. The advent of atomic weapons and the ability of humankind to obliterate the world lent an additional degree of urgency to the plea for peace.

^{Archbishop Vachon with a model of the Repository constructed at Lansdowne Park for the Marian Congress. The Repository was torn down immediately after the Congress ended, Ottawa Citizen, 17 June 1947.}

Devoted to Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ, the archbishop also wanted the ceremonies to be directed especially to the Blessed Virgin, asking her to intercede with God for the achievement of world peace and justice. With this in mind, Vachon travelled to Rome to get the support of Pope Pius XII. He probably didn’t need to do much convincing. The Pope was also a strong supporter of the veneration of the Virgin Mary. Three years later, he invoked papal infallibility to define as Church dogma the belief that Mary did not die but was rather taken body and soul into heaven—the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin. The three other dogmas related to Marianism (the veneration of Mary) are that Mary is the Mother of God, that she was born without original sin (the Immaculate Conception), and that she was a perpetual virgin, i.e., she was a virgin before, during, and after the birth of Christ.

The archbishop also toured European sites devoted to Mary to get a better understanding of how the Blessed Virgin was venerated at places such as Lourdes. He returned to Ottawa in February 1947, and immediately set to work organizing a Marian Congress, appointing two senior organizers—Monsignor Maxime Tessier and Monsignor John O’Neill—to put on the event. At the same time, Vachon announced the Congress to the world in a pastoral letter.

The Pope named James Cardinal McGuigan, the Archbishop of Toronto, legate a latere, the highest rank of papal representation, to the Congress. In other words, for the event, Cardinal McGuigan was the highest ranking Roman Catholic clergyman other than the Pope himself. In a message published in Ottawa newspapers, Cardinal McGuigan said that the Congress was the fulfillment of St. Luke’s prophesy regarding Mary being blessed among woman. According to the Cardinal, Mary “rescued woman from the contempt and degradation which it was her sad lot to experience under paganism.”  Cardinal McGuigan was assisted in his duties by a Papal Mission that came to Ottawa for the Congress.

^{Postcard: The Float of the Holy Virgin, Marian Congress, 1947, Ottawa}

Six weeks prior to the official inauguration of the Marian Congress, a statue of Notre Dame du Cap (Our Lady of the Cape), was brought in stages from her sanctuary in Trois Rivières, Quebec, across 350 Catholic parishes in Quebec and Ontario to the Congress headquarters in Ottawa.

The shrine of Notre Dame du Cap marks the spot of two miracles attributed to Mary. The first was the miraculous building of an ice bridge in 1879 across the St. Lawrence River which enabled the transportation of stone across the river to build the church. The second occurred in 1888 when the statue of the Virgin in the church reportedly opened its eyes for ten minutes.

On arriving in Ottawa the evening before the official opening of the Congress, the statue was paraded through the streets of Lowertown led by the band of Lasalle Academy, followed by cadets of Notre Dame College. The Garde Champlain of Ottawa provided a guard of honour. A loudspeaker directed people in hymns and prayers. After passing through Lowertown, the parade made its way down the Driveway to Lansdowne Park. Along its path, thousands of people joined in. By the time the parade reached the Exhibition Grounds, the crowd had swollen to 40,000 people—too many to fit in the Coliseum for the official welcome. At the last moment, people were directed to the open-air stadium. As officials and police were unprepared for the huge crowd, there were some tense moments. At one point, a temporary steel scaffold was almost pushed over by the press of the crowd. The lights also temporarily went off when a cable became disconnected. Panic was averted when the reassuring voice of Archbishop Vachon calmed the crowd.

The main venue for the Marian Congress was Lansdowne Park. At the stadium, a Repository, (a place to hold the Blessed Sacrament) painted in blue and white—the colours of the Blessed Virgin—was constructed, 550 feet wide and 155 feet tall at the tower which was topped by a 27-foot statue of the Virgin Mary standing on a globe. The Repository had four stories with 30 confessionals on the ground floor and arcades higher up on which four fifteen-foot statutes of angels sounding bugles were positioned. On the top railing, written in three-foot letters, were the Latin words Ad Jesum Per Mariam, To Jesus through Mary—the theme of the Congress.  Illuminated at night, the Repository could be seen for miles.

Inside the structure was an altar 155 feet wide, an oratory, vestries for officiating clergy, bathrooms, a room for the carillonneur, and accommodations for thirty-two workmen who lived on site, ready to get to work at a moment’s notice. There was also a large stage for theatrical performances. Behind the Repository were huts and tents for contractors, repair shops and storage for the thousands of props, including stacks of battle-axes and angel wings, to be used in the theatrical productions.

In front of the Repository was a massive open-air sanctuary with circular rows of seats, divided into sections, with a combined length of 5,300 feet. Each section was furnished with its own communion stand. Three rows of seats were reserved for the many cardinals and archbishops who were in attendance. Additional rows were reserved for members of the diplomatic corps, other Church dignitaries, and important lay guests and VIPs. During the masses held throughout the Congress, 500 priests aided by 500 altar boys provided the Holy Eucharist to the faithful that numbered as many as 75,000 at one time. Two thousand Boy Scouts directed people to their places.

For the Congress, the Exhibition Hall was converted into a Chapel of Peace where Notre Dame du Cap was installed. 30,000 votive candles burned on either side of the altar. Five other buildings at Lansdowne Park were filled with religious exhibits that displayed the many works of the Roman Catholic Church throughout the world. The display of Ottawa’s Grey Nuns of the Cross depicted the work they were doing among Canada’s Innuit peoples. The Horticultural Building housed the Congress communications—telegraph, radio and cable. Reportedly, press coverage of the Congress included 122 reporters and 94 photographers.

The Congress officially began at 2:30pm on 18 June 1947 when Cardinal McGuigan was driven from the residence of the Apostolic Delegation at 520, the Driveway, to the Basilica for the liturgical reception. Thousands of spectators lined the route. Many knelt in the street to pray and to receive the Cardinal’s blessing. After the formal reading of the Pontifical brief in both French and English, Archbishop Vachon gave a personal welcome address. Among the visiting cardinals were Francis Cardinal Spellman of New York and Cardinal Frings of Cologne, his home cathedral still in ruins from the Allied fire bombing of his city less than three years earlier. After the Pontifical High Mass, an address by the Pope was broadcast. 140 bishops knelt to receive the papal blessing; the largest number ever gathered in a Canadian church.

That evening, there was an official reception given by Archbishop Vachon and the Government of Canada in honour of Cardinal McGuigan, the Papal Legate. Prime Minister King, who was not Roman Catholic, emphasized the need to affirm “the fundamental principles of Christianity,” and that a new age had began with the release of atomic energy, one that could lead to “unprecedented progress or unparalleled destruction.” He contended that which route humanity took would depend on “whether the affairs of nations are to be based on a Christian or a pagan philosophy.”

Later that night, notwithstanding frequent rain showers, a lavish tribute to the Virgin Mary written by Rev. Gustave Lamarche, entitled “Our Lady of the Crown,” was performed in French in front of an audience of more than 50,000. In the play, Mary is saddened by the selfishness of mankind. At one point, on a large screen, the world could be seen spinning in space amidst a barrage of bursting shells and soldiers charging with fixed bayonets, with the devil hovering over all. Finally, the world is obliterated by atomic bombs. Three ballets were also performed. In the Ballet of Flowers, florescent petals showered down, illuminated by ultraviolet lights. A shepherd offers a real lamb to Mary. During the Dove Ballet, in which dancers were costumed as white doves, hundreds of pigeons were released into the air. In the Ballet of Stars, the moon was brought down from the heavens as a gift for Mary. Finally, a troubadour entered on horseback and mounted the steps to Mary’s throne through an archway of crossed halberds carried by a bodyguard. The troubadour offered the Blessed Virgin the gift of the arts.

Through the Congress period, other performances were held, both in English and French, both at the Repository and elsewhere. At the Capitol Theatre, it was standing room only for repeated performances of “Our Lady of Fair Love.” This was a passion play telling the story of Christ’s last hours from his betrayal by Judas, to his crucifixion and subsequent resurrection. Among the lighting effects used in the show, a tableau of the Last Supper as painted by Leonardo da Vinci was created.

Two parades were also held through the city. Thirty floats depicting the life of the Virgin Mary were drawn through Ottawa. Starting at Wellington and Lyon Streets, the floats, along with the RCMP band and troops of Boy Scouts and Girl Guides, wended their way to Confederation Square, then along the Driveway to Lansdowne Park. Later, a similar parade was held at night by candlelight. At this one, McGuigan, the Cardinal Legate, carried the Blessed Sacrament. He was accompanied by bands, battalions of parochial guards and Papal Zouaves in full costume, floats, and 600 maids of honour dressed in costumes. Church officials, members of Parliament, judges and other civil officials also marched in the parade down the Driveway to the Repository.

But the big spectacle was a pageant called “Our Lady of the Bread” held at the Repository. On a two-level stage, two thousand Ottawa-area performers backed by the Montreal Symphony Orchestra and two choirs put on a show that was unlikely to be forgotten by any in attendance. The show had seven scenes, opening with angels and priests begging Mary to distribute the Bread of Life. This was followed by an appearance of the Blessed Virgin in front of a giant, 50-foot stained-glass window. Scene three had Mary giving the Bread of Life to the seraphines, while in scene four Mary accepts the invitation of the Church to distribute the Bread to the faithful. Messengers are then requested to invite the faithful to the banquet; priests are first to accept. Scene six is the response of humanity to this invitation, while the closing scene paid a final tribute to Mary as Queen of the Sacred Bread with her showing the world the Host of Salvation amidst an orchestral and choir crescendo. Tickets for the performances ranged from fifty cents to three dollars.

^{The Dionne Quintuplets arriving at the Marian Congress with their older sisters, National Film Board of Canada, Library and Archives Canada, 3192104.}

The climax of the Congress came on the last day overseen by Cardinal McGuigan. At the celebratory mass, there were four Cardinals, scores of bishops, monsignori and canons, and thousands of priests, wearing their formal garb which, for the cardinals, meant lengthy red trains carried by pages. But the splendour of the Roman Catholic Church was almost upstaged by the arrival of the Dionne quintuplets: Cécile, Annette, Yvonne, Marie and Émilie. Dressed identically in white dresses with little white hats, the girls, who had just turned thirteen, arrived at the Repository in a motorcade to sing Laudate Maria. To the disappointment of the crowd, after their performance, the girls were whisked away in the middle of a sermon given by Cardinal Gerlier of France. The cardinal couldn’t have been too pleased as six cars and motorcycle policemen roared in front of him as he spoke to pick up the quints and other members of their family.

That night, a massive, fireworks display lasting more than 40 minutes lit up the sky above the Exhibition Grounds. The piece de resistance was a blazing outline of the Virgin Mary ascending into Heaven.

The Marian Congress was a huge success, attracting more than 250,000 pilgrims. For five days, Ottawa was the centre of the Roman Catholic Church in North America. The city, bedecked with flags, was chock-a-block full. Hotels were full to bursting as were private homes. Even the parks were clogged with campers. To fill hungry tummies, eight hundred servers working for the Morrison-Lamothe bakery at the Exhibition Grounds, served 500,000 people over the five-day period, selling 15 tons of hot dogs, 3 tons of ham, 1 ton of cheese, 1 ton of coffee, ½ ton of tea, 100,000 chocolate bars, 200,000 ice creams, 125,000 doughnuts, and 1 million soft drinks.

To get a better sense of the scale and grandeur of the Marian Congress, here is a link to a short video of the event: The Marian Congress, Ottawa June 1947.

Sources:  

Ottawa Citizen, 1947. “Archbishop’s Pastoral Letter Announces Marian Congress,” 3 February.

——————, 1947. “Cardinal McGuigan Papal Legate At Marian Congress,” 17 June.

——————, 1947. “Papal Legate’s Marian Congress Message,” 17 June.

——————, 1947. “Giant Repository Is Rallying Point Of Ottawa Marian Congress,” 17 June.

——————, 1947. “Dionne Quints Making Ottawa Singing Debut,” 17 June.

——————, 1947. “Gigantic Fireworks Display,” 17 June.

——————, 1947. “Papal Legate To Be Guest At Dinner,” 17 June.

——————, 1947. “40,000 Worshippers Pack Lansdowne Park,” 17 June.

——————, 1947. “Planned Project Year Ago,” 17 June.

——————, 1947. “The Welcome Mat Is Out,” 18 June.

——————, 1947. “Counting Greatly On Canada, Says Pope,” 18 June.

——————, 1947. “Papal Legate Accorded Rousing Ovation at Official Reception,” 19 June.

——————, 1947. “Busy Unseen World Exists Behind Repository Façade,” 20 June.

——————, 1947. “80,000 Persons Throng In Lansdowne Park For Religious Drama,” 21 June.

——————, 1947. “Congress Parade In City Today,” 21 June.

——————, 1947. “Congress Procession To Be Brilliant Event,” 21 June.

——————, 1947. “Dionne Quintuplets Make First Public Appearance In Ottawa,” 21 June.

——————, 1947. “Adventure In Faith For Ottawa Is Ended,” 23 June.

Ottawa Journal, 1947. “Crowd of 25,000 Participate in Mass in Lower Town During Statue Tour,” 16 June.

——————-, 1947. “Large Audience Applauds Impressive Congress Pageant,” 19 June.

——————-, 1947. “The Marian Congress,” 19 June.

——————-, 1947. “Brilliant Pageantry Marks Opening Night of Congress,” 19 June.

——————-, 1947. “60,000 See Religious Drama at Lansdowne and Repository,” 19 June.

——————-, 1947. “Passion Play for Congress Draws Turnouts of 9,500,” 19 June.

——————-, 1947. “500,000 Served at Congress, Suppliers Ran Out at 3 am,” 23 June.

——————-, 1947. “Dionne Quintuplets Soloists At Marian Congress Concert,” 23 June.

Windsor Star, 1947. “140 Bishops Kneel to Get Papal Blessing,” 19 June.

Archbishop Boris

10 December 1955

It was the height of the Cold War. In 1955, West Germany joined NATO—the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Shortly afterwards, the Soviet Union and its Eastern European satellites established the Warsaw Pact as a military counterweight to the Western Alliance.  In November of that year, the Soviet Union tested an inter-continental ballistic missile that could deliver a hydrogen bomb, many times more potent that the atomic bombs that destroyed Hiroshima and Nagasaki, to the U.S. mainland. Tension was also rising over the future of Berlin, with Russia seeking to end four-power control of the German city. Another blockade was feared. Amidst this tense international environment, Archbishop Boris (Vik) of the Russian Orthodox Church came to Canada.

Archbishop Boris (Vik) 1906-1965, http://orthodoxcanada.ca/Metropolitan_Boris_(Vik).

Archbishop Boris was appointed Archbishop of the Aleutians and North America and Exarch of North and South America in late 1954. His Canadian visit was organized by the United Church of Canada. The trip was the result of an invitation extended by the United Church to the Russian Orthodox Church in 1952. Two other Russians accompanied Boris—Archpriest Constantine Ruzitsky, the rector of the Moscow Theological Seminary, and Anatole Gorbatchov, the lay inspector of seminaries. Bishop Paladeus of Volynack and Rovensk was also supposed to visit Canada, but he was a no-show. No reason was given. The Russians were supposed to arrive in late November. However, the visit was delayed a week owing to an unexplained “mix-up” with their passport and visa arrangements.

Boris had hoped to twin a visit to Canada with a trip to the United States. But after initially granting the Archbishop a visa, the U.S. State Department retracted it. Boris had become caught up in a tit-for-tat struggle between the United States and the Soviet Union over religious representation. After he had received his appointment in late 1954, Boris had come to the United States on a 60-day visa. However, the U.S. State Department turned down his request for the visa to be extended when it expired at the end of February 1955. U.S. authorities were afraid that the United States might become the headquarters of a Moscow-controlled faction of the Russian Orthodox Church. In response, the Russians expelled Georges Bissonnette, an American Roman Catholic priest who was administering to the religious needs of U.S. citizens living in the Soviet Union and the broader diplomatic community. According to the 1933 Roosevelt-Litvinov agreement under which the United States recognized the Soviet regime, the U.S.S.R. had agreed that Americans in Russia would have freedom of worship. While the agreement did not clearly state that officiating clergy must be American, the Russian authorities typically granted a permanent visa to an American priest as long as he did not minister to Russian citizens.

The Soviet government finally agreed to give a visa to Father Dion, a replacement for Father Bissonnette, in November 1955, and the U.S. State Department in return issued a visa for Archbishop Boris to come to the United States. However, it retracted the visa a few days later on the grounds that the exchange of clergymen was not reciprocal. Father Dion was not permitted preach to Russians whereas Archbishop Boris could preach to Americans. This impasse was not broken until the beginning of 1959 when Dion finally went to Moscow and Boris received a three-month visitors’ visa to the United States.

In the meantime, Archbishop Bois and his colleagues made do with a two-week visit at the end of 1955 to Montreal, Toronto, Ottawa and Edmonton. The Russians arrived by airplane at the Dorval Airport in early December and was met by a welcoming committee of United Church dignitaries and G.F. Popov from the Russian Embassy in Ottawa. Dr Ernest Long, Secretary of the General Council of the United Church of Canada, said that the three-fold purpose of the visit was to promote understanding, give visibility to Christian unity, and to foster goodwill between Canadian and Russian Christians.

Conspicuously absent from the welcoming party was any representative of the Russian Orthodox Church in Canada. The rector of the Orthodox St Peter and St Paul Cathedral in Montreal said that he would ignore the visit as the delegation did “not represent the true and continuing branch of the orthodox church” and that the Russian Orthodox Church had become “a mere political organ of the Soviet government.” The Russian visitors also had to sidestep a small group of about fifty demonstrators with banners who were handing out leaflets at the airport in protest of the visit. In answering questions from Canadian and American journalists, Archbishop Boris said through an interpreter that he was not a communist and did not have a personal acquaintance with either Party Secretary Khrushchev or Premier Bulgarin. He added that many Russians believed in God and practised those beliefs: there was no ban on practising religion in the Soviet Union. When asked about Canadian Orthodox churches, Boris said that there were fewer than ten Russian Orthodox churches in Canada and that they were “unfriendly” to the Russian hierarchy. As reconciliation attempts had proven unfeasible, the churches were considered to be “in schism.”

After a short stay in Montreal, Boris and his entourage took a train to Toronto. There, two Ukrainian Catholic priests presented him with a letter asking him to negotiate the release of Bishop Joseph Slipyj from a Siberian labour camp. Slipyj and eleven other Ukrainian Catholic bishops had been sent to Siberian gulags after the war. Slipyj received an eight-year sentence in 1946 for alleged collaboration with the Nazis and for his refusal to accept the forced take-over of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church by the Russian Orthodox Church. (Constatine Ruzitsky, one of Boris’ travelling companions, was reportedly one of the masterminds behind this takeover.) Despite the conclusion of his sentence, Slipyj remained in custody. Archbishop Boris promised to place the request before the Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church on his return to Moscow. If Boris did anything, it was not effective. Slipyj remained in a Soviet prison for another eight years, and was only released through the intervention of President Kennedy and Pope John XXIII in 1963. Expelled from Russia, the Pope made Slipyj a cardinal in 1965.

While in Toronto, Archbishop Boris visited the large department stores, took a side trip to Niagara Falls, and officiated at a service at the Timothy Eaton Memorial United Church dressed in full Orthodox regalia including a golden mitre studded with precious stones, a purple robe banded with scarlet and white, a lavender stole, two large golden crosses, one around his neck and another in his hand, and a glittering bracelet on his left wrist. When a newspaper reporter took pictures in a gallery, Anatole Gorbachov followed him and asked if he had permission to take pictures. When the journalist said no, Gorbachov told him to go. This put paid to the notion that none of the Russians spoke English.

Archbishop Boris, Archpriest Ruzitsky and Anatole Gorbatchov arrived by train at Union Station in Ottawa at 8.30 am on Saturday, 10 December 1955.  An Ottawa Citizen article described Boris as a “huge man” with a “long ginger-coloured beard flowing over the front of his long black cloak,” carrying a silver-topped staff. Rev. Frank Fidler of Toronto and Rev. Herman Neufeld of the United Church College in Winnipeg accompanied the Russians. As they were being welcomed by United Church dignitaries, Lydia Szarwarkowska of 325 Laurier Avenue pushed ahead of the greeters to plead for help from the Russian prelate. In tears, she asked in Russian for his intercession on her behalf with the Soviet government for an exit permit for her 70-year old mother who lived alone, the rest of her family having been killed in the War.

After checking into the Château Laurier Hotel, the Russians were taken on a tour of the capital, visited the Russian Embassy on Charlotte Street (the embassy was to burn down three weeks later on New Year’s Day 1956), and was taken out to dine at a restaurant by the Ottawa Presbytery of the United Church. Apparently, the Archbishop spent the evening relaxing and watching Russian movies.

Advertising a church service with Archbishop Boris, The Ottawa Journal, 10 December 1955

The next day, the Russian delegation joined the congregations of the Greek Orthodox Church on Albert Street and St Elijah’s Syrian Orthodox Church on Lyon Street for Sunday services. The Russians were also given a tour of the Parliament buildings—the Archbishop was surprised there was a Liberal government in power. Boris, a big man weighing close to 300 pounds, reportedly “beamed” when he was told that Jack Garland, the Liberal member for Nippising, tipped the scales at 400 pounds. The group also went to the National Galley. While Boris was not impressed with a modern Henry Moore sculpture, he liked art made by Canada’s native peoples. That evening, the Russians attended a candlelit service at the Dominion United Church for the Canadian Girls in Training. Archbishop Boris, wearing a cross of thirty two diamonds, sat behind the pulpit with the Rt Rev. George Dorey, the Moderator of the United Church and the Rev. J. Lorne Graham, minister and Presbytery Chairman. Boris spoke at the service, urging Christian unity and told the girls the Russian legend of the Christmas tree. Moderator Dorey warned against western propaganda that religion was non-existent in the Soviet Union. Meanwhile, a dozen men, apparently immigrants from Communist-ruled Eastern Europe, handed out anti-Russian pamphlets.

The following day, a luncheon was held in Archbishop Boris’ honour attended by senior representatives of the United Church, the Anglican Church, the Presbyterian Church and the Baptist Church, as well as a representative of Canada’s External Affairs. Afterwards, Archbishop Boris, accompanied by George Dorey, the United Church Moderator and Lorne Graham, the Presbytery Chairman, held a press conference. Boris, dressed in flowing black robes spoke of his experience so far in Canada, saying he found Canadians to be “hospitable and hard-working.” He was also impressed with the church services. Boris also took this opportunity to denounce the U.S. decision to rescind his visa. He said it amounted to “pressure on religion.” In contrast, he said that although communists were unbelievers, he knew that some came to his church. Moreover, he had seen with his own eyes the good work the communist government was doing. He posed the rhetorical question “Is the American Government Christian?” He also insisted that there was no interference in the Russian Orthodox Church by the Soviet Government. He added that Russians were entitled to their own opinion and could practice religion. After a final service at Southminster United Church, the Russian clerics headed west, stopping first in Toronto.

Archbishop Boris did not have a good flight from Ottawa to Toronto. Leaving on a small DC-3 airplane, he was given two seats to accommodate his size. However, he had trouble buckling his seatbelt. After an attempt to use two seatbelts failed, an attendant managed to fasten him in using a cargo belt. Unfortunately, Boris’ long whiskers got caught in the strap. Reportedly, he “let out an unchurchmanlike roar,” as he, his two Russian aides, and a stewardess struggled to free him.

After a brief stay in Edmonton, the Russians returned to Montreal, before heading back to Moscow via Amsterdam.

The two-week visit was a great propaganda coup for the Russian Orthodox Church and the Soviet Union. Well covered by Canadian and American press, Boris faithfully toed the Communist party line that religion, while not encouraged, was thriving in the Soviet Union, and that Russians were free to practice without hindrance. This view was openly supported by George Dorey, the United Church Moderator. Boris also had the opportunity to literally demonize the United States for barring his entry. “I believe in God, but there is also a devil [a.k.a. the U.S. Government],” he thundered. Of course, the reality was quite different. Although there had been some thawing of government-church relations which began during the War when the Soviets sought the help of the Orthodox Church in defeating the Nazis, that window of relative tolerance was fast closing. Despite religious freedom being enshrined in law, the Soviet Union was militantly atheist. Thousands had died or had been imprisoned for their faith. Nonetheless, Boris disingenuously claimed that “the Russian government had never persecuted the church as such but only church members who had been against the government.” Also, communist toleration of religion, if you can call it that, only went so far. Persecution of believers, especially non-Orthodox practitioners, continued. Roman Catholics, given their “allegiance” to the Pope, were under particular suspicion.

The pastor of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin on Echo Drive called the United Church “tragically naïve” in arranging the visit. He added that Archbishop Boris is trusted by the Communist Party.  He likened the Russian trip to “a secret police mission.” Before inviting Archbishop to Canada, the United Church ought to have consulted the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Canada. “We have no quarrel with the United Church. But we do after all know a little more than them about Russia. We know that the Soviets executed 38 bishops of the Orthodox Church in the Ukraine alone.”

Following Archbishop Boris’s visit to Canada, Soviet oppression of religious organizations increased under Nikita Khrushchev during the late 1950s and early 1960s. Among the many anti-religious measures taken was the closure of thousands of churches and monasteries. Clergymen who criticized atheism were forcibly retired or imprisoned, while parents were forbidden to teach religion to their children.

Sources:

Bishop, Donald Gordon, 1965. The Roosevelt-Litvinov Agreements, An American View, Syracuse University Press, Syracuse, New York.

Decatur Sunday Herald and Review (The), 1955. “Delegation From The Russian Church Hits Opposition on Visit to Canada,” 25 December.

Globe and Mail (The), “U.S. Cancelled A Visa Granted To Boris 11 Days Earlier,” 15 November.

————————–, 1955. “Forbidden To Enter U.S., Moscow Prelate Due In Canada On Monday,” 22 November.

————————–, 1955. “Expect Four Russian Clerics To Arrive Sunday,” 30 November.

————————–, 1955. “Russians Pledge Action on Priests’ Requests,” 8 December.

————————–, 1955. “Satisfied With Reds,” 13 December.

Orthodox Canada, 2018. Archbishop Boris (Vik), http://orthodoxcanada.ca/Metropolitan_Boris_(Vik).

Ottawa Citizen (The), 1955. “Woman In Tears Pleads For Aid From Russ Cleric,” 10 December.

————————-, 1955. “Visiting Archbishop Tells Christmas Legend,” 12 December.

————————-, 1955. “Protest Visit of Russian Clerics Here,” 12 December.

————————-, 1955. “‘Our Only Aim to Live In Peace,’ Archbishop Affirms At Luncheon,” 13 December.

————————-, 1955. “Visiting Red Priests Called Moscow Spies,” 13 December.

Ottawa Journal, The, 1955. “Russian Churchmen Escape Demonstrators at Montreal,” 5 December.

————————-, 1955. “Russian Archbishop Shows Interest,” 7 December.

————————-, 1955. “United Moderator Says Russian Church Autonomous,” 12 December.

————————, 1955. “U.S. Bars Russian Bishop,” 12 December.

————————, 1955. “Russian Churchmen Display Keen Interest In Parliament,” 12 December.

————————, 1955. “At CGIT Service, Russian Inspector Pockets Pamphlets,” 12 December.

————————-, 1955. “Ottawa Clergyman Calls Visiting Russians Stooges,” 13 December.

————————-, 1955. “Tangled in Strap, Couldn’t Be Freed,” 13 December.

Soviet History Museum, 2018. Hydrogen Bomb, http://soviethistory.msu.edu/1954-2/hydrogen-bomb/.