Remember This? A church with a history (and a space connection)

From the Sault Ste. Marie Public Library archives:

Early Anglican missionaries had been active in the Algoma area since the 1820’s. 

By 1854, James Chance was serving as a missionary to the Garden River Reserve, having to reach his congregation by canoe and sailboat in the summer and snowshoes in the winter.  

Seeing a need for a permanent Anglican church in Sault Ste. Marie, Wemyss Simpson was active in promoting the establishment of the original St. Luke’s Church. 

Reverend Alexander Neil Bethune, Bishop of Toronto consecrated the first church on the Feast Day of St. Luke the Evangelist on October 18, 1870.  

As the congregation grew, James Chance began fundraising to build a larger church. 

The cornerstone for the building was laid in 1879 making it the oldest church in Sault Ste. Marie.  

Additions were made to the church in the early 1890s to accommodate the growing congregation. 

At this time, the entrance was moved from Brock Street to face Albert Street. 

In 1896, St. Luke’s was consecrated as a Pro-Cathedral.

In the early 1900s, fire was a constant threat to many of the buildings in the town and churches were no exception. 

In October 1902, St. Luke’s Cathedral suffered the first of three fires, the second occurred the following year in February 1903; neither of these two fires caused any serious damage. 

However, almost total reconstruction was required following a major fire on November 22, 1952. 

This fire destroyed many of the stained glass windows in addition to the Cathedral’s organ. 

The bell tower, the south transept and the south wall, which dated back to the 1870 structure, were the only parts remaining. 

On December 21, 1952, the congregation pledged $64,000 towards a building fund. 

The reconstructed church, featuring local red sandstone, doubled in capacity and the front entrance was moved from the bell tower to face Brock Street again.  

St. Luke’s Pro-Cathedral has the distinction of having a piece of their church actually make the trip on board the space shuttle Discovery in 1992. 

Dr. Roberta Bondar carried St. Luke’s’ cloth crest onboard with her. 

St. Luke’s Pro-Cathedral was the home church for the Bondar family.  

Find out more of what the Public Library has to offer at www.ssmpl.ca and look for more Remember This? columns here.