The church that perogies built

The City of Sault Ste. Marie tonight paid recognition to the 100th anniversary of a local church.

Mayor Christian Provenzano proclaimed the week of May 1 to May 7 as St. Mary's Ukrainian Catholic Church 100th Anniversary: Living in Faith and Community in the City of Sault Ste. Marie.

The original church was built by volunteers in 1917 at 118 Pittsburgh Avenue in the Bayview neighbourhood.

Mayor Provenzano pointed out that the building was shared with the local Roman Catholic community for 24 years until the first permanent priest arrived in Sault Ste. Marie in 1942.

Significant growth in the local Ukrainian community prompted expansion of the church in 1958.

Construction of the current St. Mary's church at the top of the hill near St. Basil Secondary School started in 1987. 

The new church was consecrated in 1989 by Most Rev. Bishop Isadore  Borecky, eparchial bishop of Toronto and Eastern Canada.

The 100th anniversary celebrations are "dedicated to those early pioneers who embraced the challenges of their dreams to provide a place of worship for themselves and for future generations," Mayor Provenzano said. 

Father Jaroslaw Lazoryk (Father Jerry) said that Ukrainians first came to the Sault at the turn of the century to work at Algoma Steel.

"By 1916, the Ukrainian community had been established in the Bayview area, within walking distance to the mill," Father Jerry said.

"With only 18 families, this hard-working and faithful group initiated construction of a church, even though they were without a permanent priest."

"The church at 118 Pittsburgh was completed in 1917 with the help of the local Polish, Croation, Italian, French and English communities."

The new church across the street from St. Basil school was built after most parishioners had moved away from Bayview subdivision.

The church is known for its events including Christmas bazaars, lobster dinners and thousands and thousands of perogies and cabbage rolls.

In 2014 the church retired its million-dollar mortgage on what Father Jerry referred to as "the church that perogies built."

A special 100th anniversary mass is planned for Sunday, May 7.