St. Patrick's Church, Kinkora Aug. 1, 2010

Today we left Waterloo Region and travelled into Perth County to visit St. Patrick's in the tiny village of Kinkora. Coming off the grandeur of "Our Lady" in Guelph, my expectations weren't very high for this much more modestly sized church built in 1882 by a largely Irish congregation. Further, we had heard that half the tower had been removed somewhere along the lines by unsympatheic renovators and the vanished steeple could no longer be seen for miles as the original builder intended. My expectations plumetted still further. But I believe there is a little magic left yet in the Emerald isle and Kinkora, the "Place of Beauty", stills charms all who enter her domain.

Rather than sitting atop an imposing hill, St. Patrick's sits comfortably at the crossroads of this quiet hamlet. Peace sits over this village unlike anywhere I have visited in Southern Ontario. A warm sun smiled rays of amber beams on her sturdy brick. We approached the neatly maintained lawns and well-swept sidewalks of the church grounds - so different from the oceans of concrete at "Our Lady" in Guelph. We met the grounds and church keeper, Frances Ryan (who said it was ok to mention his name in this blog), carefully carrying out his duties. Happily we learned from Frances that plans are underway for renovation and restoration - her mighty steeple might one day again cast her mighty shadow across the countryside.

The church doors were wide open, most likely to bring the fresh breeze inside, but they seemed to welcome us in greeting. Kinkora retains the friendliness of an era gone-by - from the helpfulness of Frances, to the passing greeting of a cyclist who momentarily took his hand off the handlebar to make the sign of the cross as he passed holy ground. There are still a few Irishman left in this now largely Dutch community for surely this was the gesture of the Irish. Inside the walls are painted a rich coffee cream colour that blends with the warm whiskey coloured shades of wood. A magnicicant stained glass window is situated above the main entrance and the circular patterns repeat in varying combinations - three, four, five, six - throughout the church. The three circles within the larger circle made me think of the shamrock, so symbolic of the Irish hands which built this church, but also of the trinity which, as any good Irishman will tell you, symbolizes this sacred union.

More than any other church we have visited, St. Patrick's of Kinkora transported me back to another time. Except for our modern clothes, we may well have been celebrating mass in 1910 - from the saying of the rosary before mass began, to the ringing of the church bells, to the well-behaved and cleanly dressed children, to the clear voices unadorned by instruments, to the gathering of friends and neighbours outside the church after mass for coffee and Sunday socializing. We were noted as new by Father Paul Nicholson when we left but were so warmly greeted by all. Father Paul was very interested in The Church Project and was off to Hamilton the next day where perhaps he will discover Connolly's other churches. This church even celebrates a latin mass, "unus antiquior" at noon every Sunday.

My expectations were turned on their ear for this church. I expected little but was so richly and unexpectantly rewarded and realized how easy it would be to love this church and community, this piece of the Emerald isle, this "place of beauty".
Miss M.


The Cross

The crossroads, the cross and the big footprint that are made from the Gothic Church are akin to a union of human and Holy Spirit. The trinity is based upon this very belief and without it we would be in shallow waters.

I had one of my best days today, a descendant of Irish immigrants to this country I visited a home to hope and well being. The stop today was of course St. Patrick's Church in Kinkora, a crossroads village located just 19 kilometres NW of Stratford. Kinkora in Gaelic means "a place of beauty" and this spot is certainly that. I walked away from home today in anticipation of what lay ahead of me. I wore just jeans and an impossibly heavy red shirt and fully expected to see a girl that was fully expecting to see me. There is a sense of new and anticipation when I am in her company and I think that shapes the entire experience.


Joseph Connolly built this church and perhaps sold the plans to 105 Irish families that commissioned him to erect it. Like any S. Ontario lot the bush around Kinkora would have been cleared and burned for heat and winters would have been cold. There is a small chapel on the NE side of the church that is nestled into her side. The “winter” chapel would have been easier to heat in the winter and is still used today by the priest. It houses his Vestments and he could prepare for the day’s sermon in it . This building could have been the original church while the main church was being constructed. There is a big rectory on the property and the entire property was immaculate. The pride of this parish was obvious and this church is in pristine condition. As we walked through the front door the nave was open and airy thanks to the doors being open. There was a man who was set to task of sweeping and readying the church for the morning mass. He is none other than Frances Ryan and he told me more in the 5 minutes I talked to him than I could read in a week. He is 56 years old and cannot remember any saints being on this building. There are spots reserved for them on the rear wall of the building and a statue of this church’s namesake St. Patrick has been returned to his location at the top of the rear wall. There has been a massive restoration to this building and the main steeple that was knocked down for safety might be going back up. According to local lore this church has a benefactor who very generously left a legacy. There is an unveiling of a plaque and plans on Oct 2 2010 which may very well be a replacement of the missing top 70 ft of steeple.

The interior of this building although smaller than the big church is very well appointed. Her main framing consists of flying buttresses and rib vaulting. The rib vaulting was done in Oak and has been untouched by restorations. The stained glass windows are beautiful and this church is sitting perfectly on an East/West axis. The rear wall is facing west and the cemetery which is located across the road. The basement windows have been removed and cemented over and there was some soldiering work done on the rear of the building that I could not make any sense of. I looked for old scarring and couldn’t find any. The entire exterior is of yellow and red line brick. The soldiering is European and I have seen similar brick work on the old brick roadways in Stratford. Local lore tells of possibly a German influence in the brick work. The rectory is of all red clay brick and is of a different style than the church itself. The roof is all slate and well preserved. There are big old growth maples on the lot which would protect her but the winters would be harsh on this rural crossroad.

The parish Priest is a very humble and engaging man by the name of Father Paul Nicholson who gave a very passionate sermon that has me engaged a full day after hearing it. My companion and I met Father Paul on the main stairs after mass ended. We quickly exchanged greetings and then after his parishioner's had dispatched him he asked more detailed questions about our adventure. Both parties were glad we met because we both knew of churches that Connolly had built that the other didn't. All in all a good day!

The village itself is tiny but you get the sense of true community when the parishioners started coming. I realized that we would be recognized as outsiders but we were made to feel welcome. After mass there was a table set up with coffee. The entire attending congregation was out back, standing around talking and exchanging pleasantries. It was an incredible feeling that these people were dressed up in fine clothes , their children were clean and well behaved. This was the social event of the week for them and you could see they were enjoying themselves. There were chores to do before church and after mass (cows don’t milk themselves) but for now it was church. I had an incredibly good time and all I did was attend mass in a little village.
Lorne