The story of the Catholic Faith in Strathmore is as old as the town itself.  The first Holy Masses would have been offered in local homes.  The first priest assigned to Strathmore was Fr. Leonard van Tighem, O.M.I.  Upon his arrival, he offered Mass in the upper rooms of the Strathmore Hotel (still standing today and colloquially known as “The Green Bar”.)  Under Fr. van Tighem’s spiritual and physical direction (he actually hammered nails and sawed lumber!) our first church opened in the summer of 1910.  This photograph shows the first church on the left and the rectory in the foreground.  The founding families of this settlement made building their town’s church a priority.
 
In the first half of the 20^th century, Strathmore population grew substantially.  With Fr. John Gibbons as our pastor, a new church was built.  This church was solemnly dedicated and blessed on June 28^th, 1953 by Bp. Francis Carroll. This church served the people of our community for over a half a century and it was there that so many of us have memories of baptisms, first communions and marriages. 
 
Unfortunately, in 2007, Sacred Heart Parish experienced the loss of both our church and rectory, as they were closed due to safety concerns.  Plans were immediately made to continue offering Holy Mass at Holy Cross Collegiate, and Sacred Heart Academy, our two local Catholic schools,  where it continues to this day.  With this setback, the parish redoubled its efforts to move ahead with planning for a new church.  In 2008, the parish purchased a rectory for our priest and set up an office therein. 
 
Toward the end of 2013, under the spiritual direction of Fr. Wojciech Jarzecki, a Fundraising Committee was created.  The efforts of the fundraising committee, as well as many other volunteers, have been hugely successful.  By the fall of 2015, enough progress had been made financially that a Building Committee was created.  In the summer months of 2016, our parish purchased the former IGA building in downtown Strathmore with the intention of renovating it into a beautiful Catholic church.  On November 6^th, 2016, Fr. Wojciech blessed the  building, the future home of our parish. 
 
In 2017, DI & GP Architecture, under the leadership of architectural designer Mr. Jun Lee, created the plans we currently have for the new Sacred Heart Church.
 
At the end of the COVID years, we received a new pastor,  Fr. Tomy Manjaly,  under whom progress further progress was made toward raising the capital funds necessary to turn our dream of a church in Strathmore into a reality.   We looked forward in earnest to the day when we would enter our new spiritual home, the beating heart of Strathmore, and partake in Holy Mass, Eucharistic Adoration, celebrations of the sacraments, joyful weddings, parish banquets, and all the fellowship and charitable activities that make our Catholic community vibrant and Christ-centred.



As for October 2023, we have been blessed with a new pastor, Fr. Cristino Bouvette.  With the momentum gained since the August 2023 groundbreaking, and the endless energies of so many volunteers, we are finally working toward the construction of our new church.  This effort is led by the combined efforts of Chandos Construction and our architecture team, and is planned to reach completion in May/June 2024.