STU RC: EO N (St. Paul’s)

s EARLY as 1803 some settlers arrived

here and over the next few years there

was a sizeable Catholic community, made up ofIrish and Scottish ancestry.

A small church at Panmure Island, built in 1822. served the people for a few years until it was dismantled and the lumber used to construct a church at Georgetown.

In 1851 the parishioners erected their first St. Paul's Church. Becoming inadequate. it was replaced in 1888 by the present impressive church of Island sandstone, designed by architect \Villiam Harris. This was Harris' first Roman Catholic church as well as his first stone church.

In 1873 the people built their first rectory which was destroyed by fire in 1938

and replaced the same year by the present one.

The priest most connected with the early years of the parish was Father \Villiam I’helan. a native of Ireland who was pastor at Sturgeon for almost 35 years and who carefully supervised the building of the stone church. His remains rest in a vault in this church's basement.

The water side of the parish overlooks beautiful St. Mary's Bay and the wide reaches of Northumberland Strait The community is named after the sturgeon fish once found there and fishing has been the occupation ofmany parishioners over the years.

From last year's census 190 families. a good cross section of ages, live in St. Paul's Parish which stretches over a large part of Kings County. No resident priest has lived here since 1988. Since then, Sisters of Notre Dame have served as pastoral associates and have lived in the rectory. Nowadays Montague and Sturgeon share the same

pastor.