History and Affiliate Schools
History
On June 8, 1996, His Eminence Cardinal Ambrozic, appointed Fr Joseph Wasik founding pastor of Merciful Redeemer Parish. The establishment of this new parish was a response on the part of the hierarchy to the needs of the Catholic families living in Central Erin Mills - particularly due to the overcrowding of the neighbouring churches of St. Ignatius Loyola, St. John of the Cross and St. Joseph’s. A three-acre parcel of land, at the north-west corner of Glen Erin Dr. and Erin Centre Boulevard, was purchased by the Archdiocese for the parish building in 1994.
On the 30th of May the name “Merciful Redeemer” was approved by the Cardinal. The devotion to the Divine Mercy is spreading and St. Faustina who saw the vision of Jesus was canonized as the first Saint of the Millennium by the Holy Father in Rome.
Fr Joe was installed as the new Pastor by His Excellency Bishop Terrence Prendergast on October 20, 1996 at the neighbouring Croatian Martyrs Church with approximately 400 people in attendance.The parish started with 70 families and has grown to over 5000 families.
We celebrated our first Mass at the Croatian Martyrs Church on September 6, 1996. In same year the rectory was purchased. We had to add extra Masses at the Blessed Trinity School due to the growth of the parish. Fr Vid Vlasic joined the parish as our second pastor in 2003.
After the model of the future church was shown to our parishioners, they were very excited and enthusiastic about our church that would be built in the New Millennium. In the summer of 1999 we hired Young & Wright Architects and in the fall of 2000, B. A. Ryan Ltd. was hired as the building contractor. The blessing and breaking of the ground took place on September 10, 2000 by Bishop Lacey. Construction began in November 2000 and they handed over the building "unofficially" (since some details were not yet completed) on December of 2001. We celebrated our first Mass on December 23, 2001, Saturday, at 5:00 PM, with Bishop Boissoneau as the main celebrant. The following day, Sunday, Bishop Lacey celebrated a solemn Mass in thanksgiving for the new church.
The Blessing and Dedication of the church to the Merciful Redeemer was led by Cardinal Ambrozic on April 7, 2002. Along with a large number of priests concelebrated in the solemn mass. The church was filled to overflowing by parishioners and visitors. The grand reception followed at the Delta Hotel in Erin Mills Parkway.
We are grateful to The Croatian Martyrs Parish for opening their doors to us, enabling us to celebrate Mass there while our church was being built. We are also grateful to St. Joseph’s Church for their continuous generosity in our time of need. Our appreciation goes to all the parishes who helped us financially and spiritually, especially St. Ignatius Loyola Parish for their financial support in the early years. We are also grateful to the Archdiocese for their assistance during the entire building process.
Today, our parish is active and growing with various ministries and committees including St. Vincent de Paul, the Legion of Mary, RCIA, and our own Youth Ministry.
Affiliate Schools
Elementary
Divine Mercy Elementary School
Our Lady of Mercy Elementary School
St Rose of Lima Separate School
St Sebastian Catholic Elementary School
Secondary
St Aloysius Gonzaga Secondary School
