The first church, All Saints Church, was completed in 1862, serving the Catholic community until the completion of this Cathedral, then a church, in 1889. Its cornerstone was laid on July 8th, 1889 and blessed by Archbishop Cornelius O’Brien.
The church remained as built for just nineteen years when, on June 1st, 1908 work began on an extension to the church, doubling it in size.
On July 6, 1953, the church became the Cathedral of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Yarmouth. In 2011, however, it was merged with the Archdiocese of Halifax to create the Archdiocese of Halifax-Yarmouth. The cathedra being in Halifax, this Cathedral lost its Cathedral status and is now a Pro-Cathedral.
Built almost entirely of brick with stone trim throughout, it stands on a rubble stone foundation made of large stones mortared in place. It was given a very modest bell tower and steeple, which adorns the roof above the main entrance, set back slightly from the gable end.
The fourteen stations of the cross adorn the side walls of the nave between the tall, arched stained glass windows, while a large pipe organ graces the balcony at the rear of the nave. On the console is a plaque indicating that the organ was manufactured by the
Allen Organ Company, but we have no information on its age or installation date.
Behind both the organ and the chancel are more stained glass windows. Most, if not all, have been dedicated to past members and Fathers of the church.
Church History
Early in the 1800s, a slow but gradual influx of Irish Catholics settled in Yarmouth, arriving by a variety of routes, including shipwrecks. Dominic McDevitt was a tailor, who lived on Queen Street, near Main Street. It was in his house that Mass was occasionally celebrated when a Catholic priest would stop by. Then there was Edmund Lonergan, merchant, who came from Halifax. His home was on the northwest corner of Lonergan’s Lane, and Mass was occasionally celebrated there also.
Late in 1845, Edmund Lonergan bought the workshop of one Benjamin Bingay, on the south side of lower Barnard Street, and, the following year, transferred ownership to Father Carmody, the Wedgeport pastor (1845-1848), who had it remodelled for a church. It was named
All Saints Church.
Without a resident priest in those early years, the small Yarmouth Catholic community depended on the pastors of St. Michael’s Parish, Wedgeport, to celebrate Mass in their remodelled church.
The first Catholic cemetery (now called St. Ambrose Cemetery, on Kempt Street behind South Centennial School) was blessed on September 26th, 1849 by Archbishop Walsh.
The Catholic community continued to grow, so, in 1860, while Father John J. Quinan served the area, plans were drawn up for the erection of new church on the same site. As this church was being built, the Town of Yarmouth celebrated its 100th anniversary with parades, outings, concerts and speeches. The new All Saints Church was completed by 1862 and remained the centre of Catholic worship in Yarmouth until 1889.
In 1883, Father Edward J. McCarthy was named pastor and had the name of the parish changed to that of a renowned doctor of the Church, St. Ambrose. With remarkable vision, he purchased a large piece of land on Albert Street, and supervised the construction of a new brick church, whose cornerstone was laid and blessed on July 8th, 1889 by Archbishop Cornelius O’Brien.
On June 1st, 1908 while Father William E. Young was pastor, work began extending the brick church to almost twice its original size, and 2 years later, the now Archbishop Edward J. McCarthy returned to his former parish to dedicate the extension to the edifice he had built some 2 decades earlier.
From St. Ambrose Cathedral