Religion
A Priority among the Early Settlers
Our founding pioneers, and several generations of their descendants, were profoundly religions. Deeply rooted in their Roman Catholic religious beliefs, one of their first priorities was to build places of worship.
Chéticamp’s first chapel, a log-style structure, was built in 1800 in Le Platin, behind the first row of hills. In 1810, a second church, a wooden frame building, was constructed right next to the road now running through the back districts of the community. The monument to the “Fourteen Elders/Quatorze Vieux”, erected in 1955 to commemorate the Bicentennial Anniversary of the Deportation of the Acadians, now stands on the site.
A third church, constructed of stone, was built in 1861. Because it was located on the top of the first row of hills, the residents of Chéticamp referred to it as “l’église du buttereau”. (The Acadian word, buttereau means “a small hill”.) The second parish cemetery was expanded to include the land where this church once stood.
Finally, the present-day Église Saint-Pierre was erected within a stone’s throw of Chéticamp Harbour, in 1892-1893, under the leadership of the parish priest, Father Pierre Fiset, who was originally from Ancienne-Lorette, in Québec.
In the community of Margaree, according to tradition, a simple chapel was erected as soon as the first settlers arrived. It was replaced in 1810 by a building which parishioners perceived more appropriate for celebrating religious cervices. A third church was erected between 1856 and 1859. It was completely destroyed in 1952 by a fire caused by lightning. A beautiful stone church, completed in 1958, is now used as a place of worship by the parishioners of Margaree.
Since its foundation, the parish of Chéticamp held services for a vast region that spread from Cap-Rouge (a hamlet in the present day Cape Breton Highlands National Park) to Murphy’s Brook (situated in Terre Noire). Some residents had to travel 20 km to get to church. While Father Fiset was parish priest, in 1879, an autonomous parish was established for the region from Ruisseau-du-Lac to Murphy’s Brook, choosing Saint-Joseph as its patron saint. Father Guillaume LeBlanc, originally from Arichat, became the first pastor of the parish of Saint-Joseph-du-Moine. On December 31, 1989, this original church, of which the parishioners were so proud, was engulfed in flames and completely destroyed. Immediately, the parishioners banded together to build a new church which was officially opened on July 25, 1992.
Today, the Acadian region, located in the northern part of Inverness County, is home to approximately 3000 people.
