Immaculate Conception Parish - Woodbridge, Ontario - Canada

The big croud in the Church and at the banquet hall pleased the centennial Committe whose members work very hard in the previous month to prepare the great event.
The celebration was for the centenial of the First Italian Parish in Toronto.
Thanks to the decision of Monsignor Fergus McEvay, archbishop of Toronto, Our Lady of the Mount Carmel,formerly St Patrick, became an Italian parish on November 8th, 1908.The first pastor was Don Doglio.
As the Italians like to celebrate the anniversaries, sign of respect for the ancestors and wish of learning from the History, many of them on November 9th 2008 brought gathered at the Immaculate Conception Parish, Woodbridge, to celebrate. The venue was not Nostra Signora delCarmelo but the presence of the Archbishop of Toronto, Monsignor Thomas Collins successor of Monsignor Fergus McEvay stressed the continuity and unity with the very first Italian parish.
Bishops John Boissonow and Peter Hundt and other 40 priest concelebrated the mass
The 1,550 people were full of commotion while the Archibishop delivered a very nice homely in Italiano and without reading. It was possible to see tears in many people when the pastor of Immaculate Conception parish announced that the main chalice used during the centennial celebration was donated to the Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church by Agidio Abate on November 8, 1908. The Italians, at the beginning of the XIXth century used to live in schelters and barracks and the gift of the chalice, the one used for the very first mass 100 years ago, was truly a big effort of mr. Abate.
The Celebration went on at Riviera Parque Hall were 1,150 people, well guided by the master of Cerimony Sam Ciccolini, had the opportunity of enjoy the brief speaches of Mr. Gianni Berardini, the Italian Consul General, of her Worship Linda jackson, Mayor of Vaughan, of Monsignor John Iverinci, Episcopal Vicer for the Italian Communities and Chair of the Celebration and of Fr. Daniele Bertoldi, preident of the Italian pastoral Commission and of the Centennial Commitee.As in every italian celebration dances and classical songs delighted the partecipants during the dinner and at its conclusion.