Saint Agnes Kouying Tsao Catholic Church

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St. Agnes Kouying Tsao Catholic Church (Traditional Chinese: 天主教聖曹桂英堂), formerly known as Blessed Agnes Kouying Tsao Catholic Mission, was founded in 1992 by Rev. Fr. Nicola Ruggiero, an Italian missionary preaching in Hong Kong. St. Agnes was built in response to the growing religious demands of Chinese Christian immigrants flooding into the Markham area from places like Hong Kong and Mainland China. On October 1, 2000, Pope John Paul II canonized St. Agnes Kouying Tsao and the Parish was then renamed Saint Agnes Kouying Tsao Catholic Church.HistoryThe St. Agnes Kouying Tsao Catholic Church first began in 1992, when Fr. Nicola Ruggiero accepted the mission of looking after the Chinese Catholic Community in Toronto. In June 1992 Fr. Ruggiero successfully filed an application to the Archdiocese of Toronto for establishing a Catholic Mission in the area and two days later, the Decree of Establishment was granted. The mission celebrated their first Mass on December 6, 1992 at Christ the King Catholic Elementary School. In June 1993, Fr. Ruggiero filed another application to the Archdiocese of Toronto, this time for a site to build a new church. On November 3, 1993, a permit was granted to set aside a 2acre site at the current location. Fr. Ruggiero immediately started the fund raising campaign and appointed architect Mr. David Sin to design the new church in August 1997. Unfortunately, in late 1998, Fr. Ruggiero's health failed and forced him to retire early to Italy.