St Francis De Sales Church

Story

St. Francis de Sales Church is a Roman Catholic church located in Ajax, Ontario. The original church was erected in 1871, but was closed in 1999 due to an overflow of parishioners. A new building was opened on 30 July 2006.Pre-World War IPrior to the building of a church to service the Catholic community of Pickering, parishioners journeyed to either St. Paul's in Toronto or to St. Gregory's in Oshawa. In 1847, the first church was erected in Pickering near Highway 2 (now Durham Highway 2/Kingston Road). It was called St. Wilfrid's, and relied on visiting priests. The first resident priest of the area was Fr. Peter D. Laurent, who served from 1860-61. By 1870, the tiny Pickering church of St. Wilfrid's became too small for the burgeoning Catholic population, and so, under the guidance of Fr. Hayden, the fifth pastor, the parish banded together to build a new church, named St. Francis de Sales. It was completed in 1871.