St. Antoine l'Ermite Parish / Saint-Antoine
Established in 1833
First church : 1838
First priest : 1940
In the spring of 1833, four settlers from the north shore of the Cocagne River settled in Saint-Antoine, or as it was known then, Higho or Higho of Cocagne. In 1873, when Fr. Gosselin, the priest serving in Cocagne, realized that the parish did not have a patron saint he gave it the name Saint-Antoine-l’Ermite.
The first masses were celebrated in Joseph Goguen’s house. In 1838, the first small chapel was built. The priest from Bouctouche would celebrate mass there a few times a year during the week and at Easter. Around 1856 a bigger church was built. It would serve as a place of worship until 1924.
The first stone church in Kent County was built here in Saint-Antoine. Construction work began on May 15, 1923 and as predicted by Fr. Désiré Allain, the exterior of the church was completed by Christmas.
This new church was blessed by Most Rev. Edouard LeBlanc on July 1, 1924. The church’s interior was only completed in 1951.
Saint-Antoine was served by priests from Bouctouche and then those from Cocagne and again from Bouctouche and finally by the priest from Notre-Dame.
In September 1940, Fr. Camille Vautour was appointed as the first parish priest of Saint-Antoine parish. He would remain here until his retirement in 1980.