St. Clement Parish / Port Elgin
Established around 1820
First church in 1902
First pastor in 1926
Originally, Port Elgin was called, “Gaspereaux”, because of the abundance of this type of fish in the river that still carries this name, and flows through the village to Baie-Verte. Under the French Regime, a small village existed, one mile from the center of the town, at the site of Fort Gaspereau (Fort Moncton). A small chapel, and a priest’s house served some forty families there before 1755 and the Exile of the Acadians when everything was destroyed by the British.
The first Port Elgin church was built in 1902. At this time, the catholic population numbered about 25 families, the majority of whom were Acadians. However, a few Irish and Scots families lived side by side in peace and prosperity, with their Acadian brethren. History tells us that the first Catholic to settle in Port Elgin was John Fitzpatrick, in 1850. We also know that Father Patrick Bradley celebrated masses in private homes in Port Elgin a few times a year during his ministry in Cap-Pelé (1868-1898).
The new church was blessed in 1902 and placed under the patronage of Saint Clement. The first trustees of Saint Clement were Laurent Gould, John Mahoney and Docité Vautour.
Until 1907, both Melrose and Port Elgin were missions depending on Cap-Pelé, but later became attached to Middle Sackville. This remained so until 1926, when Father R. B. Fraser, then Pastor of Sackville, took up residence in Port Elgin until 1932, thus becoming the first Pastor of Port Elgin. Upon assuming his duties here, Father Fraser bought the Frank Mitton property as a residence.
In 1926, Saint Clement’s church was renovated. The sanctuary and vestry were moved back 22 feet, and the space in between was filled in, thus making room for almost a hundred people. The material used for the construction was taken mostly from the old Baptist church on the adjoining property, which had been purchased from Rev. Mason. Walter Gould, from Amherst, was the contractor, and August Sandell of Shemogue did the decorating. In October 1926, the first catholic cemetery was purchased.
With the diocesan restructuring in the year 2005, the parish became part of the St. Bernard’s and Sackville Pastoral Unit.