NEWS RELEASE
ARCHDIOCESE OF TORONTO
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This was a special weekend for Catholics across the Greater Toronto Area, as they return to publicly celebrated Sunday Mass for the first time after three months of church closures to slow the spread of COVID-19.
However, this weekend will be particularly exciting for parishioners at Our Lady of Grace Parish in Aurora, many of whom will see their extensively renovated church for the first time.
The parish’s renovation project, which began in November 2018, has reached the point where parishioners can worship inside the church again – just in time for the resumption of Masses in the Archdiocese of Toronto. Parishioners had been attending Mass in the parish’s hall, which is in another building on the grounds, since May 2019.
Father Frank McDevitt, pastor of Our Lady of Grace, noted it is providential that the church is able to open in time of the return of Mass, since work stopped for five weeks due to COVID-19.
“I am so grateful to our parishioners for their patience and generosity to support this project,” Fr. Frank said. “I am overjoyed to welcome them back to both Mass and to their restored church.”
Our Lady of Grace’s current church was built in 1983 largely with the assistance of parishioners who volunteered in its construction. However, in recent years, it became clear that the church building needed extensive restoration work. To honour the previous labour of its parishioners, the church was renovated down to its studs, rather than demolishing the building and constructing a new church.
The Catholic community of Our Lady of Grace Parish in Aurora will celebrate its 75th anniversary next year. Once all the COVID-19 restrictions are withdrawn, the church will seat 700 people. This diverse parish has 3,000 registered households. The parish priests serve five Catholic elementary schools and two Catholic secondary schools.
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