Rouyn-Noranda - Blessed - Diocèse de Rouyn-Noranda

Before Blessed Sacrament Parish was established, English-speaking Catholics in Rouyn and Noranda worshipped at Notre-Dame-de-Protection Parish, a bilingual parish founded in 1929. By 1934, Notre-Dame’s community reflected the diversity of the region: 981 Francophones, 546 Anglophones, 17 Poles, 28 Italians and 22 parishioners of other ethnic backgrounds.

Blessed Sacrament Parish was officially created on October 7, 1946, to serve the English-speaking population of Rouyn and Noranda. The canonical erection was decreed on July 8, 1947, by Bishop Louis Rhéaume of the Diocese of Timmins. The first parish priest was was Father Thomas J. McManus (1946), followed by Father John A. Caufield who faithfully served from 1947 until his retirement in 1977.

In its early days, the parish celebrated Mass in the former Moose Hall on 9th Street, which served as a temporary place of worship. For thirteen years, parishioners worked tirelessly to secure a permanent site and raise the necessary funds for construction.

In 1959, those efforts bore fruit. The current church and rectory were completed according to plans by architect Auguste Martineau. The new church was officially inaugurated during a Sunday Mass on June 14, 1959. The chosen site—a triangular lot behind Youville Hospital and across the street from the English-language Catholic High School—was central and symbolic, located at the border of Rouyn and Noranda, then separate municipalities.

Blessed Sacrament Parish holds a distinctive place in the Diocese of Rouyn-Noranda. It is the only parish organized by cultural affiliation (English language) rather than geography. Its territory encompasses the entire city of Rouyn-Noranda and, of course, welcomes visiting parishioners from other localities.