St. Rose of Lima is a small, country church in the little town of Onoway, about 60 kilometres northwest of Edmonton. In the heart of this small town, farming community, she has stayed, quietly strong, resilient and steady for 100 years.
When we begin to think about the course of history over the past 100 years – it truly is remarkable to see our little church standing strong. How many feet have walked in the doors through the rough Alberta winters, through war time, through festivals, through droughts, through rain, in sadness, in joy, holding the hands of little children, and supporting the arms of grandparents? It has truly stood the test of time.
2026 has been a full year. Looking back over the past few years our parish faced many challenges. In 2022, Fr. Andrew Rybak retired. He had dedicated 16 years to St. Rose of Lima and was a beloved priest to us all. He brought the children forward during Mass to let them get closer to the altar or give them their own homily. This attention and his love for children helped to not only strengthen the children’s relationship with him, but also their relationship to God.
During his tenure, St. Rose of Lima partnered with many other churches in the area to sponsor a Catholic refugee family who fled Iraq to Jordan and, as a community effort, we fundraised to house the family until they could get on their feet and get settled. When Father Andrew retired in 2022, the children wrote and sang a song in tribute to his many years spent with us.
Father Liju Jose was with us a short time – only a year – but in that short time showed how dedicated he was to our small parish, enjoying Coffee Sundays, youth events and he was even able to streamline fundraising again for a new kitchen in the rectory. In 2023, when Father Liju was moved to Ponoka, it seemed that the parish in Onoway was dwindling. We struggled to pay bills, more parishioners were moving away, many of them passing on in their later years.
We were blessed having Father Thomas Puthupparampil as Dominical Vicar. However, we no longer had a full-time parish priest and the inevitable was staring us in the face. In the years since then, the Holy Spirit has shown what hope, faith and love can truly do. New families seem to arrive each week looking for a parish to call home. Sacraments are being received within our church again. Finances are increasing, allowing us to support our building and pay bills. Fundraising efforts have contributed to both the financial needs, as well as our sense of community together. The Catholic Women’s League has remained steadfast and active during these years. For the past year we have continually prayed a novena to Our Lady of the Cape in hopes of continued growth in the parish and for the assignment of a permanent parish priest.
We began our Centennial events in May with a May Crowning for Our Blessed Mother and a special presentation of the Centennial Garden; given to the church from St. Gregory’s Choral Academy Homeschool Group.
In June, Father Frank Sharma from the Carmelites came to help us celebrate an Archival Mass, like that which would have been celebrated 100 years ago. A long-time parishioner commented after the mass, “it reminded me of being at Mass with my grandmother”. The Ball Family joyously celebrated the baptism of their newest son, Dawson on June 7 at the Archival Mass – 100 years to the day since the first two baptism at St. Rose of Lima June 6 and 7, 1926!
In June we also had three floats in the Onoway Heritage Days Parade; one for the Parish Centennial, one for the Knights of Columbus and another for our raffle fundraiser of a handcrafted canoe. We were very pleased to win first place for our Centennial float entry! During the parade we handed out Zinia seeds to the parade spectators asking them to plant and grow their flowers and then join us with their flowers to decorate our church for our special events in August.
In July, we gathered for Mass and a blessing of the cemetery. Remembering and praying for all the parishioners who have come before us, who built the church and faith we now also profess.
Throughout the year we have also been striving to achieve 100 Acts of Mercy to commemorate this significant anniversary and offer that thanksgiving and prayers to God. We are getting closer to 100!!
On August 23, the feast day of St. Rose of Lima, we will celebrate with Mass, prayer procession for St. Rose and a Kids’ Carnival. To prepare for this celebration our parish has been saying a novena prayer each Sunday asking for the intercession of St. Rose of Lima.
The Centennial Mass with Archbishop Stephen Hero will take place on August 30. This has been the celebration the entire parish has been looking forward to all year! His Grace will lead us in Mass and a Eucharistic Procession, followed by luncheon and reception in our church basement hall.
In October, we are planning a potluck dinner and dance, and in November we will begin “100 socks for charity” as our Advent giving project which will close out the Centennial Year.
Looking forward into the second century of our parish we plan to continue our tradition of Coffee Sundays on the second Sunday of the Month, Mass and adoration on the third Friday of the month, continue the RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults) program that started up last spring, continue the CWL, continue the reactivation of the Knights of Columbus, start a new children’s sacrament preparation class for Confirmation and Communion, and begin whatever else the Holy Spirit has in store for us.
As we celebrate these 100 years, we give thanks for each of the 27 priests and seven bishops who have served St. Rose of Lima church in Onoway, every religious sister who gave her life to this community, and every parishioner, known and unknown, whose prayers and sacrifices helped keep this parish alive. The church building is 100 years old. The faith is much older. May St. Rose of Lima Parish continue to be a home of faith for generations yet to come.
-Caroline Campbell is chair of the 100th anniversary committee and Shantelle McAffee is past chair of St. Rose of Lima parish council.
