Gazing at this edifice, can you believe Christ the King Church started in a humble cider plant? Imagine apple peels and the scent of fermentation replaced by hymns and prayers. This transformation began with Father Stephen Auad.
Father Auad had a popular St. Anthony devotion at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church. A newspaper even called his shrine one of Canada’s greatest in 1933. He dreamed bigger.
In 1938, he proposed a shrine to St. Anthony in Long Branch to Archbishop James McGuigan. The Archbishop worried about finances and initially refused. But Father Auad was determined.
His housekeeper, Mrs. Maggie Jobin, encouraged him to try again. He returned and even banged on the Archbishop’s desk. This surprised the Archbishop, who knew Father Auad as mild and humble.
The Archbishop laughed until he cried. Then he agreed but told Father Auad it was his responsibility. On August 4, 1938, Father Auad became parish priest and was tasked to build a church. He bought a property with an old brick house that had been a cider plant. The house needed serious cleaning.
While the church was built, a former bank at Lakeshore Boulevard West and 40th street served as a temporary worship space. Parishioners remember attending Mass there. Construction progressed rapidly. The cornerstone was blessed on April 23, 1939. Monsignor Patrick Coyle offered Mass, and Monsignor James Treacy gave the sermon.
On September 17, 1939, Father Auad held the first Mass in the new Christ the King Church. Archbishop McGuigan blessed and dedicated it on May 26, 1940. Father Auad wanted to name it the Shrine of St. Anthony. But another St. Anthony’s already existed in the archdiocese.
Sadly, Father Auad’s time in his church was brief. He died about four years later on December 26, 1944 after suffering a stroke while preaching Midnight Mass the previous night.
Today, Christ the King Church stands as a testament to Father Auad’s persistence. It reminds us that even humble beginnings can lead to something grand and spiritual. The church’s story is one of faith, determination and a little bit of divine humor.