St. Paul’s Chapel offered to community for $1

After months of negotiations with the Diocese of Alexandria-Cornwall to save St. Paul's Chapel, the community's last remaining heritage building, the Dalkeith History Club's passion and effort has paid off.

During an interview with The Review Tuesday morning, club spokesperson Frances Fraser said the diocese has offered the building to the community for one dollar, providing it pays for the severance, which could amount to around $5,000.

"Bishop Paul-André Durocher is now willing to let us have the building for a dollar," Fraser confirmed. "This is great news for us because we have been working so hard to save this building. It really is the last remaining historical building in the community."

Fraser said the 14-member history club has been working diligently since March to save the building, the fate of which remained unknown until recently.

"In a way, we accomplished what we set out to do, which was save the building," Fraser commented. "Now, we have an offer on the table but this is a huge project. We cannot do this alone and we're going to need a lot more than moral support. It's going to take time and money to make this happen and we're hoping the community will continue to support us."

That's why the history club is planning to host a public information session this Saturday, November 13 at the library in Dalkeith. She said the goal of the meeting will be to update the interested public on the negotiation process and to initiate discussions on turning the building into a community heritage centre.

"We hope to have a good turnout and everyone is welcome to attend," Fraser remarked. "We're going to need at least 10 more people to commit to this project. It's a lot of work and it's going to take a lot of people to make anything happen. We think we have community support but now we need commitment of that support."

She said Dalkeith already has a "considerable collection" of family history memorabilia and "it would be so nice" to have a permanent place to display and celebrate that local history.

"Our residents have made significant contributions of artifacts and memorabilia over the years," she stated. "It would be nice for this collection to have a permanent home, as well as a place for the collection of family histories to expand and a place for residents and visitors to come.

"If you have any interest in the project, now is the time to show your support. The diocese wants a written commitment very soon."

The building is located at 1845 Dalkeith Road and is currently under the ownership of the Alexandria-Cornwall Catholic Diocese.

"The chapel is still used a few times a year for funerals or weddings," she said. "Most recently, it was used for the funeral of Stella (St. Denis) Lanthier, which was held in February. She lived to be 101 years old and the service was overcrowded with people. Even though times have changed and people don't use it as a church much anymore, it is still a very important part of our community."

She said the chapel is presently open on special occasions and by appointment.

The movement to have the church designated a heritage site began in response to rumours about the diocese's plans for the chapel.

St. Paul's is scheduled to host World Prayer Day in 2011. But at the last prayer day, held March 5 at St. Martin de Tours in Glen Robertson, Fraser said a Dalkeith resident was dissuaded from announcing that St. Paul's would be hosting the event, which is a tradition.

A petition to save the church was circulated in the community and was signed by 182 residents.

Research carried out by the historical club shows that the building has been used by the community since the 1860s. It was built by the Robertson family, who came from Dalkeith, Scotland and gave the community its name. The building served as a general store from 1867 to 1907, when it was sold to what was then the Diocese of Alexandria.

It served as the parish church up until three years ago, when lack of attendance forced the Diocese of Alexandria-Cornwall to close it. Fraser said the diocese "was very generous" to leave it open as a chapel.