I like church buildings. I never really liked going to church very much. I guess that tells you too much about me. I don’t know the name of this church I photographed on the way in from Digby Nova Scotia to Mahone Bay.  I just stopped to admire it amid the autumn leaves.

The three famous churches are St. James Anglican Church, St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran Church, Trinity United Church.  I have always been puzzled by the appearance though of 4 churches. Can’t you see 4 steeples in my photo. Why does the 4^th church get no credit?  It can’t be because it’s a Mennonite Church. Or could it be? I think it might be the Calvary Temple which is not quite on the shoreline. So it does not get included. Churches getting exclusive again?

I really like the area in around Mahone Bay Nova Scotia. It was first settled by Mi’kmaq people since time immemorial. Thousands of years.  The French were the first Europeans to settle here and called the area La Baye de Toutes Iles (The Bay of Many Islands).  The current name derives from the French mahonne, a type of barge After the British took over from the French, in 1754,  they brought in German speakers from Europe to settle the region. At first they brought them to Lunenburg and then Mahone Bay.

This was the first dreary day in a while, but sadly, it was not the last.

I think churches are a little like lighthouses.  Offering a warning? Or better, an illumination?

After our time in Yarmouth Nova Scotia we continued on our way back to Digby, but this time we travelled along the coastal route, carefully avoiding the access controlled highway.  Meandering in other words.  As a result, we saw a good part of the Acadian French coast of Nova Scotia.  There were numerous little French towns that were settled by the Acadians. Acadian heritage is proudly on display in every small town here.  Their flags visible everywhere. Ubiquitous.

Yet there was one stain on their proud record. That was the dilapidation of Eglise Ste. Marie.  This is a huge French Romanesque Revival Church in the Acadian community of Church Point. It is right beside the highway. We were not expecting it and new nothing about it until we happened on it.  How could we not stop to see this?is reputed to be the largest wooden church in North America. It is an important cultural mark for the Acadian community yet it has fallen into ruin. It is no longer used as a church and is likely unsafe.  I saw some pretty big cracks in it and feared to go close let alone inside. Christiane disagrees with me but she is a Catholic. I know I did not want to go inside. Too me it looked rickety and unsafe.

In my opinion, churches, like lighthouses can be beautiful.

As I have said, I love dilapidated buildings, but when a heritage building falls into such disrepair it is sad. It is sad the community was not able to get together to save it. The Catholic church who continues to use it, but is not able to maintain it, has listed it for sale.  You can buy this church!  Why not buy it?

It has been designated as a historic place by the Province of Nova Scotia.

The church was completed in 1905 so it is pretty impressive. It was the third church to be built on the site to serve the local Catholic congregation who were mainly the descendants of the Acadian families who arrived in the area in 1769 from Massachusetts after being deported by the English. They returned to Nova Scotia on foot. Their homes had been destroyed by the barbarian English who had displace the Acadians.

I have been told that the high vaulted ceilings combined with the large nave and transepts give the visitor, upon entering, a sense of grandeur and awe. As I said, I was too afraid to walk inside for a closer look. It takes a man of faith to do that. But the sheer size of the church gives it a dominating appearance as the 185-foot spire can be seen from miles around. We just happened upon it and at first thought it was a church in good standing. Sadly, on closer inspection that was no longer the case.

About 10 years ago the Arch-Diocese gave a community group 1 year to raise the money to restore and maintain it but they were only able to raise $500,000. It was estimated that $10 million would be needed to save it.  After that money would be needed for maintenance.

The roof is leaking in several places said a local Pierre Comeau the head of a local committee that tried to raise the $10 million needed to save it. Comeau said “The church deserves to be maintained and preserved as a monument to the faith and the tenacity of our ancestors who built it.”

In 2023 an anonymous donor offered to pay the $10 million purchase price and pay for maintenance. When Comeau and his group heard about the offer they were “ecstatic and overjoyed.” When they heard the news it felt like “the offer came down from heaven.” Spiritual ecstasy, like political popularity, is often short-lived. Alas, heaven has failed to save the church. That offer was withdrawn by the secret donor who did not give a reason for his/her changed mind. Now it is a monument to inadequate faith!

In 2024 the church was deconsecrated and put up for sale. Apparently According to numbers provided by the archdiocese, 32 church buildings in Nova Scotia have been deconsecrated in the past decade, and nine of those buildings have been sold. The province said it would not buy the church.

One thing is clear, the church needs a savior or it is a goner. And that would be a shame.