St. Margaret of Scotland Church is 70 years old!

We look back and look ahead as we celebrate God's unfailing love and faithfulness. Let's go back down memory lane - memories and stories from our parishioners.

Thank you to our parishioners for their contributions and to Diane Dibacco who collected all these wonderful testimonies. 

 Happy 70th Anniversary! 

St. Margaret of Scotland Parish

In 1950, Rev. Melville J. Bolan was asked to organize a new parish to be called St. Margaret Queen of Scotland. The church was to be on the site, purchased years before, at Ridley Boulevard and Avenue Road. Rev. Bolan used St. Eugene's Chapel as his parish church until St. Margaret's Hall was opened in 1951. St. Margaret's Church was completed and on December 27, 1957, the formal blessing by Cardinal McGuigan was held. The Church's interior features stained glass windows depicting patroness St. Margaret, Saints Marguerite Bourgeoys, Bridget of Sweden, Eugene and Chales Borromeo.

The four large statues in the church as well as the Stations of the Cross are hand carved in wood and were made by the Passion Players of Oberammagau, Germany.

Extensive renovations to St. Margaret's Church were completed in 1979. These were mainly for insulation purposes, and the redesigning of the sanctuary to conform to the new liturgy proposed by the Second Vatican Council.

Parish Mission Church - St. Eugene's Chapel

St. Eugene's Chapel is located at Regina Avenue and Bathurst Street. This chapel was established by the Irish and Italian residents who moved into this area in the 1930s. In 1939, these people decided to organized their own Sunday services. The basement of a house was used as a chapel and Mass was celebrated each week. Worshippers were required to bring thier own chairs!

In 1942, permission was granted by Cardinal McGuigan to buy a piece of land and build a church with the stipulation that a separate school also be established. The building was completed and St. Eugene's became a Mission of St. Thomas Aquinas Parish.

In 1949, Rev. Bolan was appointed to Our Lady of Assumption Parish on Bathurst Street. There was no church there yet and Rev. Bolan sought permission to use St. Eugene's Chapel as the poineer church for the proposed Assumption Church. The Chapel was renovated and repainted and the first mass in the renovated chapel was to be said on Sunday morning in late November 1950. However, disaster fell and probably due to a malfunction in the new furnace, the Chapel went up in smoke.

Following the fire, when the congregation arrived for the big celebration, the Chapel was damaged beyond use, but they found buses waiting to convey them to Loretto Abbey for Mass. Next, the owners of the Glenview Theatre on Avenue Road offered their facilities for Sunday Mass and the Christmas Eve Mass of 1950 was celebrated there.

The Chapel was renovated and re-opened in March 1951.

In 1950, Rev. Bolan was called upon to organize a new parish to be called St. Margaret Queen of Scotland.