Postcard from St. Catharines: Where My Ancestors Worshipped

This beautiful rose window features the broken Catherine Wheel, a symbol of St. Catherine of Alexandria, as well as the Alpha and Omega symbols of Christ.

The fifth in a series about discoveries made during my trip to western New York and Ontario, where I researched my Becker/Baker, Cassidy, Sheridan, Cailteux, and Schiltz families. 

 

Dear Family, 

On a stiflingly hot day in July, in the city of St. Catharines, Ontario, I made my way into the darkened church to attend a midday Mass. Afterwards, I was to meet Rev. Paul McDonald, who kindly agreed to give me a tour of the building. This was the Cathedral of St. Catherine of Alexandria, a must-see on my summer research trip as the setting for numerous ancestral baptisms, wedding, and funerals for members of my Becker/Baker, Cassidy, and Sheridan families.

 

I walked down a side aisle to a pew about midway to the back. I sat down. I was surprised to discover that there was no air conditioning. Perhaps it was broken or just not keeping up with the sultry weather. I reminded myself that this is what my great-grandparents and their parents before them would have felt in their time. I noticed a thin rope dangling from the stained glass window to the side of me. Following it upwards I saw that it was attached to a transom window, which had been opened to allow some air flow, to no avail. The air was thick and still. I took a pamphlet from the pew pocket in front of me and began to fan myself.

The Mass proceeded much as I remembered but here there were a few elements that harked back to the days of the Latin Mass that my ancestors might have experienced. On this day, those receiving communion knelt at the communion railing at the front of the church and received communion on their tongues. In most Catholic churches of my experience, the railing had long since been done away with and after walking up the central aisle of a church, communicants prayerfully receive communion in their hands to place the wafer in their mouths themselves. Though I didn't quite understand why these older practices were still being done at the Cathedral today, it did give me a glimpse backward in time. 

 

The church itself is stunningly beautiful, full of colorful stained glass windows, wooden pews, and statues of archangels, the Blessed Virgin, and St. Catherine herself. The ceiling vaults are painted with beautiful medallions, angels, biblical scenes, and designs. A wooden choir loft and ornate pipe organ dominate the church's rear section. Though much of the interior of the church was restored to commemorate its 175th anniversary in 2020, the church exterior seen today has been essentially the same since 1895.¹

Both the cathedral and its home city are named after St. Catherine of Alexandria. who died about 310 A.D., a victim of Roman persecution. After refusing to renounce her Christian faith, she was tortured on a spiked wheel, which mysteriously broke when she was placed on it. She was later beheaded. The Catherine Wheel symbol is featured throughout the church, in statuary and decorative windows, as well as in the insignia of the Diocese of St. Catharines.²

Statue of St. Catherine of Alexandria, for whom the cathedral is named. Note the spiked wheel.

 

 

 

Detail from window depicting St. Catherine and the Emperor Maxentius as he questioned her about her beliefs. Again, the broken Catherine Wheel is at St. Catherine's feet, along with the palm, a symbol of martyrdom.

The central section of the church, including the sanctuary and part of the nave (or central part of the church where congregants would sit or stand) date to 1845. Historically, this is the second church building on the site; the original wooden church then known as St. John's was burnt by an arsonist in 1842. Within a year, the cornerstone of the present stone church was laid. Many Irish canal workers donated their time to build the church when they were not working on the Welland Canal. Many additions were made to the building during the 19th century to create today's edifice—changes which were experienced by my ancestors.³

In my mind's eye I imagined the many sacraments that my ancestors received in this church. I saw my second great-grandfather Charles Cassidy as an infant being held over the baptismal font by his godparents, his uncle Daniel Cassidy and his cousin Mary Ann Saul, in 1860.⁴ I saw Daniel's coffin positioned in front of the altar for his 1866 funeral.⁵ I pictured my third great-grandmother Mary Jane Sheridan Cassidy grieving her husband Philip in 1874 and her son Martin in 1877 here, yet filled with happiness as her son Charles married Maria Jane Darragh in front of this altar in 1883.⁶ My great-grandmother Catherine Cassidy married Edward Baker here in 1907 in what was called "a very pretty wedding" by the local newspaper, while my great-granduncle Rev. Vincent Baker sung a Solemn High Mass of Requiem here for his sister Kathleen Baker's funeral in 1944.⁷ These were just a few of the numerous events held at the cathedral.

The cathedral's baptismal font features a statue of Jesus being baptized by St. John.

Members of my families who worshiped here regularly likely provided financial support to the church when they were able, such as when Charles Cassidy and Joseph Baker each gave $1 during a special Easter Collection in 1891.⁸

 

Cover of Easter Offering pamphlet, 1891.

My second great-grandfathers, Joseph Baker and Charles Cassidy, as well as Charles' son Daniel Cassidy, donated $1 each to the 1891 Easter collection at the cathedral.

Over the course of at least 100 years, dozens of family milestones were held within this grand church. These ancestors gave thanks, grieved, and rejoiced here. They offered up silent prayers, made fervent confessions, and raised their voices in songs of worship. In this exalted setting, they likely also pondered their lives and gave thought to the state of their souls. Year in and year out, this church was likely a mainstay of their lives, solid as the rock that built it. It was an honor to visit it to catch a small glimpse of what their experience might have been like.

Nancy

 

Enjoy more photographs of the beautiful Cathedral of St. Catherine of Alexandria.

St. Michael slays the dragon.

St. Patrick's window depicts the saint's mission to spread the faith in Ireland.

The Nativity.

The communion rail in front of the altar.

The main altar window depicts the crucifixion.

The flight from Egypt. Note the pyramids over Mary's shoulder.

The agony in the garden.

Nancy

Many thanks to Rev. Paul MacDonald for giving me the tour of the cathedral as well as gifting me with the commemorative book, The Cathedral of St. Catherine of Alexandria: 150th Anniversary, 1832-1982. I really appreciate it.

 

Until next time...

© Nancy Gilbride Casey, 2025. All rights reserved. 

NOTES

All photos and video by author unless otherwise noted.

Image of 1891 Easter offering pamphlet from The Cathedral of St. Catherine of Alexandria: 150th Anniversary, 1832-1982 (St. Catharines, Ont.: The Cathedral of St. Catherine, 1983)

¹ Mickey Conlon, "Artists work on restoring St. Catherine's cathedral for 175th anniversary," The Catholic Register (https://www.catholicregister.org/archive/item/30239-artists-work-on-restoring-st-catherine-s-cathedral-for-175-anniversary : accessed 12 August 2025). Also, M.J. Schaefer, Lisa Van Bolderen, and Mercedes Sinkovic, compilers, The Cathedral of St. Catherine of Alexandria: 150th Anniversary, 1832-1982 (St. Catharines, Ont.: The Cathedral of St. Catherine, 1983), 27.

² Schaefer, Van Bolderen, Sinkovic, The Cathedral of St. Catherine of Alexandria, 7.

³ Ibid, 20, 26.

⁴ Cathedral of St. Catherine of Alexandria (St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada), "Baptismal Register, 1860-1906," p. 1, baptism of Charles F. Cassidy, 7 Dec. 1860; digital images, Ancestry, "Ontario, Canada, Roman Catholic Baptisms, Marriages, and Burials, 1760-1923," (https://bit.ly/2VRK5Yu : accessed 5 July 2020), image 107/554; citing Archdiocese of St. Catharines, Ontario. 

⁵ Thomas McIntyre, Coffin Register, 1863-1866, np, #92 order for Daniel Cassidy, 29 August 1866; citing Hulse & English Burial Register; citing St. Catharines Public Library Special Collections, Ontario, Canada. 

⁶ County of Lincoln, Ontario, Canada, Deaths, Book B, p. 298, no. 8, Phillip Cassidy, 9 Feb. 1874; imaged, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HT-68L3-SWG : accessed 20 Jan. 2025); citing Archives of Ontario, Toronto. Also,  Lincoln County, Ontario, Canada, Schedule C. Deaths, Division of Grantham, p. 554, No. 13, Martin Cassidy, age 9, no death date, reg. 22 May 1877; imaged, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q93-C9YJ-7S53-F : accessed 15 Feb. 2025); citing Archives of Ontario, Toronto. Also, Cathedral of St. Catherine of Alexandria, St. Catharines, Lincoln, Ontario, Canada, Marriages 1858-1910, np, Chas. Cassady to Mara Jane Darow, 20 June 1883; imaged, "Ontario Roman Catholic Church Records, 1760-1923," FamilySearch (https://www.ancestry.com/search/collections/61505/records/35165 : accessed 20 Mar 2025); citing St. Catherine's Cathedral, St. Catharines.

⁷ "Baker-Cassidy," wedding announcement, The Twice a Week Standard (St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada), 13 June 1907, p. 6, col. 5; imaged, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/image/774919022/ : accessed 12 August 2025). Also, "Miss Kathleen C. Baker," The St. Catharines Standard [Ontario, Canada], 13 Jan. 1944, p. 2, col. 4; imaged, Newspapers.com (https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-standard-kathleen-c-baker-funeral/160367747/ : accessed 6 Dec. 2024).

⁸ Schaefer, Van Bolderen, Sinkovic, The Cathedral of St. Catherine of Alexandria, 22-23.