St. Patrick's Church is the oldest parish in Stayner. History notes that a priest visited and served in the area 1ong before Europeans settled here. Father Proulx, a Jesuit, accompanied by an Algonquin Indian Chief, crossed the Nottawasaga River on a raft and established an Indian Mission in Stayner. In the 1830s, the first Irish settlers came and settled in the area. They were Mathew Dowling and Edmund Duggan. They took possession of their future home sites in 1835. Soon, other Irish families followed, and a community started to grow. Many of these Irish families were Catholic and wanted to practice their faith. The first Masses were held in John Bertles' lumber shanty near Duntroon in January 1839. A priest for Adjala, Father Fitzpatrick, was the first to say Mass in Sunnidale Township at the residence of Herbert Cain, then at John Bertles' and also in Mathew Dowling's barn. Father Charest of Penetanguishene had formal charge of this area. In 1839, he made his first visit to Stayner. After this he came once a year to attend to the spiritual needs of the few faithful Irish settlers. In 1848 these devoted Catholics Joseph Bertles, Edmund Duggan, Mathew Dowling and Patrick McKeown, under the supervision of Father Charest, built a log church, on Lot 13, Concession 5, on the property of Mathew Dowling. In the years following, Father Charest, other missionaries from Toronto visited Stayner. Among these were Fathers O'Dwyer, McNulty, Flannery, Synnet, and Archbishop Walsh in the early days of his priesthood. In 1855, a mission was established at Barrie to which Stayner became a part. A priest came every third Sunday to celebrate Holy Mass. Growth in population in the area advanced steadily until the number of settlers was such that a resident priest at Stayner became a necessity. Father Michael O'Reilly was appointed and initiated the building of a church. The corner stone was laid by Archbishop Lynch in June 1872. Archbishop Walsh opened it for divine service New Year's Day, 1873. When Fr. Moyna was pastor, he had the present rectory built in 1888. It is almost an exact replica of Shaughnessy home in Barrie where he spent weekends while he was a teacher in Phelpston. To complete the list of parish buildings, the church hall was built by Fr. John Corrigan, a much-loved pastor who was later to become Monsignor Corrigan, Chaplain of Providence Villa in Scarborough. This building served social functions of both parish and community. In 1980 when the new parish hall was built, the old hall was dismantled. Names of early parishioners recorded in the church register include: Bertles; Fenlon; Conlon; Malone; Emes; McDonald; Adams; Rooney; Rose; Whalen; O'Sullivan; Dineen; McEvoy; Tyne; Stephens; Cody; McLaughlin; Murphy; Giffen; O'Malley; Coyle; Harkin; Murtagh; Bertles; Condlon; McRae; Gartlan; O'Brien; Caughlin; Murray; Madden; Higgins; McKewon; Comartin; Dumond; Hogan; Heffron; McArthy; Maher; McKinnon; McBride. In 1864, in the Village of Brentwood, land was purchased from John and Margaret McBride, Seven years later, in 1871, a smaJl frame church was built and dedicated to Our Lady of the Assumption. In June of 1908, Our Lady of the Assumption was transferred from the care of Barrie to Fr. William Ryan of St. Patrick's Church, Stayner. The church at Brentwood was passed to the care of the Angus parish in 1980. Due to the support of a large segment of parishioners, Fr. Lawrence Cahill supervised the establishment of a Separate School Board in 1961, which in turn soon had a two-room building constructed on County Road 9 just west of Sunnidale Road. This school was called "Our Lady of the Assumption". In the early 1920s, Fr. John O'Brien - a former Pastor of Stayner - while Parish Priest of Alliston, had a cottage called "Carmel" at Wasaga Beach. There, Mass was celebrated with the very few people who had cottages in that beautiful beachland. About 1924, a church was erected right on the shore of Georgian Bay and dedicated to St. Joseph. At that time, Mass was celebrated only during the summer months of July and August, by the Pastor of St. Mary's Collingwood, or his delegate. But a building can shelter only so many, and because of the increased number of permanent and seasonal people in this area it became more apparent that there was a need for a new church. In addition to the Masses at St. Joseph's, Mass was offered during 1957 and 1958 in the lobby of Mr. Tony Beck's Bowlodrome. After two years of probation, Fr. John Myers, then Pastor of Stayner, was able to demonstrate to Cardinal McGuigan the need for another church. Work began immediately on land that was formerly a Riding Academy. Bishop Francis Marrocco, the Auxiliary Bishop of Toronto, blessed the new structure in the late summer of 1959. Originally, there were two Sunday Masses only in the summer months. St. Noel Chabanel Church now has Mass all year round; there are two Masses during the winter season and five Masses each weekend in the summer months. It is worth noting that the original St. Joseph's church was replaced with a new structure. It was only open for one year when the property was sold to the Ministry of Natural Resources to become part of the Provincial Park. That building was moved to Stayner where it was enlarged and reconstructed to become St. Patrick's new Parish Hall. Fr. John Weelink was the Pastor at this time. Why was this new church at Wasaga Beach dedicated to St. Noel Chabanel? At the roots of the church in Canada lies the amazing history of the Canadian Martyrs, eight French Jesuit missionaries who were murdered in the 17th century for their faith. Father Noel Chabanel was one of these eight men who gave his life while bringing this gift of faith to the Huron Indians. St. Noel was murdered and his body thrown into the Nottawasaga River in the general area of Wasaga Beach. His Pyx was later found at what is now called the Schoonertown Bridge area. A new Catholic elementary school - St. Noel Chabanel - located on Ramblewood Drive by 58th Street South, opened in September 2000, serving students residing in an area from south of Stayner to Georgian Bay on the north and the sixth line between Wasaga Beach and Collingwood on the west, to Flos/Tiny townships on the east. The school has 16 classrooms and one special education room along with a resource centre and gymnasium.

Historical information compiled courtesy of Rita Whall