If you’ve ever driven along the country roads of Prince Edward Island, you may have received directions from a well-intentioned local telling you to “turn right past the white church”—good advice, but slightly difficult to follow when there is a different white church every mile. Nevertheless, if we had to pinpoint the most iconic church on PEI—the white church—it would be St. Mary’s.
Drive along route 20 towards Malpeque and you’ll enter the small community of Indian River, named for its original inhabitants, the First Nations Mi’kmaq community, who made the tidal flats and low hills their home. Drive just a little bit further and you’ll begin to notice the magnificent steeple of St. Mary’s poking out over the horizon. Located on the pastoral setting of Hamilton Road, the church is built in the French Gothic style, its most dominant feature being the circular tower on the southwest corner which stretches towards the cloud-spotted PEI sky.
Legendary acoustics. Home to a world-renowned music festival. Visited by some of the biggest names in classical music. St. Mary’s may have some impressive credentials, but it comes from much more humble beginnings.
Way back in 1842, a nondescript church was erected in Indian River on the current site of St. Mary’s. A corner stone was blessed and placed on June 26, 1843, the first time a ceremony of this kind was held on PEI. Despite sharing the same geographical home, the church just didn’t have the same spark as today’s St. Mary’s. Perhaps that was a poor choice of words— for 53 years later, in 1896, lightning would strike and completely destroy the church while Father Daniel Jermone Gillis watched helplessly from the verandah of the parish house. Only the statue of the Blessed Virgin was saved, which can still be seen inside the building to this very day.
PEI has always been known for the virtues of community and togetherness, a claim that holds true even more than 100 years ago. Undaunted by the church’s destruction, the locals came together under the direction of Father Gillis and work began in October, 1900 to build the current St. Mary’s we all know and love. William Critchlow Harris, who was already well-known for his work throughout Eastern Canada, took on the role of architect. Father Gillis directed Harris to “build it like Kinkora’s church only bigger and better!” (Harris, as it happens, also designed St. Malachy’s Roman Catholic Church in Kinkora). His designs, influenced by the principles of Classicism and Romanticism, were blended from a variety of sources and remain highly distinctive even now.
An amateur musician, Harris was intimately concerned with the acoustic capabilities of this new church he was designing. He soon dreamt up an idea that would combine his love of music and architecture, as well as revolutionize venue acoustics to this day: what if the inside of a church could operate like the inside of musical instruments? In other words, Harris hatched a plan to manipulate the materials and space in his church design in a way that would provide spectacular acoustic effects with a minimum amount of echo. By using different kinds of hardwood, Harris helped intensify the sound produced in the chancel in the same way the front and back of a violin help to intensify the sound of the instrument’s reverberating strings. Enamoured with French Gothic design at this stage in his career, Harris also decided to incorporate common traits of the architectural movement, including open interior spaces and curved surfaces.
When all was said and done, the newly built St Mary’s stood at 78 feet wide and 152 feet long, the ceilings reaching 60 feet and the steeple more than doubling that at 128 feet. At the base of the spire sit statues of the twelve apostles, each inhabiting their own individual niche. While the Wallace freestone foundation hails from Nova Scotia, the church’s lumber, including spruce, pine, birds-eye maple and birch, was homegrown on PEI. In fact, much of the building material and labour was donated by parishioners and non-parishioners alike, who hauled stones for the foundation and worked in the forest to cut lumber for the building. That lumber was then sawed by Thomas Tuplin & Sons, free of charge at their mill in Indian River. Harris worked side-by-side with the contractor, Nathan MacFarlane, to ensure all angles were cut to perfection.
On October 1st, 1902, nearly 118 years ago, an official blessing and opening ceremony for St. Mary’s was held. It took just under two years to complete this magnificent structure, at a cost of approximately $20,000, or around $500,000 in today’s dollar. When you consider that every piece of wood was hand-planed and individually cut to fit, and each pillar hand-carved, this was truly an amazing feat.
Fast forward 70 years. In the 1970s and 80s, the Historic St. Mary’s fell into serious disrepair. At that time, suggestions were made to tear down the church as the parish alone could not afford to undertake the expensive renovations. Instead, the “Save St. Mary’s” campaign was launched in 1987. Due to an overwhelming response from area churches, businesses, individuals, families and other groups, the necessary renovations were paid for and completed within three years.
In 1996 the Indian River Festival Association Inc. was formed as an incorporated, non-profit body for the presentation of fine music, and to aid in the continuing upkeep and restoration of Historic St. Mary’s. In 2009, Historic St. Mary’s was deconsecrated by the Roman Catholic Diocese and subsequently purchased in 2010 by the Association. In July of 2012, the church became a designated heritage place in recognition of its cultural and historical significance to Prince Edward Island. Together, the Association and the Friends of St. Mary’s work in partnership to support the restoration and preservation of this historic building.
Today, St. Mary’s is home to the Indian River Festival, a world-renowned concert-series that showcases the best in classical and contemporary music, made only better by the church’s magnificent acoustic abilities. Despite St. Mary’s long and tumultuous history, it’s good to know that Harris’s original dream is still being upheld with every string plucked, horn blown, and key pressed.
Written by: Dani MacDonald
Sources: Canada’s Historic Places, The Guardian & Indian River Festival Association
Dean Perry’s IRF Mixtape