Roman Catholic Diocese of Hamilton in Bermuda
St. Patrick's Church is located on South Road in Smith's Parish
Pastor: Rev. Paul Voisin, CR
Tel. #: 236-9866
E-mail: stpats@logic.bm
Sunday Masses: 9AM and 11AM
Saturday Evening: 6:00 PM
Daily: Monday through Friday 8AM
Baptisms: By appointment
Confessions: Saturdays 5:00 - 5:30 PM
Father Paul Voisin was born in Waterloo, Ontario, and joined the Congregation of
the Resurrection after graduating from (Resurrectionist) St. Jerome’s High
School in Kitchener. He received a Bachelor of Arts from the University of
Waterloo (St. Jerome’s University) and Masters of Divinity from the University
of Western Ontario (St. Peter’s Seminary, London). Fr. Paul was ordained on May
14, 1977 by Bishop
Brian Leo Hennessy, C.R. During his priesthood he served at
St. Francis, Kitchener, and St. Pius X, Brantford, before serving in the Resurrectionist Bolivian Mission for almost thirteen years as Pastor of St.
Michael’s Parish, La Paz; Director of Formation in Cochabamba; and General
Director of Colegio ‘Saint Andrew’s, La Paz. Upon returning from Bolivia he
served Hispanics in Waterloo, Wellington and Brant Counties of Hamilton Diocese,
and then as Pastor of St. Francis of Assisi in Kitchener. For three years he
served the Ontario-Kentucky Province as Provincial Superior, before coming to
Bermuda.
About St. Patrick's
The building of the original St. Patrick’s Church is an example of how God works even in seeming disasters. In November 1947, a ship bound for Africa from Canada with four Catholic missionaries on board was towed into Bermuda having been damaged in a hurricane. Repairs to the ship were expected to take some time, so the Captain refused to allow his passengers to remain aboard. They were given lodgings in St. Theresa’s rectory in Hamilton; they offered to help out any way they could.
The year before, Mr. Y& Mrs. William Lightbourne had given a piece of land at the foot of Collector’s Hill to build a small chapel to serve the needs of the Smith’s and Devonshire Catholics. Mr. Lawrence Smart, architect of St. Theresa’s Cathedral, donated plans for the Chapel. In February 1948, it was blessed and Mass began to be celebrated there every Sunday.
Wayside Chapel, Smith’s” as it was then called, was soon too small for the new Parish. In 1950 it was enlarged to seat 150 people and renamed St.Patrick’s at the express wish of Mrs. Lightbourne. It was still far too small for the needs of the Parish and in 1964, when the site of the present St. Patrick’s became available, the church purchased the land. The parishioners began fund-raising in earnest; thanks to their generosity and that of friends and visitors the new Church was built and formally blessed by the late Bishop Bernard Murphy on October 26, 1969.