St. Pius X - Parish History

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Parish History
		The first mass of St. Pius X Parish was celebrated on July 18, 1954 at St. Pius School, where mass was said until the opening of the church (now the hall). Fr. Bernard Holland was the first pastor of St. Pius X and he guided it through the first 10 years of its existence. Fr. Holland formed the Sarto Society - a men's group whose primary function was fund raising. The Sarto Society attended to the temporal welfare of the parish, leaving Fr. Holland free to look after the spiritual needs of the people. The Sarto Society's first order of business was to help parishioners get to know each other so they organised many social functions and a Parish Bingo. They then began to raise money for the Church Building Fund. Upon completion of St. Pius Church (now the hall), the first mass was the Christmas Midnight Mass, December 1955.
		The first CWL Council was organized by Fr. Holland in 1954. The enthusiasm was great with resulting membership of over two hundred. The parish grew larger with each new, developing community. By 1962 we had outgrown the hall as a place for Mass and plans were drawn up for the new building and a new campaign was launched. The first Mass in the new St. Pius X Church building (the present one) was celebrated on December 22, 1963. Fr. Holland died suddenly in October 1964. The Diocese had no diocesan priest to replace him, so Bishop Carroll turned to the Basilian Fathers, who agreed to staff St. Pius. Fr. Hugh Curran arrived in the parish in July 1965 and took over as the first Basilian pastor. During this time the house next door to the hall was purchased and became the Rectory. The sanctuary was remodeled so that the priest could face the people. In May 1966 the first Parish Council was elected by the parishioners and council committees were established to administer areas previously dealt with by the Sarto Society (Building & Maintenance, Finance, Religious Education and Liturgy).