In 1842 Father James MacDonald became priest at Indian River and one of his first undertakings was to build a new parochial house and church as the first church was too small for the congregation. In 1843 the corner— stone was laid and the church christened St. Mary’s. It was located on the same site as our present church and filled the role of parish church until August 12th, 1896 when it was burned during a severe thunder and lightning storm. it was famous for its beauty and the stained-glass windows were works of art. The loss of the church was serious because the people from all the surrounding communities depended upon it for a place of worship. It served the areas now known as Springfield, Clinton, Kelvin, Travellers’ Rest, Margate and all the sections to the north shore of the Island.

This church was known as “Saint Mary’s of the Pines” because of the pine trees that surrounded it. The parishioners would tie their horses to the trees while they attended Mass. It was under these trees that our grandparents and parents walked while on processions to the cemetery. The trees have been removed. Archbishop O’Brien of Halifax, former parish priest here, wrote several poems and books. In his poems he men— tioned how he loved to listen to the wind moaning in the pines of St. Mary’s.

After the fire a vestry was built and used by the parishioners until our present St. Mary’s was finished in 1902. it is located on the top of a hill and standing at its door a magnificent view of the surrounding country can be seen. This church was built by the late Monsignor Gillis. His Pastorate ex- tended from 1890 to 1929. His successor was Reverend Reginald MacDon- ald from 1929 to 1950. He was succeeded as Pastor by our present priest, Reverend Dr. L. P. Callaghan.

The following is a newspaper clipping of fire at Indian River:

. On Wednesday evening last a terrific thunderstorm raged in the vicinity of Kensington and during its existence the lightning struck St. Mary’s church, Indian River, setting it on fire and completely destroying it. The following account of the fire is from the Summerside Agriculturist: The people of Indian River have met a sad loss in the destruction of their beautiful church, a building endeared to them by so many years of sacred associations, a building in which so many of them were baptized and married, which has re-echoed the requiem of so many of their near and dear ones who sleep in the quiet cemetery adjoining, and a temple in which they were wont to assemble, Sunday after Sunday, for decades past, for divine worship. The associations and the memories that clustered round the sacred edifice, have endeared it to the people of the parish, and the effect of its destruction is about the same as if every family in the parish had lost some member by death. It fell a prey to the storm on Wednesday evening last, and an hour after being struck, nothing remained of it but a mass of smoking plaster and stone and a few burning timbers. The lightning struck the spire, setting it on fire, and it evidently spread through the body of the church as well, as the whole interior of the church seemed to be on fire almost immediately. Very Rev. Msgr. Gillis, its pastor, who was on the verandah of the parochial house watching the storm, says that it appeared as though a ball of fire from the clouds struck the spire, just below the cross, shattering the spire and tower, and setting the building on fire. He ran at once into the church, but the tower, gallery, and all that part of the church were a mass of flames. He then hastened to the chancel and saved the vestments and the sacred ves-

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