76 Succests' (m l/I(’ [it/go

the rule about fasting from meat on Friday, and the introduction of folk music at some masses were among those which disturbed both young and old. People felt that everything they previously knew was being changed - and often not for the better. A number of them stopped practising their religion. While the majority regained their confidence in the Church, it was several years before the changes were adapted to the local parish and people become reconciled once more. The Church consolidated its position again, but gradually ceased to play as all- important a role as it had before the Council. Nevertheless it remained a unifying force in the area.

The community’s inner strength, which allowed it to rally instead of disintegrating following such a blow, is demonstrated by its reaction to these changes. It could be contrasted with the reaction of many Quebec communities in which attendance at Mass dropped sharply, and has remained low ever since.

The village of Tignish was incorporated in 1953. This meant that for the first time since its foundation there was a formal executive to manage the village and apply to the provincial government for funding for such benefits as electrification, sewage lines and sidewalks. It was also able to employ a police officer. Rural electrification was ta king place too at this time, as was the paving of country roads. It was part of the attempt to modernize the Island which was to take on a new and still more far—reaching form some fifteen years later. The entire process of becoming a more or less outwardly modern community gave Tignish at once more and less independence. Less, because having a council, electricity, paved streets and so on made it more like other communities and made access to it much simpler. More, because, to quite an extent, it could make its own regulations and had at its disposal more tools for change.