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the eighties, its influence is still pervasive. This can be noticed in much of the music sung at mass, for instance. Its influence has certainly helped to counteract the shocks caused by the Second Vatican Council, and, more importantly, given local spirituality a new direction.

One other significant change in religious matters has made special celebrations and periods such as Lent more meaningful. Father Shea’s successor, Father Albin Arsenault, who was appointed to the parish in 1990, has the gift of bringing celebrations to life Visually, an important matter in such a visually-oriented community. Decorations and special ceremonies which extend the meaning of the celebration into daily life and to as many community residents as possible have restored some of the picturesqueness which was once such a feature of Roman Catholic celebrations, but in a more modern way. For instance on Good Friday evening there used to be the recitation of the Rosary in church; now there is a different event each year - usually a dramatic one composed by Father Arsenault himself. One such was the telling of the Good Friday story by characters who had participated in it — Pontius Pilate, Judas lscariot, and so on.

It can thus be seen that the parish of Tignish continues to grow and develop, just as the community does. True, there are a good many families which do not practise their religion, but that is a personal decision. Still, Tignish is not only the biggest rural parish in the tiny diocese of Charlottetown, but one in which religious faith is alive and visible.