IONA (St. Michael's) ALREADY in ii IE 1750s there was a small French parish at Point Prim , dedicated to St. Paul. It had a neat little church and parochial house for its 58 families and pastor. This ended tragical!}' in 1758 when all were expelled. Irish immigrants began coming to the Iona area in the 1820s. In 1852 their first church, dedicated to St. Michael, was formally opened and later eraduallv finished. Fire on New Years Day, 1926 totally destroyed this pretty church. The same year the parishioners erected their second church, a much larger and more imposing one which became a vivid landmark across the Iona hills. This church was never finished inside and in January, 1959 it too was destroyed in flames. Later that year the present- day church was opened for worship. After both fires the parish hall, built in 1914, served as a temporary church. St. Michael's Church, burned in 1926 The present rectory as far as can be determined was erected around 1870 and resident priests lived there from 1884 until 1986. The name of Father James Phelan , pastor from 1891 until 1908, was long remembered in the parish. It was he who gave the name Iona to the community (formerly known as ) and Fodhla to the nearby railway station. The boundaries of Iona Parish are vast, from Wood Islands to Orwell Cove and east to the county line. Its southern and western edges are washed by the generous waters of Northumberland Strait . Seventeen who were baptized in the parish became priests and two of its parishioners, Dr. Joseph Daly and Annette Ryan , were Rhodes scholars. Today St. Michael's Parish has 125 families and its pastor also serves St. Joachim's Parish , Vernon River , where he resides. Our Parishes 67