Christ the King Parish is a combined parish made up of three communities from St Thomas More church, St Vincent de Paul church, and La Mission la Sainte Famille. You can read more about each community below.
St Thomas More Community
Located at 15 Caledonia Road, the St. Thomas More community began in the 1950s as a mission of St. Peter’s Church in Dartmouth before becoming a distinct parish in 1961. The parish community grew with the Caledonia area neighbourhood and can claim many families who have attended their entire lives. St. Thomas More is also home to a large African Mass Community, since 2017, which celebrates Mass on the first Sunday of the month.
St Vincent de Paul Community
Located at 320 Flying Cloud Drive, this faith community celebrated its first Mass in 1986. Since then, the Stewardship Centre was built to accommodate the growing ministries of the parish. Today, many ministries and dedicated volunteers make up the heart of the community.
La Mission la Sainte Famille
In 2019, Archbishop Mancini designated La Mission la Sainte Famille as a French mission (an organized effort of a parish of outreach and service to a particular group) of Christ the King Parish. To learn more about the French community, please click here.
We treasure the history and heritage that each of these three communities has brought into our new parish family. Though change isn’t easy, we believe that we are better resourced and prepared to share the love of Jesus with our Dartmouth community as a result of this transition!
How did we get here?
A timeline of our transition from multiple separate communities into one Christ the King Parish.
January 2011 – Archbishop Mancini writes his Pentecost Pastoral Letter encouraging parishes to focus on Community, Formation & Mission.
2012-2016 – Diocese holds Assemblies of the People of God & Pastoral Planning Meetings.
Spring 2017 – Launch of the 3-Year Pastoral Plan, “Equip the Saints”. Parishioners participate in the Lenten Series videos & discussion of “Equip the Saints” plan.
Spring 2018 – Priests across the Diocese are asked to propose “new parish” groupings that would consolidate resources and better equip our communities to become missionary parishes.
Fall & Winter 2018 – Archbishop Mancini’s first draft of parish groupings is proposed to all the faithful; feedback is requested and the Bishop received ongoing consultation.
January 2019 – Fr. Derek (Former Pastor of SVDP) begins a time of sabbatical. Archbishop Mancini announces the new parish groupings, transition starts.
Winter 2019 – Fr. Toochukwu named pastor of SVDP & STM. Fr. Toochukwu forms a Transition Team & begins meetings. Finance, Staffing, & Religious Education subcommittees are formed to address specific areas of parish life.
Spring 2019 – Leader Meetings & Town Hall Meetings are held to gather community feedback about certain aspects of the Transition Team’s plan. Staffing Changes & Office Location are announced. New Mass Times & Parish Name announced.
Summer 2019 – Unified Mass schedule begins. New Christ the King Parish Office opens at the SVDP site; we welcome new staff. Transition Team completed their Transition Team Report and formally dissolved — the ongoing work of transition was given to staff, ministry leaders, and leadership team members.
Fall 2019 – A new Leadership Team and Pastoral Council are formed to lead the new parish. New combined Religious Ed program begins. Consolidation of resources and ministries begins.
January 2020 – The canonical (legal) merger is completed; the work of building unity and combining resources continues. Finances are fully integrated and a budget is developed to support our mission.
2021 – New Mission Plan for our parish is developed by our new Christ the King Pastoral Council and proposed to the community. The plan will be implemented by our Leadership Team & Ministry Leaders.
March 2023 – The first phase of our Facilities Study process begins, with parishioners engaging in an FAQ and the Facilities Study committee being formed.
June 2023 – The phase 2 Facilities Study town hall takes place. Parishioners bring up questions and concerns they may have about bringing the parish together into one church building.
November 2023 – Phase 3 begins with a town hall and Father T writes a letter to all parishioners regarding what is to come.
May 2024 – The Archbishop approves the Facilities Study proposal
February 2025 – The Facilities Study committee holds the Parishioner Needs Consultation, a town hall where members of the parish are invited to share what renovations and changes they would like to see to St Vincent de Paul.