St-John the Baptist Anglican Church

Being one of the oldest churches in Edmundston, St. John the Baptist Anglican Church, under the Diocese of Fredericton, has a long rich history that might surprise some.

This English speaking church had it’s humble beginning in a person’s home on Court Street, starting circa 1871. The Anglican community grew leading to the construction of the original church built on the same property with the Anglican cemetery. That property was granted to the Bishop of Fredericton to establish a church by Queen Victoria 19 September 1853.

This first church of Neo-Gothic design was constructed with the oversight of Bishop John Medley and played a major role in the cultural heritage of the city, indeed, St. John the Baptist was the epicenter of the Anglican community in Madawaska County throughout the 19th and 20th century and continues into the 21st.

In 2008 St. Paul’s United Church of Canada, after careful negotiations, merged with St. John the Baptist Anglican forming the present church, St. John the Baptist’s Anglican, St. Paul’s United Church.

In September of 2014 the church, a historic heritage site, was a victim of arson and was destroyed. There have been no arrests but the case remains open.

Determined to carry on, it was decided that the church would be rebuilt. New construction began in the winter of 2014 and finished in 2015.

The Edmundston Fire Department was able to rescue the crosses from the roof of the church along with the bell which were installed in the new construction.

Two notable losses were the pulpit and lectern that were carved by a local wood sculptor Dr. Paul Carmel Laporte.

The pulpit was one of two carved by him, the other is in Edmundston’s Immaculate Conception Cathedral. The building was rededicated by Bishop David Edwards and officially reopened.

The current building was designed and constructed by a local contractor, Andre Edmond and the furniture by a local design company, Tech Design Woodworking Inc.

The stunning stained-glass windows were designed and made by local artisan Guylaine Dufour.

The Bishop’s chair was made by an anonymous artisan out of an old pew that was discarded after a renovation many years before the fire.

Two Claude Picard paintings hang in the church. The paintings were gifted after the death of a long-standing member, Russ Staples.

Moreover, the bell and the cross located on the roof of the current church are remainders of the previous church before the fire.

Both women and men can be ordained priests and bishops in the Anglican Church regardless of marital status and can raise families.

Worship services in English are held every Sunday at 11:00 am and all are welcome!