Introducing Bishop MacEachern
Friends of St. Andrew’s develop new materials to teach children about the first bishop of Charlottetown
New materials on the life and times of Bishop Angus MacEachern have been produced by the Friends of St. Andrew’s to introduce the first bishop of Charlottetown to a new generation of Islanders.
The materials include a series of activities to give a sense of the life, work and contributions Bishop MacEachern made to the church on the Island.
The activities range from simple outline pictures (suitable for colouring), to word games and map work, to more challenging essays on the life and times of MacEachern.
Additional materials include brief a review of the history of St. Andrew’s church, a summary of the bishops of the Diocese of Charlottetown and an overview of Catholic education on the Island.
The Friends of St. Andrew’s is a volunteer organization formed in 1987 to preserve historically significant material that had been damaged by the fire at St. Joseph’s Convent in Charlottetown. That material included the frame of the first church erected at St. Andrew’s and opened in 1805 by Fr. Angus Bernard MacEachern. The church at St. Andrew’s was MacEachern’s centre from where he ministered to the faithful on the Island and in other areas of the Maritimes. When he became bishop of Charlottetown St. Andrews served as the “Bishop’s church” and was the site of the first ordinations to the priesthood on P.E.I.
The materials recovered from St. Joseph’s fire were transported to St. Andrews and were used to reconstruct the original church, according to the surviving descriptions of the building.
The reconstructed church, now known as St. Andrew’s Chapel, is maintained by the board of governors of St. Dunstan’s University and offers programs in the summer months designed by the Friends of St. Andrew’s.
The new program materials have been distributed to each parish in the diocese and will be made available to recipients of the Friends newsletter and will be made available at St. Andrew’s Chapel.