St. Bridget's Catholic Church Cemetery - Old Section

Up until the construction of St. Bridget's Church in Renous, the closest Catholic Church was St. Patrick's, located down and across the river at Nelson-Miramichi. Otherwise, travelling priests would celebrate Mass in private homes. In 1946, a group of Catholic residents of the Renous area requested a chapel be built, and on Sept. 15, 1851, construction was begun. This church served the area until destroyed by a severe winds in a storm on Aug. 14, 1911. Ground was broken for a new church the following year, with the corner stone being laid Sept. 6, 1916. Church services and events were held in the basement, as the main and upper floors were not opened for use until 1952, and not completed until 1960.

There are more details on the early history of the Catholic Church in this area at the website of the local branch of the Knights of Columbus: St. Bridget's Parish, Renous, N.B.: A Brief History.

The cemetery is located across the parking lot from the current church. It is relatively small and fairly sad looking. The day we visited, and took these pictures, was sunless and damp - it's possible the feeling of the place may improve with a little sunshine.

This photo shows the northwest corner of the cemetery a bit closer. There is a stone for five of the eight children of Peter Kelly and Ellen Fitzpatrick, who predeceased their parents. In his book Pioneers of Colonial America, John Doty says that Philip and Katherine are buried here, too, as well as a number of other family members. If this can be verified (I don't know if cemetery records still exist), I would someday like to place a stone here, to remember them all.