More than 120 years ago, 1,500 volunteers and local carpenter Leo Melanson gathered in Church Point, N.S., with one common goal. They transformed a collection of wood and paint into the Sainte-Marie Church, officially opening its doors in 1905.
The building, purported to be the largest wooden church in North America, earned Melanson a medal from Pope Pius XII in 1944. Forty tonnes of stone ballast rested in the steeple to stabilize it against the strong winds coming from St. Mary’s Bay.
Parishioners – many of whom were descendants of Acadian families who returned to Nova Scotia after the 1755 Deportation – flocked to the church throughout the decades as it withstood the elements and the march of time. It was formally recognized as a Canadian Historic Site in 2001.
Despite all that history, the church’s most important time will be the next three months, as they will determine if it will stay open as a tourism and community hub, or if it will crumble against the weight of a wrecking ball.
The Sainte-Marie héritage et développement group, which formed late last year, is creating a plan to preserve the church and make it economically viable in the community. It will present its proposal to the Archdiocese of Halifax-Yarmouth, which owns the building, at the end of June.
“If what they suggest doesn’t make a lot of sense, then we’ll proceed with demolition,” said David O’Carroll, property and building manager for the Archdiocese. “It’d happen as soon as we could organize it.”
Gabrielle Bardall, co-president of the Sainte-Marie community association, said many people in the area have strong personal connections to the church.
“Sainte-Marie was instantly a lightning rod of attention, of heritage in the region,” she said. “Its magnificence and overwhelming impact in this region instantly conveys the power of the Acadian story.”
Bardall said the group would like to rehabilitate the building and explore options like solar panels and electric vehicle charging stations. They are ordering a professional evaluation of the building to determine the cost of any changes and a construction timeline.
First, they need to deal with the current residents of the church: pigeons.
“None of this work can take place until we’re able to decontaminate the steeple, which is infested with pigeons,” Bardall said. “We’re bringing in a professional hazmat team for Operation Pigeon. Fire departments from three different counties will use this as a training for hazmat.”
Operation Pigeon happened on Saturday. Following it, Bardall hopes to complete the professional evaluation and launch a capital fundraising campaign.
“We need people to reach out and let their representatives know this is important,” Bardall said. “People should call their councillors to let them know this is something we really care about.”
The group has also started a GoFundMe, which has raised more than $9,500.
The church, which has been closed for more than five years, has faced the threat of demolition for a while. In 2023 an anonymous donor offered $10 million to preserve the building, but they ceased contact soon after.
Bardall said the church can still serve a vital economic and cultural role in the region, particularly amid trade disputes with the United States.
“If the trade war worsens, it will impact local industries,” she said. “Our national identity is under threat and it’s good to look for things that define us.
“People say Nova Scotia can’t afford to keep Sainte-Marie; we say Nova Scotia can’t afford to lose it.”
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