Photo - St. Mary's Catholic Church

For many years, churches like St. Basil’s and St Mary’s Catholic churches served as spiritual homes for Brantford’s Italian community. The original St. Basil’s Church was a white, wood-framed building created in 1841. Construction of the current church, however, began in 1866 and took nine years to be completed. The interior of the church was not fully completed until twenty-five years after construction began. St. Basil’s was a place of worship for all of Brantford’s Roman Catholic community for many years.

St. Mary’s church was originally constructed in 1900, but was replaced with the current iteration in 1953 (St. Mary’s was renamed Our Lady of the Assumption Church on May 9th, 1954 but then again changed back to St. Mary’s in 1980). Italian families tended to settle in the nearby neighbourhoods. Furthermore, Brantford’s Italian community established a little Italy, which was centered at the intersection of Colborne St. East and Murray St. During the 1950s, people began moving to the north end of the city. In response to these relocations, there was a demand for the creation of another Catholic Church. To appease this demand, St. Pius X was built and dedicated in 1958.