History of St. Mary's College

Date of canonical erection: September 5, 1920
Date of canonical suppression: January 21, 1969.
First Rector: Rev. Charles Kelz

St. Mary's College (Juvenate) was established by the Toronto Province on September 5, 1920 and brought together students from Montreal, Prescott and Kirkwood, Missouri. St. Mary's Parish was also served by the Redemptorists over the same period as part of the original agreement. St. Mary's Church was looked after by the Redemptorists from 1960-65. For fifty years nearly every English-speaking Redemptorist in Canada attended the preparatory college as the initial stage in the formation process. In 1960, the Edmonton Province opened Holy Redeemer College as a junior seminary attracting western candidates. (See EDMONTON, Alberta (Holy Redeemer College)). Over 550 boys attended the high school at Brockville on the St. Lawrence River: 207 became Redemptorists, and 157 of those remained in the Congregation. The school was closed temporarily due to the war in 1941. The Juvenists attended school first in Montreal, and then in Toronto during these years. The community and the Mission Band, that had remained behind after the Juvenate had closed, moved to a house purchased in nearby Prescott. After the war, from 1944-1947, St. Mary's was the location of the First Novitiate for Chorists and Laybrothers. It also served as Second Novitiate for two months in 1942. The College re-opened as a juvenate in September 1947, and continued as a juvenate until June 1968, and as a foundation until its suppression. The buildings are currently used by a private school, Grenville Christian College.