Patrick Emile Joseph Cramer was born on Oct. 10, 1926 in Drumheller, Alberta. As a young man he moved to Edmonton to attend St. Anthony’s College and St. Joseph Seminary, and was ordained to the priesthood on May 21, 1950 by Bishop Carroll at St. Anthony’s Church in Drumheller. His first appointments were as assistant priest at St. Mary’s Cathedral in Calgary and Christ the King Church, Claresholm. 1955 brought a new opportunity, with his appointment as administrator of the villages of Warner and New Dayton, located 65 km south of Lethbridge. The young priest worked tirelessly to better all facets of parish life, and devoted much time in particular to the youth. Due to the economic prosperity in the region after WW II, the parish in Warner outgrew its small, cramped church. Fr. Pat, as he was known, rallied his parishioners to begin a fund for a new church, and by 1963, construction had started. In a letter to Fr. Pat dated Jan. 23, 1964, Bishop Carroll sent heartfelt congratulations to the entire parish on their efforts in raising the magnificent sum of $28,104. Our Lady of Lourdes Church was blessed on July 2, 1964, but it was a bittersweet day as this was Fr. Pat’s final Mass in the parish. He went on to serve as pastor in High River for four years. In 1968, Fr. Pat was appointed to St. Joseph Church in Calgary, where he remained until 1974. In his first year at St. Joseph’s, the front entrance of our Church was changed significantly, including the addition of the elevator. He guided the people of our parish into the 1970s, a decade of economic and population growth in Calgary, with the beginning of the oil boom. As well, directives flowing from Vatican II were filtering into the diocese during this time, bringing much discussion, and new opportunities for lay involvement and spiritual growth. Fr. Pat also oversaw a celebration in 1974 of the 60th anniversary of parish life in St. Joseph Church. The theme for the celebration was “Parish means People”, much in keeping with the new spirit of Vatican II. In 1975, Fr. Pat began an 11-year ministry as pastor of St. Luke’s Church, and was appointed Vicar General of the Diocese in 1976. He later served at St. Mary’s, Brooks and St. Anthony’s, Calgary. In 1995, Fr. Pat helped to bring together Catholics in a new area in the city’s southeast called McKenzie Towne, celebrating Mass every Sunday in Cardinal Newman School. Soon after, boundaries were set for the new parish, to be called St. Albert the Great. In 2000, Fr. Pat moved on to serve at Sacred Heart Church in Calgary for one year and St. George’s in Hanna before retiring in August 2003. The Very Rev. Patrick Cramer went home to be with his Lord on Oct. 10, 2010, on his 84th birthday. During his long years of faithful and loving service, he made a lasting impact in many parishes in Calgary, including our own, and throughout southern Alberta.

Joseph LeFort was born in Medicine Hat in 1920.  He has many fond memories of being an altar server at St. Patrick’s Church from a very young age, and also remembers with gratitude his mother’s strong faith and dedication.

“She was always helping out at church,” he recalls. “I remember her scrubbing the marble stairs in front of the altar on her hands and knees.”

Msgr. LeFort studied at St. Joseph’s Seminary in Edmonton and St. Augustine’s Seminary in Toronto.  In the spring of 1945 he was ordained at St. Patrick’s Church in Medicine Hat by Bishop Carroll.  He remembers it as being “a pretty big deal for Medicine Hat”, and always maintains that it was his mother’s prayers that got him there. The young newly ordained priest then moved to Calgary and was appointed administrator of St. Joseph Parish during Fr. O’Brien’s final illness.  As well, he served as Secretary to Bishop Carroll.  This meant living in the Bishop’s residence and walking to St. Joseph’s almost every day.  He recalls it as being “quite a long walk”, and that the Bishop would only let him use the car if there was a blizzard or a rainstorm. Msgr. LeFort served at St. Joseph’s until June 1946.  With the post-World War II economic boom just beginning, and the resulting influx of young families moving into the area, St. Joseph’s began to blossom after years of stagnation. Msgr. LeFort was instrumental in welcoming these new parishioners, and renewing a number of parish organizations.

He kept very busy in many capacities in the diocese after leaving St. Joseph’s, especially as Secretary to the Bishop, who was in great demand as a speaker. One of Msgr. LeFort’s duties was to type up all of the Bishop’s homilies and speeches.  In addition, from 1947 to 1949, he was administrator of St. Mary’s Church in Cochrane, and Diocesan Director of the Catholic Youth Federation. In 1950 he was appointed Chancellor of the Diocese.

Named a Monsignor in 1957, he was appointed as pastor of St. Francis Church and then St. Ann’s Church.  In 1967 he became the founding pastor of the newly constructed Canadian Martyr’s Church. Under his very capable leadership during its formative years, the fledgling faith community grew. Many social events drew the congregation together and generated funds to repay the parish’s building debt. After a very enjoyable year’s sabbatical spent studying in Rome in 1980, Msgr. LeFort was appointed pastor of Sacred Heart Church, where he served for eight years.  Being an ardent bridge player, one of his cherished memories is of the very active Sacred Heart Bridge Club.

Msgr. LeFort was also a leader in many civic and charitable organizations, including a stint as national chairman of the John Howard Society of Canada, Alberta President of the Canadian Mental Health Association and a member of the foundational Board of St. Mary’s College.  He now resides at Fr. Lacombe Care Centre

Fr. Fergus O'Brien 1916-1946

Fergus O’Brien was born in the village of Downeyville, Ontario in 1883.  As a young man he attended St. Michael’s College in Toronto, and then went on to study theology at the Grand Seminary and St. Anne de Beaupre in Montreal.  He was ordained for the priesthood on Aug. 18, 1910 and served as assistant at Peterborough Cathedral before becoming pastor in Lakefield, Ontario.

Fr. O’Brien was one of the first priests to offer his services for the new diocese of Calgary.  After his arrival here on January 14, 1915, at the age of 32, he served for two years as assistant at St. Mary’s Cathedral. He also was administrator of the newly renamed St. Joseph parish from August 1915 until February 1916.  Fr. Michael Fitzpatrick was then appointed as St. Joseph’s first resident pastor, but in December of 1916 was transferred to Medicine Hat.  Fr. O’Brien was made pastor of St. Joseph’s on Dec. 4, 1916, where he remained for thirty years.

A report, beautifully handwritten by Fr. O’Brien in 1924, sheds light on his early days in the parish: “One of my first activities after taking up residence at St. Joseph’s was to visit the houses of my scattered and cosmopolitan flock. This required considerable time, as the parish embraces a wide, and in the outlying districts, sparsely settled territory.”

The years ahead were difficult ones.  Liens placed on St. Joseph Church after contractor defaults, together with the resulting legal fees, generated a debt of $43,000.  Because of the church’s remote location far from the city’s streetcar tracks, in a thinly populated area, attendance was low. Interest on the debt grew, and had not the Calgary Catholic School Board paid rent for three classrooms in the church basement, the situation might have become impossible.  However, as Fr. O’Brien notes in his report, St. Joseph had a small loyal core of parishioners, and he was supported and encouraged by parish groups such as the Altar Society and the League of the Sacred Heart.  He also writes of the joy of guiding the parish’s children through their first communion, and of social events such as bazaars and card parties, to “enhance the revenue of the church.”

Fr. Neville Anderson wrote this poignant tribute to Fr. O’Brien, his friend and spiritual director: “Father Fergus O’Brien is among the forgotten heroes of the diocese.  His cheerful acceptance of his lot – the poverty, the stagnation of the parish, the dismal prospects for future years, the nearly empty church on Sunday mornings ¬– made a deep impression on me.”

Fr. O’Brien was hospitalized in August 1945 and, after a lengthy illness, died in May of 1946 at the age of 63.  Ironically, the parish was about to enter an era of growth in the post-world War II economic boom.  In 1967, the church’s basement classrooms were transformed into a hall, named in memory of Fr. O’Brien, whose life was an expression of faith and perseverance.