Media Advisory - Provincial plaque commemorates "The Catholic Colored Mission of Windsor", 1887-1893

TORONTO, Aug. 13, 2015 /CNW/ - Join the Ontario Heritage Trust in partnership with the Windsor Emancipation Celebration Corporation and St. Alphonsus Roman Catholic Church for the unveiling of a provincial plaque commemorating the Catholic Colored Mission of Windsor.

Date:	August 19, 2015
Time:	Celebration of Mass at 12 p.m.
	Plaque unveiling at 12:45 p.m.
Location:	St. Alphonsus Roman Catholic Church
	85 Park Street East
	Windsor, Ontario

In 1887, the Very Reverend Dean James Theodore Wagner opened the first Roman Catholic mission for Blacks in Canada at the St. Alphonsus Roman Catholic Parish in Windsor, Ontario. The Mission served disadvantaged Black children and encouraged the Black population to embrace the Catholic faith. The mission was first located in the original church building, but, with the support and partnership of the Religious Hospitallers of St. Joseph (RHSJ), was eventually moved to a new building next to Hôtel-Dieu Hospital. The new mission included an orphanage that cared for and educated disadvantaged and vulnerable children of all races. The initiative provided access to education and child welfare services before government-funded social service programs were available.

The Ontario Heritage Trust's Provincial Plaque Program commemorates significant people, places and events in Ontario's history. Since 1956, over 1,250 provincial plaques have been unveiled.

Aussi disponible en français

www.heritagetrust.on.ca
www.facebook.com/ontarioheritagetrust
www.twitter.com/ONheritage
www.youtube.com/HeritageOntario

SOURCE Ontario Heritage Trust

Rose Windy Manigat, Marketing and Communications Specialist, Telephone: [phone], Email: [email protected]