St. Elizabeth
Parish Info
History of St. Elizabeth Parish, Evansburg
In 1915, Father Beaudry was responsible for the construction of what was known as the Entwistle Chapel, which was officially dedicated to Saint Elizabeth of Hungary.
This small chapel served the needs of Entwistle- Evansburg area for 47 years and now it was evident a larger church was needed. For this purpose a building fund was set up. A census indicated that the majority of parishioners were in the Evansburg area. With a ready donation of land from the late Mr. and Mrs. Leonard Corkery, it was decided to proceed with the construction of a new church in Evansburg.
The property in Entwistle was sold to Mr. And Mrs. Hilmar Hofmann but it would seem God was still working there because on May 29, 1989, their eldest son, Leo, was ordained a priest. Leo had served as an altar boy for many years at St. Elizabeth. Under the leadership of Father Joseph Ayling the new church and rectory, although not fully completed, were in use by the summer of 1962. His Grace Archbishop Anthony Jordon solemnized the official opening and blessing on March 18, 1964. Our meagre building fund was far from enough for any construction, therefore, St. Elizabeth’s became indebted to St. John’s Parish in Edmonton which assisted in giving us a very generous loan, a good portion of which they cancelled by 1969.
Beside local fund raising projects in 1972 we were allotted a slot at the Knights of Columbus bingo in Edmonton which helped to pay off the debt. St. Alphonsus Parish, Wildwood and St. Joseph Parish, Wabamun were mission parishes of Evansburg. We had a resident priest in our parish until Transformation of Parishes took place in 1996. As result St. Elizabeth was joined with St. Anthony's Parish in Drayton Valley and St. Agnes, Mayerthorpe. Wabamun was joined to Onoway and Wildwood was closed.
At this Church the C.W.L. was formed in 1933 and Knight of Columbus in 2010.
Priests served at St. Elizabeth Parish
1933-57 Fr. Joseph Sullivan
1957-60 Fr. Leslie Scriven
1960-67 Fr. Joe Ayling
1967-69 Fr. Archie Mackenzie
1969-70 Fr. Len Gartner
1970-77 Fr. Leo Cordeau
1977-81 Fr. Martin Carroll
1981-84 Fr. Basil Butts
1984-87 Fr. Phil Doyle
1987-88 Fr. John Hesse
1988-94 Fr. Gordon Roebuck
1994-02 Fr. Stan Blaszkowski
2002-06 Fr. Andrew Bogdanowicz
2006-09 Fr. Devadas Narisetty
2009-10 Fr. Innaiah Bellamkonda
2010-15 Fr. Gary Lee
2015-21 Fr. Jaya Rajan
2021- Fr. Felix Devasia