Listowel

LISTOWEL’S POPULATION: 7,530

STATISTICS FOR THE PORTUGUESE IN LISTOWEL:

AS MOTHER
TONGUE		AS MOST
SPOKEN		KNOWLEDGE OF
THE LANGUAGE		BORN IN
PORTUGAL		ETHNIC
ORIGIN
60
0.8% of population		30
0.4% of population		105
1.4% of population		70
0.9% of population		260
3.4% of population
Source: Statistics Canada

PORTUGUESE ASSOCIATION DE LISTOWEL E ARREDORES

Founding Year1977

Brief History

Audio Version:

The Portuguese Community Association de Listowel e Arredores was formed to celebrate the joint feast of Our Lady of Fatima and the Holy Spirit, the only event that the association organizes annually. The Board consists of only two members (President and Treasurer) who are in charge of preparations for the annual celebrations. The association serves a tiny Portuguese community that has been decreasing from year to year. 

The challenge of celebrating the feast of Our Lady of Fatima arose from Father António Seara who came to Listowel to celebrate a monthly Mass. The community took the cue and, in 1977, Father Alberto Cunha celebrated mass here for the first time in praise of Our Lady of Fatima. It was an outdoor mass due to the overwhelming number of participants, making it impossible to hold it inside St. Joseph’s Church. The social aspect of the event is conducted at the local agricultural hall.

St. Joseph’s Church (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:St.Joseph_Church-_Listowel,_ON.jpg)

After this first event, the Canadian community began to join the Portuguese. The event grew and it became urgent that an association be formed. The process was concluded in 1982.

In recent years, the Portuguese community has declined with the exodus of younger people to other cities and the aging of many of its members. These factors have contributed to the decrease in the number of participants in the annual event. 

This lowered interest makes it very likely that the organization will soon cease to exist. The current secretary, Manuel Carvalho, spoke with us via telephone in October of 2022 and relayed that the 2023 event might be the last. He is now 83 years old and cannot continue to fulfil his duties. If nobody comes forward to assume leadership of the organization, it will cease to exist four years shy of its 50th anniversary.

With files from Luso-Ontario Magazine, 2008
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