The small building was crammed with people for the church's final mass and farewell to its long-time pastor, Father Frank Stempfle. The 91-year-old is one of Canada's oldest serving Roman Catholic priests, and his retirement marks the closing of St. Patrick's on 118th Avenue and 96th Street. (Nathan Gross/CBC)Of his 66 years of priesthood, Stempfle spent 39 of them with the St. Patrick Parish. "Everybody knows Father Frank because he's been here so long that's he's baptised grandmothers, mothers, daughters, granddaughters, great granddaughters," he said. Leung said the archdiocese decided to close St. Patrick Parish, founded in 1948, because they can no longer staff it.

Source: CBC News October 01, 2018 00:00 UTC