Sacred Heart Brant (Paris)

About Us

How We're Helping

We are a community-based parish focused on helping make the world around us a better, happier place. With the help of our tireless volunteers, we organize fundraisers, exciting community-building events, and opportunities to further explore and deepen our faith.

Get Involved

Are you passionate about what we're doing? Let us know! We are always looking for volunteers to help us make our vision a reality. We'll help you find a way to volunteer that best suits you. We're excited to have you join the team!

Thank You

Whether you help through monetary donations, volunteering your time, or spreading our mission through word-of-mouth, thank you. We couldn't accomplish our goals without the help of supporters like you.

Living our faith since 1837

During the early settlement of Paris, Catholics mostly of Irish descent, had to make the 36.5 km journey to Dundas to attend Mass. It was in 1836 that men from Brant county met to decide where they would build the first Catholic Church in the county. They built a small frame church in 1837 on land donated by Hiram Capron, founder of Paris. Priest's from Dundas served the community.

The present church was built in 1857, under the direction of Father Jeremiah Ryan, and the first Mass was celebrated on Christmas Day. The Sisters of St. Joseph arrived to teach in 1858; they served the parish until the 1970's.

During the pastorate of Father Thomas Dowling, who would later become Bishop of Hamilton Diocese, the superstructure and the tower of the Church were added in 1880. The present sanctuary was added in 1912 and the tower bell was installed in 1937. The interior of the church suffered extensive damage from a fire in 1953. Since the 1970's there have been changes to the interior décor, most notably the removal of the Gothic sanctuary and side alters.

Today's parish leadership are working to once again add to the existing structure to further serve the parish and the community. Planning for a new Parish Centre was formalized in 2020, a modern meeting hall to provide new service and event opportunities.