BENNETT, Father Christopher John Bennett

BENNETT, Father Christopher John  –

January 10, 1926 – May 3, 2023

Father Bennett was the son of the late William Augustine Bennett and Anne Marie Evelyn Uttenweiler; brother to Noreen (Sister of St. Joseph), William, Evelyn, Colin, Joseph, Augustine and John (all deceased); and uncle to many nieces and nephews.

Father was born and raised in Toronto. He excelled in academics and athletics at De La Salle College.

He was named Colonel in the Army Cadets, and Sergeant in the Canadian Officers Training Corps.

He attended St. Michael’s College, and then St. Augustine’s Seminary.

Father was ordained on June 1, 1951. Father was appointed pastor to several parishes within the Greater Toronto Area and beyond. From 1958 to 1960, he was Associate Pastor at St. John the Evangelist.

In 1960, while assigned to Our Lady of Peace, Etobicoke, his duties included teaching at Lakeshore Teachers’ College for six years.

In 1967, Father Bennett was asked to establish a new parish, which included the building of a new church in Mississauga to be known as Saints Martha and Mary. In 1979, he was appointed to serve the sick at Queensway Hospital.

Father Bennett was appointed Pastor at St. Paul the Apostle Parish, Alliston, in September 1981. St. Paul’s Parish then included Immaculate Conception in North Adjala and St. Mary’s in Achil.

Father worked diligently with the parishioners and lead the building committee in design and construction of the new St. Paul’s Church and Parish Centre, which opened in 1992. On September 30, 1994, Fr. Bennett officially retired as Pastor of St. Paul the Apostle Parish.

Since then, he voluntarily remained very active within the Parish and was a pillar of faith for our community. His dedication to our parish and school communities was witness in his ongoing presence in the liturgy.

Many thanks to the caring and personable staff at Simcoe Manor for their years of service to Father.

Visitation will be held at St. Paul the Apostle Church, 190 King St. S., Alliston, on Monday, May 8, 2023, from 4:00 – 8:00 p.m., and on Tuesday, May 9, 2023, from 9:00 – 10:45 a.m.

Mass of Christian Burial will be held on Tuesday, May 9, 2023, at 11:00 a.m. at St. Paul the Apostle Church, with burial to follow at St. Paul’s Cemetery in Alliston, Ontario.

If desired, donations made to St. Paul the Apostle Church, Alliston, would be appreciated.