Nova Scotia non-profit groups trying to save huge Acadian church now facing lawsuit

An aerial photo of St. Bernard Roman Catholic Church in St. Bernard, N.S., on the province’s southwestern coast is shown in a handout photo. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Travis Baker)

HALIFAX -

The Roman Catholic Church in southwestern Nova Scotia has filed a lawsuit against two non-profit groups trying to save a historic deconsecrated Acadian church.

The Roman Catholic Episcopal Corporation of Yarmouth has filed a notice of action against Heritage Saint Bernard and Nation Prospere Acadie Inc., claiming the groups have fallen behind in their mortgage payments and owe the corporation $200,000 for their purchase of the former Saint Bernard Church.

Jean LeBlanc, president of Heritage Saint Bernard, says the two groups succeeded in making one $50,000 mortgage payment in July 2023, but they failed to pay the next $50,000 instalment in August 2024.

LeBlanc says that at a meeting in May with Archbishop Brian Joseph Dunn, the two groups asked to renegotiate the mortgage to get more time to pay or more favourable terms.

But he says the corporation has said little since then -- aside from the lawsuit filed on Oct. 30.

The 1,300-square-metre landmark southwest of Digby, N.S., opened in 1942 after local workmen spent 32 years assembling the massive structure from 8,000 granite blocks.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 13, 2024.

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