From the earliest days of the settlement of Guelph, Catholics have played a role in the life of the community. Bishop Macdonell, the Bishop of Kingston, who was responsible for the Catholic Church in Ontario, was a friend of John Galt, the founder of Guelph. He had supported Galt's work with the Canada Company, which was charged with developing much of the land in southern Ontario. When Galt established the new settlement on April 23, 1827, he gave to the Catholic Church the hill in the center of the town. In is Autobiography he writes: "a beautiful central hill was reserved for the Catholics, in compliment to my friend, Bishop Macdonell, for his advice in the formation of the Company." A road was cleared leading up to the hill: Macdonell Street. In the autumn of 1827 Bishop Macdonell was one of the first visitors to the new settlement.
Galt had grand plans for Guelph, and wanted a magnificent church built on the hill. He also wanted a Catholic Bishop to be stationed in Guelph, and writes, "I had some reason to hope that Mr. Weld of Lulworth castle (now cardinal Weld in Rome) would come to Upper Canada, and probably make it his residence; being desirous to allure him to Guelph, I had this in view in converting the receiving house into a habitation." Galt's plan to attract Bishop Weld to live in Guelph was not fulfilled, but Bishop Macdonell certainly had great influence on the history of the Catholic Church in the city, a contribution commemorated not only by the street named after him, but also by the modern Bishop Macdonell High School.
An important early settler was John Owen Lynch, an Irishman who was brought in from New York to be the settlement's blacksmith. A wood cabin was constructed for him and his family at what is now the corner of Gordon and Farquhar streets, and it was there that Father Campion, the first priest to take care of the parish, celebrated Mass. Father Campion was the military chaplain at Niagara and was responsible for the pastoral care of the Catholics in what is now western Ontario. He would visit each settlement from time to time, and it was he who celebrated the first Mass in Guelph on August 26, 1827. That first Mass was followed by the first wedding in the town, as he married Christopher Keogh and Ann Green. Mr. Keogh had been one of the workmen with John Galt at the founding of Guelph.
In the early years of Guelph the Catholics were mainly Irish. They were few and poor. From 1827 to 1835 there was no church. Until 1831 Mass was celebrated in the home of Mr. Lynch, and after that in a schoolhouse, which was also used on Sundays by the Methodists and by the Presbyterians. During this period Father Cullen and Father Cassidy cared for the Guelph Catholics, but did not live in the town. Father Cassidy was responsible as well for the much larger parish in Dundas, and would only visit Guelph occasionally. finally, by 1835, the parishioners were able to construct a small wooden church on the hill, and, being mainly Irish, they dedicated it to St. Patrick. It was the first painted structure in the settlement, and was used until October 10, 1844, when it was destroyed by fire.
In 1837 Father Thomas Gibney became the first resident pastor in Guelph, and was responsible as well for the territory from Mount Forest to Goderich. The parish was still extremely poor. Father Gibney was involved, along with several Protestant ministers and other citizens, in the establishment of the Guelph School Board, and in 1846 he dedicated a small stone church, St. Bartholomew's, which replaced St. Patrick's. The cornerstone of St. Bartholomew's is now found in front of The Church of Our Lady, and reads: "D.O.M. (Deo optimo maximo) memoriate, Beati, Bartholomaei, Apostoli, hanc, novam, ECCLESIAM, PRIMA flamis devorata, AEDIFICAVERUNT, guelphi, necnon, torontinae, DIAECESEOS, FIDELES. MDCCCXLV." ("To God, the best and greatest. The faithful of Guelph, of the diocese of Toronto, have built this new church, in honour of the blessed apostle Bartholomew, the first church having been consumed in flames. 1845. ") Father Gibney was killed in a riding accident on October 17, 1846.
In 1841, Guelph came under the jurisdiction of the new Diocese of Toronto, which was separated in that year from the Diocese of Kingston.
The years following the death of Father Gibney were difficult for the parish. Many Irish immigrants arrived fleeing the potato famine in their homeland and they were destitute and often suffering from disease. Tensions between the religious groups in Guelph increased.
Father Peter Schneider was briefly pastor in 1847. He was remembered for his work with the sick during an outbreak of fever among the immigrants in Guelph. Father Schneider was followed by Father Simon SANDERI. Father Sanderi was born in Bavaria, and was a member of the REDEMPTORIST ORDER. He was a zealous man who cared for his parishioners, and especially for many newly arrived immigrants, though he had difficulty adapting to their Irish culture. He was also noted for his sermons, which would often last two hours. Unfortunately, lack of funds and increasing parish debts led him to press the parishioners heavily for money, but they, themselves poor, did not accept that and 1850 he was forced to leave. He became a hermit on a island in Puslinch Lake for a couple of years, and then became a monk at the Trappist Monestary of Gethsemame.
A new era in the history of the parish began in January of 1852 when Bishop Charbonell of Toronto appointed Father John Holzer, S.J., to be Pastor in Guelph. The parish was to be under the care of the Jesuit Order for about 80 years, until 1931.
Father Holzer was a great organizer. In 1853 he began work on a large stone schoolhouse, which later became the convent, and he wrote to Bishop Charbonell: "all over the mission now, we have only the motto of Archbishop Hughes: "The schoolhouse first and the Church afterwards. But the troubles and difficulties are very great indeed!" Despite some local opposition, a Separate School Board was organized and on January 11, 1854, the Catholic parents of Guelph elected three trustees. On January 16, 1854, Patrick Downey began teaching boys and girls in a room of the unfinished convent building.