She helped bless St. Pat's, twice

By LAUREEN McMAHON

Among a group of elders in the front pews of the new St. Patrick's Church was a lady with a lovely smile named Monica Hopwood.

This was the second time Hopwood had been present at a St. Patrick's Church dedication. The first occasion took place in 1911, when she was a girl of 12.

That's right, 12!

The bright and energetic 104-year-old was "thrilled," she told The B.C. Catholic, to be at the second consecration, 91 years after the first one.

Just a year before she became a teenager, Hopwood joined her parents John and Ellen Williamson and her seven brothers and sisters for the 1911 blessing of the first St. Patrick's Church. The Williamson family were among the first parishioners and their home was just down the street from the church.

In 1928, Monica married Jack Hopwood at St. Patrick's and Msgr. Louis Forget baptized her six children as they came along. The children all attended St. Patrick's elementary.

Hopwood and her family left the parish in 1943 and moved to Nelson, where they attended the Cathedral of Mary Immaculate for three years. When they returned to Vancouver, the Hopwoods became parishioners at our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish. In 1974, they moved to St. Stephen's in North Vancouver, her present parish. Today, she lives in the Kiwanis Care Centre in North Vancouver.

While officiating at the consecration, Archbishop Adam Exner, OMI, paid tribute to all the seniors who helped build St. Patrick's Parish into the wonderful community that it has become.

Singling out Hopwood, the archbishop noted, "It is a special day, no doubt, for her, but also for us to have such a link with the old St. Patrick's Church."

The archbishop also welcomed Father Bill Somerville, a former pastor whose ill health led to his retiring from the parish a number of years ago.

"We give thanks for the work of Father Somerville, who laboured in this parish for so long, who planted the seeds which have led now to this beautiful house of God. Father Somerville, thank you."

As he departed the church after the dedication ceremonies, the archbishop took a moment to stop and warmly greet Hopwood and to express his thanks and admiration for her efforts to be part of "this extraordinary day."