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Religious Leaders
Jean Chiasson
He lived between the years 1852 and 1946. He is best known for proposing a
National Day for Acadians on August 15th, the feast of "Our Lady of the Assumption. On July 20, 1881, at the first Acadian National
Convention in Memramcook, New Brunswick, it was proposed by Rev. Jean Chiasson at the
Convention's First Commission that Assumption Day be the National Day of Acadians. The
Commission adopted the proposal, and this proposal was approved at the Convention's plenary
session on July 21, 1881. On Sept. 16, 1881, the proposal was approved by Archbishop Hannan of
Halifax and the bishops of St. John, Charlottetown, Chatham and Arichat. Three hundred years
after Acadia had been consecrated to Our Lady of the Assumption, and nearly 57
years after Father Chiasson's proposal, Pope Pius XI proclaimed that January 19, 1938, the
feast day of Our Lady of Assumption, would be the National Day of Acadians worldwide.
His Excellency Charles Leo Nelligan
Rev. Peter MacIntyre 
He was the third Bishop of Charlottetown and the first resident
parish priest of Tignish. He came to this parish in 1844, and under his guidance,
the church of St. Simon and St. Jude was built. He was named Bishop a few months after
the consecration of the church. He died suddenly while visiting Bishop Cameron
of Antigonish, N.S. on April 30, 1891, while in his seventy-third year of service.
He is buried in the church he built at St. Peters, near Charlottetown.
Rev. Dugald MacDonald 
He was born in Pisquid, P.E.I. on July 18, 1838. He
studied at St. Dunstan's University and at the Quebec Seminary. He was ordained
to the ministry on Nov. 21, 1861, and he came to Tignish where he remained one
year before being transferred to the mission at East Point. He later returned
to Tignish in 1867 where he continued as pastor for 56 years. Father Dugald MacDonald
died in Charlottetown on Dec. 15, 1925, two years after his retirement. He is
buried in the Tignish cemetery.
Sylvain Éphrem Poirier 
Born on July 15, 1802 at "The Green" in Tignish, P.E.I. His parents were Pierre Poirier,
one of the founders of Tignish in 1799, and Marie Chiasson. Sylvain Éphrem Poirier, who always
signed his name "S.É. Perrey," was the seventh of nine children born into this family. He later
studied theology at Collége de Nicolet between 1819-1826, and he was ordained to the priesthood
in 1828 at St. Andrew's, P.E.I. He served as a Missionary Priest in four parishes west of
Miscouche which are the Cascumpeque, Egmont Bay, Mont-Carmel and Miscouche parishes. He was
also appointed Pastor at Tignish. After 15 years of missionary service, he remained in the
Miscouche/ Egmont Bay/ Mont Carmel area to continue his ministry. By 1860, Rev. Poirier was
forced to set aside his pastoral duties due to his increasing blindness, however, he assumed
these duties once again in 1869 when his eyesight showed signs of improvement. The Rev. S.É.
Poirier finally permanently retired in 1879, again due to his weak eyesight. Throughout his
years of service, S.É. Poirier was best known for being the first Island Acadian priest as well
as the first priest to be ordained to priesthood on P.E.I. A little known fact about S.E.Poirier
was that he was a better singer than preacher, but there is evidence that he was an excellent
administrator. S.E. Poirier died on August 3, 1887 in Egmont Bay, and he is interred at the
Egmont Bay Roman Catholic Cemetery.
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He was born near Tignish, P.E.I. on August 20, 1894. He attended school in
Tignish prior to his attendance at Prince of Wales College and Normal School
in Charlottetown. Prior to his religious service, he taught at Tignish Grammar
School and later served as a musketry instructor during the first World War.
After the war, he attended St. Dunstan's College and the Grand Seminary in Quebec
City. In 1925, he was awarded his Doctor of Divinity degree, and in June of that same year, he
was ordained as priest for the Archdiocese of Edmonton, Alberta. Over his years of service,
Nelligan preformed duties in Edmonton, Alberta and Pembrooke, Ontario along with
his years as professor at the University of Windsor, Ontario. Although he was
an "Islander Away," he frequently would visit his native Tignish. His Excellency Bishop Charles
Leo Nelligan died in London, Ontario in 1974, and he is interred in the Basilian
plot at Heavenly Rest Cemetery, Windsor, Ontario.