Brampton is one of the largest and most rapidly growing urban centres in Canada. Located approximately 40 kilometres north-west of downtown Toronto, it has become home to nearly 10,000 Poles.

The history of the Polish parish in Brampton can be traced back to 1990, when it became apparent that St. Maximilian Kolbe Church in Mississauga (see: St. Maximilian Kolbe Church in Mississauga) could not accommodate the faithful living in the area during services. Overcrowding in the church prompted the then pastor Fr Stanislaw Bąk OMI and lay activists to seek to establish a new parish outside Mississauga.

Bishop Terrence Prendergast, during a pastoral visitation in 1996, found these efforts justified. It was soon decided to create a new Polish parish, just in Brampton, dedicated to St Eugene de Mazenod OMI (1782-1861), founder of the Congregation of the Oblate Order.

Following this decision, Fr Adam Filas OMI, architect Stan Szaflarski of St Catharines and Stanislaw Jasinski of Woodstock outlined a vision to build, and not just a church in Brampton, but altogether a large centre called Villa Polonia, as a Polish religious, cultural and business centre.

On 21 May 1998, during a visit by a delegation from Brampton, Pope John Paul II, in a private audience in Rome, consecrated the foundation stone for the church from the tomb of St Peter. During the ceremony, His Holiness uttered the moving words "make the building of this church a millennium project of the Polish community in Canada". A few months later, the Polish mission of St Eugene de Mazenod in Brampton was established by decree of Canadian Cardinal Aloysius Ambrozic.

On 7 November 1999, the provincial of the Polish Province of the Oblate Fathers in Canada, Fr Christopher Pulchny OMI, appointed Fr Adam Filas OMI to be responsible for the creation of the new parish and the construction of the church.

An important date in the history of the parish was 10 September 2000, when the first ever Marian feast was held in Brampton to celebrate the birthday of Mary Immaculate. In front of thousands of worshippers gathered around the field altar, the statue of Our Lady of Ludźmierz (a copy from the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Good Counsel in Ludźmierz), which the Holy Father John Paul II had blessed in June 1997 "for the benefit of all Polish immigrants in Canada", was presented.

On 21 July 2002, a few days before World Youth Day and the meeting of young people with Pope John Paul II, the Primate of Poland Józef Cardinal Glemp, assisted by eleven bishops, forty-five priests and more than five thousand faithful, performed the solemn coronation of the faithful copy of the miraculous statue of Our Lady of Ludźmierz. Two years later, the Primate of Poland came to Brampton again. This time to entrust all Polish-Canadians to the care of Our Lady of Ludźmierz - Mother of Good Counsel, Mother of Immigrants.

On 2 October 2005, the first shovel was solemnly driven into the church construction site, and five years later the cornerstone ceremony took place. At that time, during Mass, the parish priest Fr Adam Filas OMI addressed the Primate of Poland with the words: "In view of the fact that this temple is a millennial work of the Canadian Polish community, I dare to ask, on behalf of all my Compatriots in Canada, for your prayers, Eminence, and the laying of the cornerstone, which comes from the tomb of St. Peter and was consecrated by the Servant of God John Paul II. May this stone and your apostolic ministry be a reminder to us forever of our connection with the Holy See and the tomb of St Peter - the Prince of the Apostles. May this stone also remind us of the fundamental Christian truth that we are all God's temple and His dwelling place."

The consecration of the millennium temple, which took place on 21 May 2011, became a great historic event for the entire Canadian Polish community. Among those in attendance were the Polish Ambassador to Canada Zenon Kosiniak- Kamysz, the Consul General in Toronto Marek Ciesielczuk, Federal Cabinet Minister Jasen Keney, MP Władysław Lizoń, and the Mayor of the City of Brampton Susan Fennell.

On 13 November 2011, Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz arrived in Brampton on a special mission. He handed over to the Oblate missionaries working among the Canadian Polish community the first class relics of St John Paul II, so that - as he put it - "in a particle of his blood the Pope remains here forever".

John Paul II - Pope of Peace is also present in the life of the faithful of St Eugene de Mazenod parish through the fact that his statue adorns the John Paul II square in front of the church. The magnificent five-metre-high bronze statue was donated by the former vice-president of Taiwan, Dr Lien Chan.

Location: 1252 Steeles Ave. W., Brampton, Ontario, Canada