The Franciscan friar Hennepin celebrated the first mass in Canada on 11 December 1678 on a First Nations trail near Niagara Falls. This spot would eventually be part of a Crown land grant to the Loyalist Skinner family. This important place would later be the site of Saint Edward Church later to be renamed Our Lady of Peace Shrine.

Early Catholic priests in Niagara faced a daunting task, namely serving a small number of Catholics spread out over a wide area, without the benefit of a church. A priest had to ride on horseback to small clusters of Catholics to hear mass in each other's houses.

Father Edward Gordon arrived in 1833. He established some early church missions in the area including Saint Vincent de Paul at what is now known as Niagara on the Lake. Determined to build a church near the falls, Gordon was assisted by a small group of laymen, including James McGarry, who contributed money for the purchase of the site and to building costs. The cornerstone of the current church was laid in 1837, though completion of the structure was delayed due to the Rebellion of 1837 and the events at Navy Island.

The original church was known as Saint Edward's in honour of Gordon's patron saint, Saint Edward The Confessor. The first mass was celebrated on the feast day of Saint Edward 13 October 1839.

Equally important to the story of this church, is John Joseph Lynch, Archbishop of Toronto. According to lore, Lynch saw a painting of the falls in his Irish homeland in the 1820's. From that moment he fostered a dream to establish a Catholic community near this natural wonder. This dream would lead Lynch to purchase several hundred acres of land from the Skinner family which would later become the Loretto Convent and Mount Carmel.

Early in 1861, during the first days of the American Civil War, Archbishop Lynch petitioned Pope Pius IX to change the name of the church and to make it a pilgrimage site, one that would foster a hope for peace. These changes were fostered by papal decree and St. Edward's Church became Our Lady of Peace. These changes officially took place in August 1861.

There is an unfortunate lack of burial records for this cemetery. A partial transcription of monuments was begun in 1955 by an unknown person. This partial transcription can be found in the parish office, located at Mount Carmel, 7201 Stanley Avenue, Niagara Falls. The 1955 notes state that 1955 internment of Ann Marie Lauzau was the last lay burial in the grounds. Burials of the Carmelite Order do still occur.

Information taken from Our Lady of Peace Cemetery OGS #4661 Published February 2006