Louis-Pierre Gravel was a

French Canadian French Canadians (referred to as Canadiens mainly before the twentieth century; french: Canadiens français, ; feminine form: , ), or Franco-Canadians (french: Franco-Canadiens), refers to either an ethnic group who trace their ancestry to Fren ...

missionary and colonizer who founded the town of Gravelbourg in

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...

, Canada. He was born in Stanfold (now called Princeville),

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

on August 8, 1868, and was ordained as priest on August 28, 1892, after finishing his studies at seminaries in

Trois-Rivières Trois-Rivières (, – 'Three Rivers') is a city in the Mauricie administrative region of Quebec, Canada, at the confluence of the Saint-Maurice River, Saint-Maurice and Saint Lawrence River, Saint Lawrence rivers, on the north shore of the Sain ...

, Nicolet and

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

, Quebec. After serving in parishes in

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from 1892 to 1906, he was asked to found a French Canadian parish in the south-west of Saskatchewan. In 1906, he founded the town of Gravelbourg. Aiding him in his endeavors were five of his brothers, which included Henri and Maurice, both doctors; Alphonse and Emile, both lawyer; Guy, a pharmacist; plus a sister, Laurianne, the wife of Georges Hébert, also a lawyer. He persuaded many French Canadian Catholics to settle in the Gravelbourg, Lafleche, Mazenod,

Meyronne Meyronne (; oc, Mairona) is a commune in the Lot department in south-western France. See also *Communes of the Lot department The following is a list of the 313 communes of the Lot department of France France (), officially ...

bloc settlement. Father Gravel died in Montreal on February 10, 1926, and was buried in Gravelbourg.

Legacy

Louis-Pierre Gravel was designated a

Person of National Historic Significance Persons of National Historic Significance (National Historic People) are people designated by the Canadian government as being nationally significant in the history of the country. Designations are made by the Minister of the Environment on the re ...

in 1956. The inscription on a monument in Gravelbourg built in 1958 to honour him reads:

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gravel, Louis-Pierre 1868 births 1926 deaths Persons of National Historic Significance (Canada) People from Gravelbourg, Saskatchewan People from Centre-du-Québec French Quebecers 19th-century Canadian Roman Catholic priests 20th-century Canadian Roman Catholic priests