Saint Boniface Cathedral (french: Cathédrale Saint-Boniface) is a Roman Catholic cathedral of
Saint Boniface
Boniface, OSB ( la, Bonifatius; 675 – 5 June 754) was an English Benedictines, Benedictine monk and leading figure in the Anglo-Saxon mission to the Germanic parts of the Frankish Empire during the eighth century. He organised significant ...
,
Winnipeg
Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...
,
Manitoba
Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...
, Canada. It is an important building in Winnipeg, and is the principal church in the
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Saint Boniface
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Saint-Boniface ( la, Archidioecesis Sancti Bonifacii) is a Latin archdiocese in part of the civil Province of Manitoba in Canada. Despite having no suffragan dioceses, the archdiocese is nominally metropolitan a ...
, serving the eastern part of Manitoba province as well as the local
Franco-Manitoban
Franco-Manitobans (french: Franco-Manitobains) are French Canadians or Canadian francophones living in the province of Manitoba. According to the 2016 Canadian Census, 40,975 residents of the province stated that French was their mother tongue. In ...
community. The church sits in the centre of the city at 190 avenue de la Cathédrale, Saint Boniface. Before the fire on July 22, 1968, which destroyed the previous building on site, the church was a minor basilica.
The Cathedral faces the
Red River. In Verendrye Park is a statue of
Pierre La Vérendrye by
Joseph-Émile Brunet
Joseph-Émile Brunet (1893–1977) was a Canadian sculptor based in Quebec. His output includes more than 200 monuments in bronze. Many of his sculptures depict national figures and events in Canada. He was born in Huntingdon, Quebec in 1893. He ...
. Across the river is
The Forks in
Downtown Winnipeg
Downtown Winnipeg is an area of Winnipeg located near the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers. It is the oldest urban area in Winnipeg, and is home to the city's commercial core, city hall, the seat of Manitoba's provincial government, a ...
.
History
![Rindisbacher fishing 1821 large (1)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/16/Rindisbacher_fishing_1821_large_%281%29.png)
In 1818, newly arrived Rev.
Norbert Provencher
Joseph-Norbert Provencher (February 12, 1787 – June 7, 1853) was a Canadian clergyman and missionary and one of the founders of the modern province of Manitoba. He was the first Bishop of Saint Boniface and was an important figure in the histo ...
and two colleagues constructed the first church on land on the east bank of the Red River donated by Hudson's Bay Company's
Thomas Douglas, 5th Earl of Selkirk
Thomas may refer to:
People
* List of people with given name Thomas
* Thomas (name)
* Thomas (surname)
* Saint Thomas (disambiguation)
* Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church
* Thomas the Ap ...
. The small log building measured 50 feet by 30 feet and served as chapel, residence and school. It was soon replaced with a larger building. In 1832, Provencher, now bishop, built the first cathedral. "The bells of St. Boniface" are mentioned in
John Greenleaf Whittier
John Greenleaf Whittier (December 17, 1807 – September 7, 1892) was an American Quaker poet and advocate of the abolition of slavery in the United States. Frequently listed as one of the fireside poets, he was influenced by the Scottish poet ...
's 1859 poem "The Red River Voyageur". "On December 17, 1891, Whittier's 84th birthday,
Archbishop Taché had "the bells of the Roman mission" rung in the poet's honour."
![St](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fc/St._Boniface_Cathedral_6.jpg)
On December 14, 1860, a fire destroyed "Provencher’s cathedral". In 1862, Bishop Taché went to Quebec to raise funds to rebuild the cathedral in stone. This second cathedral was somewhat smaller; the bell tower was completed eight years later.
Between 1888 and 1906, the number of Catholics in Saint Boniface had increased from 2,154 to 4,615, almost all of them of French heritage. By 1900, Saint Boniface was the fifth-largest city in the West and needed a larger cathedral. Local contractors Senecal and Smith were engaged to build a new cathedral to plans by Montreal architect Jean-Omer Marchand. On August 15, 1906,
Monsignor Louis-Philippe Adélard Langevin dedicated the cathedral, which became one of the most imposing churches in Western Canada.
![St](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0e/St._Boniface_RC_Cathedral.jpg)
On July 22, 1968, the 1906 cathedral was damaged by a fire which destroyed many of the structure's features and contents including the
rose window
Rose window is often used as a generic term applied to a circular window, but is especially used for those found in Gothic cathedrals and churches. The windows are divided into segments by stone mullions and tracery. The term ''rose window'' w ...
, vestments, 1860 bells, and parish records. Only the façade, sacristy, and the walls of the old church remained. In 1972, a new, smaller cathedral, designed by
Étienne Gaboury
Étienne-Joseph Gaboury (April 24, 1930 – October 14, 2022) was a Canadian architect from Winnipeg, Manitoba. He was noted for designing key buildings in his hometown, such as the Royal Canadian Mint building, Esplanade Riel, Saint Boniface ...
and Denis Lussier, was built behind the 1906 façade.
The Institute for stained glass in Canada has documented the stained glass at St Boniface Cathedral.
Cathedral cemetery
The remains of Chief One Arrow were interred at the cemetery from his death in the 1880s until August 2007, when his body was exhumed and sent to
One Arrow First Nation
One Arrow First Nation ( cr, ᑳ ᐯᔭᒁᐢᑯᓇᒼ ''kâ-pêyakwâskonam'') is a Cree First Nations band government in Bellevue, Saskatchewan, Canada. Its main reserve is located just south of Batoche near the South Saskatchewan River about ...
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 ...
.
![Winnipeg IMG 0041 (7208160182)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bc/Winnipeg_IMG_0041_%287208160182%29.jpg)
Other notable people buried in the cathedral cemetery include:
*
Louis Riel
Louis Riel (; ; 22 October 1844 – 16 November 1885) was a Canadian politician, a founder of the province of Manitoba, and a political leader of the Métis people. He led two resistance movements against the Government of Canada and its first ...
(1844–1885)
*
Louis Riel, Sr.
Louis Riel Sr. (''père'') (July 7, 1817 – January 21, 1864) was a farmer, miller, Métis leader, and the father of Louis Riel.
Life
Born in Île-à-la-Crosse, Saskatchewan, Riel was the eldest son of Jean-Baptiste Riel, '' dit'' L’I ...
(1817–1864)
*
Ambroise-Dydime Lépine
Ambroise-Dydime Lépine (18 March 1840 – 8 June 1923) was a Métis politician, farmer, and military leader under the command of Louis Riel during the Red River Rebellion of 1869–1870. He was tried and sentenced to death for his role in t ...
(1840–1923)
Manitoba Historical Society
/ref>
*Jean-Baptiste Lagimodière
Jean-Baptiste Lagimodière (25 December 1778 in Trois-Rivières, Quebec – 7 September 1855 in Saint-Boniface, Manitoba) was a French-Canadian trapper employed in the fur trade by the Hudson's Bay Company in Rupert's Land.
Lagimodière ...
(1778–1855)
* Marie-Anne Gaboury
Marie-Anne Lagimodière (née Gaboury; 15 August 1780 – 14 December 1875) was a French-Canadian woman noted as both the grandmother of Louis Riel, and as the first woman of European descent to travel to and settle in what is now Western Canada ...
(1780–1875)
* Norbert Provencher
Joseph-Norbert Provencher (February 12, 1787 – June 7, 1853) was a Canadian clergyman and missionary and one of the founders of the modern province of Manitoba. He was the first Bishop of Saint Boniface and was an important figure in the histo ...
(1787–1853)
* Vital-Justin Grandin
Vital-Justin Grandin (8 February 1829 – 3 June 1902) was a Roman Catholic priest and bishop known as a key architect of the Canadian Indian residential school system, which has been labeled an instrument of cultural genocide. In June 2021 ...
(1829–1902)
* Rosario Couture
Joseph Albert Rosario "Lolo" Couture (July 24, 1905 – March 1, 1986) was a professional ice hockey player. Couture was a right winger who played for the Chicago Black Hawks and the Montreal Canadiens from 1928 to 1936.
Born in St. Boniface, M ...
(1905–1986)
References
External links
*{{official, http://www.cathedralestboniface.ca
University of Manitoba Interior Photograph
"Notre Dame brings back memories of St. Boniface Cathedral fire", CHVN95.1FM
"The Red River Voyageur", John Greenleaf Whittier
Roman Catholic cathedrals in Manitoba
Roman Catholic churches in Winnipeg
Basilica churches in Canada
Burned buildings and structures in Canada
1818 establishments in the British Empire
Cemeteries in Manitoba
20th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Canada
Cathedral
A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denomination ...
Municipal Historical Resources of Winnipeg