Muenster ( 2016 population: ) is a

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

in the

Canadian province Canada has ten provinces and three territories that are sub-national administrative divisions under the jurisdiction of the Constitution of Canada, Canadian Constitution. In the 1867 Canadian Confederation, three provinces of British North Amer ...

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada. It is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and to the south by the ...

within the Rural Municipality of St. Peter No. 369 and Census Division No. 15. It is located east of Humboldt on Highway 5.

History

Muenster incorporated as a town on August 18, 1908. St. Peter's Abbey began in 1903 with the arrival of seven Benedictine monks. In 1921 St. Peter's Abbey became the Territorial Abbey of Saint Peter-Muenster. The

abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the head of an independent monastery for men in various Western Christian traditions. The name is derived from ''abba'', the Aramaic form of the Hebrew ''ab'', and means "father". The female equivale ...

's duties were similar to that of a

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

of a

diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, prov ...

. The Territorial Abbey was suppressed in 1998 to become part of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Saskatoon. The historic territory of the abbey was also referred to as St. Peter's Colony. The villages and parishes in St. Peter's Colony included: St. Peter's

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of Monasticism, monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in Cenobitic monasticism, communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a ...

and

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

at Muenster, St. Boniface ( Leofeld), Englefeld, Annaheim,

Bruno Bruno may refer to: People and fictional characters * Bruno (name), including lists of people and fictional characters with either the given name or surname * Bruno, Duke of Saxony (died 880) * Bruno the Great (925–965), Archbishop of Cologn ...

, St. Joseph (Old

Fulda Fulda () (historically in English called Fuld) is a city in Hesse, Germany; it is located on the river Fulda and is the administrative seat of the Fulda district (''Kreis''). In 1990, the city hosted the 30th Hessentag state festival. Histor ...

), Marysburg, Humboldt, Lake Lenore, St. John Baptist (Willmont), Watson, St. Martin, St. Scholastico, St. Patrick's, St. Oswald Immaculate Conception. Dana, St. Gregor, St. Bernard (Old Pilger), St. Leo (St. Meinrad), St. Gertrude, Carmel, Peterson, Cudworth, Naicam, Holy Family Mission, St. Benedict, Pilger, St. James, and Middle Lake. The majority of the early settlers in the region were German speaking

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

s from the United States. In 1938, a German-language newspaper published in Muenster, ''St. Peter's Bode'', was "banned from Germany by order of

Heinrich Himmler Heinrich Luitpold Himmler (; 7 October 1900 – 23 May 1945) was a German Nazism, Nazi politician and military leader who was the 4th of the (Protection Squadron; SS), a leading member of the Nazi Party, and one of the most powerful p ...

, chief of the National police." The paper's editor, Reverend Father Peters, responded: "All we did was print the facts. We carried little editorial content or criticism on German affairs."

Climate

Demographics

In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by

Statistics Canada Statistics Canada (StatCan; ), formed in 1971, is the agency of the Government of Canada commissioned with producing statistics to help better understand Canada, its population, resources, economy, society, and culture. It is headquartered in ...

, Muenster had a population of living in of its total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of . With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021. In the 2016 Census of Population, the Village of Muenster recorded a population of living in of its total private dwellings, a change from its 2011 population of . With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2016.

Education

Muenster is home to St. Peter's College, an affiliate of the

University of Saskatchewan The University of Saskatchewan (U of S, or USask) is a Universities in Canada, Canadian public university, public research university, founded on March 19, 1907, and located on the east side of the South Saskatchewan River in Saskatoon, Saskatch ...

. It was founded by the Benedictine monks of St. Peter's Abbey in 1921. The college offers a full first year of Arts and Sciences classes and senior classes in several disciplines. Annual full-time enrollment is limited to 150 students.

Muenster landmarks

*St. Peter's Cathedral features paintings and murals by the artist Berthold Imhoff * The skyline of Muenster is mainly defined by the steeples of St. Peter's College and Abbey * Muenster Hill is a popular local

toboggan A toboggan is a simple sled used in snowy winter recreation. It is also a traditional form of cargo transport used by the Innu, Cree and Ojibwe of North America, sometimes part of a dog train. It is used on snow to carry one or more people (o ...

ing destination * St. Peter's College library is the third largest book repository in Saskatchewan * Wolverine Creek runs through Muenster, past St. Peter's College and Abbey

Events

St. Peter's Abbey is host to the annual Junior and Teen Choir Camps of th
Saskatchewan Choral Federation

Sports

Muenster was home to the Muenster Red Sox, a senior baseball team. The Red Sox played in the North Central Baseball League from 1964–2003 and have in the Saskatoon Senior League until 2009. The Muenster Midget AAA Red Sox currently compete in the Saskatchewan Premier Baseball League, capturing the provincial title in 2016 and winning a bronze medal at nationals that same year. The community is also active in hockey and soccer.

Notables

Notable persons who were born, grew up in or established their fame in Muenster, Saskatchewan: * Ralph Klassen, professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

centre Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...

/ left wing * Logan Hofmann, professional baseball highest ever Saskatchewan-born MLB draft pick, being selected in the 5th Round of the 2020 MLB draft. * Skyler Varga, opposite hitter for Long Beach State University men’s volleyball

References

External links

Village of Muenster website

St. Peter's College

St. Peter's Community

Muenster Village Council

St. Peter's Abbey website
{{Coord, 52, 11, 27, N, 104, 59, 43, W, display=title, type:city_region:CA_source:GNS-enwiki Villages in Saskatchewan St. Peter No. 369, Saskatchewan Division No. 15, Saskatchewan