Saint Boniface Cathedral (French: Cathédrale Saint-Boniface) is a Roman Catholic cathedral of Saint Boniface, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It is an essential building in Winnipeg and is the principal church in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Saint Boniface, serving the eastern part of Manitoba province and the local Franco-Manitoban community. The church sits in the city’s center at 190 avenues 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. Across the river is The Forks in Downtown Winnipeg.
History
In 1818, newly arrived Rev. Norbert Provencher 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. The small log building measured 50 feet by 30 feet and served as a chapel, residence, and school. It was soon replaced with a larger building. In 1832, Provencher, now a bishop, built the first cathedral. “The bells of St. Boniface” are mentioned in John Greenleaf Whittier’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 honor.” Bed Bug Exterminator Winnipeg
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 more miniature; 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 an enormous 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.
On July 22, 1968, the 1906 cathedral was damaged by a fire that destroyed many of the structure’s features and contents, including the rose window, vestments, 1860 bells, and parish records. Only the façade, sacristy, and old church walls remained. In 1972, a new, more miniature cathedral, designed by Étienne Gaboury and Denis Lussier, was built behind the 1906 façade.
Address: 180 Av. de la Cathedrale, Winnipeg, MB
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