Throwback: Tisdale Catholic parish to mark 100th anniversary

TISDALE — Catholic parishioners in the Tisdale area will be marking an momentous occasion this summer with the 100th anniversary of the first Mass celebrated in Tisdale.

An estimated 500 present and former parishioners of the Immaculate Conception Parish are expected to help commemorate the milestone curing celebrations on Sunday, July 12. The event will be marked along the banks of the Doghide River at the site of the former St. Therese Hospital.

First Catholic settlers and church

The history of the Catholic religion in the Tisdale area dates back to 1898 with the arrival of Rev. Fr. Brien Maisonneuve, a young missionary who journeyed to the north by foot, oxen and horseback from Flett Springs. Maisonneuve’s destination was a small settlement sited along the banks of the Doghide River which came to be known as Tisdale.

Maisonneuve presided over the first Mass celebrated by Catholic settlers to the area since they had moved out west. Although the location of that first Mass is unknown, the history of the Catholic parish is intertwined with that of theSoeurs de la Charité de Notre Dame d’Evron, the Sisters of Charity of our Lady of Evron, who owned and crated St. Therese Hospital along the banks of the Doghide for 50 years.

Rev. Fr. Maisonneuve continued to serve the Mission of Tisdale until he was replaced by Father Drapeau in 1912. Fr. Dubois was assigned responsibility of conducting parishes in Tisdale and Zenon Park.

In that same year, Gaspard Laboucheur, owner of Tisdale’s Imperial Hotel, and George Lacroix, founder of Lacroix Drug, each donated $100 [around $2,300 in 2018 dollars]  to begin construction of the first Catholic Church in Tisdale. Bishop Pascal lent an additional $1,200 [around $27,000 in 2018 dollars] to the project, which was completed by 1914 with volunteer labor and a iced carpenter/foreman.

Receiving the current name

The first pastor of the first Catholic Church in Tisdale was Rev. Fr. Dennis. In 1920, Rev. Fr. Perrault named the first residing priest new church.

Four years later, the Fathers of  the order of Ste. Marie de Tinchebary were installed in the Carrot River Valley and Fr. Voisin was parish priest in Tisdale. Around that same time, the name of the church was changed to the Roman Catholic Parish of the Immaculate Conception.

That year, the Fathers of Ste. Marie also moved their residence from Red Deer to Tisdale, rebuilding it brick-by-brick as a formal meeting place for priests from throughout the Northeast. That building still stands in Tisdale today and is the current residence of Julien and Elaine LeStrat.

Establishing a hospital

The year after the installation of the Fathers of Ste. Marie also marked the arrival of the Sisters of Charity. Four sisters: Sister Maria Faucher. Sister Bertha Gastrin. Sister Marie Neuville, and Sister Superior Francoise Joulin moved from Alberta to Tisdale to open a temporary eight-bed hospital in 1925.

The original hospital was later replaced by the 40-bed St. Therese hospital, which the Sisters continued to operate until selling it to the people of Tisdale and district in 1976. It then became known as Tisdale Union hospital and contained to serve the people of Tisdale and district until 1993 when a new hospital was built to replace it.

New church needed

While the Sisters worked to establish the hospital, the number of Catholic parishioners continued to grow and in 1932 land was purchased north of the original church for the site of the construction of the present church. Construction of the new church did not proceed until 1953 and was completed in 1954, providing seating for up to 450 worshippers. The first Mass. celebrated in the current parish was held on Easter Sunday, 1954.

Priests at the church

Between 1932 and 1964, several priests served the Tisdale parish. Following the death of Fr. Voisin in 1934. Fr. Chauvin took  over until 1946. He was succeeded by Fr. DeMontegny, who served until he was replaced by Fr. Nicorid in 1948. In 1952, Fr. Gerard VanVynckt began serving Immaculate Conception Parish.

In 1964. under VanVynckt’s direction, a new rectory was built on the site of the first church. This rectory continues to stand and serve as residence for the present parish priest.

VanVynckt served Immaculate Conception Parish for 31 years until his death in 1983. Fr. Paul Cote provided temporary three month ministry to the church after VanVynckt passed away. He was replaced by Msgr. Edmund Ulinski.

Ulinski helped to from the first Parish Council and had the church basement renovated and renamed Fr. Van Parish Centre. Fr. Jean Guy Lang replaced Ulinski until Fr. Roger Vaillancourt took over in 1989. Followimg Vaillancount’s retirement in 1993, he was succeeded by Fr. Claude Giguere, who served the parish until 1996. Fr. Luc Gaudet was appointed to take over for Giguere and continues to serve the parish today.

Plans for celebration

In 1997, Immaculate Conception Parish underwent extensive renovations which resulted in changes to the entrance, removal of the choir loft, and changing the interior decor of the church. Though the original church and St. Therese Hospital no longer stand as a testament to dedication to the Fathers of Ste. Marie or the Sisters of Charity, an effort is being made to preserve their memories. An open air mass will be held at the site of the former St. Therese Hospital, officiated by Bishop Blaise Morand of Prince Albert, at 10 a.m. on Sunday, July 12th.

Following the mass, a potluck lunch will be served and a program will conclude the ceremony. Dur-ing the program, a special tribute will he made to honor the contributions and memory of the Sisters.

Surviving members of the Sisters of Charity, residing in a retirement home in Edmonton, have been invited to return to Tisdale to attend the celebration. Plans are currently underway to have the statues of the Sacred Heart and Our Lady of Lourdes with St. Bernadette restored and erected at the original site of the grotto behind the hospital. The site will be dedicated to the Sisters and St. Therese Hospital and named “St. Therese Hospital Place”.

To coincide with the centennial anniversary of the parish, the Immaculate Conception council of the Catholic Women’s League will be hosting their own anniversary celebrations on Saturday, July 11th. The Tisdale CWL will mark their 50th anniversary with a mass, banquet, and informal social.

Past and present members of Immaculate Conception Parish are welcome to attend the weekend celebrations.