Immaculate Conception
Tisdale SK

Immaculate Conception welcomes Christians and those who seek to connect to Christianity in the Tisdale area.

We aim to make contact with and encourage others to join us in our life-changing Christian journey.

We are a friendly Christian community where we welcome others to join us in our worship and service to God.

Our vision is to make an impact for God, here in Tisdale, Saskatchewan by helping people understand the enriching messages of eternal hope given to us by Jesus Christ through His words and deeds.

Everyone is welcome, no matter your age, beliefs, or background. Come just as you are - we'd love to get to know you better.

 

https://www.padiocese.ca/en/general-1  

 

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.

From: https://www.tisdalerecorder.ca/news/throwback-tisdale-catholic-parish-to-mark-100th-anniversary-1.23330169