Manitoba Provincial Heritage Site No. 80

In November 1, 1818, Father Joseph-Norbert Provencher built on this site a small log chapel which he dedicated to Saint Boniface, the English missionary monk and apostle, who spread the Catholic faith among the Germanic tribes in the 8th century. Saint Boniface, the first permanent mission west of the Great Lakes, became the heart of Roman Catholic missionary activity extending to the Pacific and Arctic coasts, as well as serving the growing population of the Red River Settlement.

Five cathedrals have stood on this beautiful location. In 1832, Bishop Provencher erected a cathedral surmounted by twin spires, and in 1862 a stone cathedral was built under the direction of Bishop Taché. On August 15, 1906, Archbishop Langevin blessed the cornerstone of what became one of the most imposing churches in Western Canada.

Louis Riel, together with many of the West’s first Catholic settlers, key figures and missionaries, is buried here in Western Canada’s oldest Catholic cemetery.