Heritage Centre

History of the Oblate Province of Manitoba

The territory referred to in the history of the Oblate Province of Manitoba varies according to different time periods. At the arrival of the Oblates in 1845, the religious mission of Red River included all of the territory west of the Great Lakes. On 24 April 1851, the first eight provinces and mission vicariates were created. They included the Province of Canada-East and the Mission Vicariate of Red River. Therefore, from the first stucturation of the Oblate Congregation, Red River was a distinct administrative unit giving it a certain autonomy. With time other Mission Vicariates were created reducing the size of the Mission Vicariate of Red River: in 1864, the Athabaska and Mackenzie regions became a Mission Vicariate; in 1868 the Mission Vicariate of Saint-Albert was erected. In 1904, the status of the Mission Vicariate of Red River, then known as Mission Vicariate of Saint-Boniface, was changed to that of a Province and became known as the Oblate Province of Manitoba. In 1926, new adminstrative changes didn't modify the territorial boundaries of the Oblate Province of Manitoba but the German and Polish members of the Province were transferred to the newly created Oblate Province of St. Mary's. Restructuration in 1983 has meant that the Vice-Provinces of Keewatin and Hudson's Bay were amlgamated to the Oblate Province of Manitoba.

From 1868 to 1983, the Mission Vicariat and later the Oblate Province of Manitoba included the southern portion of Saskatchewan, southern Manitoba (from the north of lakes Winnipegosis and Winnipeg to the USA border), the portion of Ontario west of Thunderbay and, for some time, included parts of Minnesota and North Dakota.

Arriving in Saint-Boniface on 25 August 1845, Brother Alexandre Taché and Father Pierre Aubert laid the foundations of Oblate mission work in the North West which became Western Canada, the North West Territories, the Yukon and British Columbia. The number of Oblates who were here at the outset very quickly increased to become the largest body of Roman Catholic male religious in Western and Northern Canada. From Aubert and Taché's humble beginnings at Red River, the Oblates' missionary work led them to establish missions always further westward. By 1864, when the Mission Vicariate of Red River was first subdivided, 30 Oblates had either visited or opened a mission at more than 45 locations from Red River to Youcon (in present day Alaska) and Fort McPherson.

As this rapid expansion illustrates, the Oblates were certainly best known for their missionary work among the First Nations peoples. Establishing missions in as many places as possible, they also became involved in education by operating industrial and residential schools. The first industrial school was opened in 1884 at Lebret. In Manitoba, the first of these was the Industrial School of Saint-Boniface. The Oblates also took charge of residential schools in Fort-Alexandre (1905-1970), Sandy Bay (1905-1970), Fort Frances (1906-1974), Lestock (1897-1976), Camperville (1890-1969), Kenora (1897-1972), Marieval (1898-1972), McIntosh (1925-1969) and Winnipeg (Assiniboia High School: 1958-1973).

In education, the Oblates administered the St. Boniface College from 1860 to 1866 and again from 1870 to 1878. During this later period, Théophile Lavoie o.m.i. (1836-1908), as administrator of the college, in consultation with Archbishop Alexandre Taché, ensured the college's incorporation in 1871 and later (1877) negotiated, as a representative of one of the founding colleges, the creation of the University of Manitoba. St. John's College (Anglican) and Manitoba College (Presbyterian) were the other co-founders. Another important institution for Francophone boys' education was the Collège Catholique de Gravelbourg (1918), Saskatchewan, later (1922) named Collège Mathieu. In 1920, the Oblates took over the College. From 1924 to 1968, this College was affiliated to the University of Ottawa which had been founded and was administered by the Oblates.

Early on the Oblates recognized the importance of the media. In April 1862, the first publication, Missions de la congrégation des Missionnaires Oblats de Marie-Immaculée, was published. In effect, this publication was for the Oblates what the Relations had been for the Jesuits. In Manitoba, the Oblates pursued this publishing endeavour. In 1907, to consolidate the Catholic press, they founded the West Canada Publishing Company and took over the North West Review, founded in 1885 by Archbishop Alexandre Taché, to which were added the Polish Gazeta Katolicka in 1908, the German West Kanada in 1909, the Ukrainian Canadian Ruthenian in 1911, and La Liberté in 1913. It was also an Oblate, Archbishop Adélard Langevin, who founded the Les Cloches de Saint-Boniface in 1902. The magazine, L'Ami du Foyer (1905-1968) had 5,000 subscribers in 1908. Still in the area of the written press, Gontran Laviolette (1911-1989) founded The Indian Record in 1938, which catered to a readership of First Nations peoples until 1987. The pioneering work of the Oblates in editing and publishing dictionaries, grammar books and prayer books in Native languages needs to be underscored as it was ground breaking work which occupied some Oblates from early on to the present. They even published works using syllabics. Moreover, a number of scientific, theological and historical works were written and published by Oblates, as witnessed by the extensive bibliography of Adrien-Gabriel Morice (1859-1938), but to name one.

The Oblates were very active in the educational institutions whose mandates were to promote, recruit and train for the Oblate life. In 1905, the Oblates founded the Juniorat de la Sainte-Famille in Saint-Boniface. To initiate candidates in the Oblate spiritual life, a Novitiate was opened in Saint-Laurent as early as 1887 by Archbishop Taché. The Novitiate was submitted to a number of relocations. In 1897, Archbishop Adélard Langevin transfered the Novitiate to Saint-Charles. In 1909, the Novitiate was relocated in the Juniorat de la Sainte-Famille. In 1924, the Novitiate was re-established at Saint-Laurent, and served as an interprovincial novitiate for the German, English and French candidates until 1928-1929. It remained the Novitiate for the Francophone candidates until 1950 when it was transfered to Saint-Norbert. In the 1960's, it ceased to function as a regular institution due to lack of candidates. In 1927, with the increase in the local candidates for the priesthood, the Oblates founded a Scholasticat in Lebret, Saskatchewan. This institution was closed in 1967.

In parishes, the Oblates' contribution was also very important. They founded many parishes on the territory for which they were responsible. In many places, they played a significant role in helping newly arrived immigrants such as the Ukrainians, the Germans, the Poles and the Italians. The Oblates are well known for their parish retreat work, which Eugène de Mazenod, the order's founder, saw as one of the important tasks of the congregation. The Maison de Retraites de Saint-Boniface, also known as Maison Notre-Dame du Cénacle, was founded in 1942 and handed over to the Oblates by Archbishop George Cabana in 1945. Thanks to Paul Gorieu o.m.i. a league was organized for recruitment and to renew enthusiasm for retreats. In 1960, Villa Maria, in Saint-Norbert, was officially opened and it is still very active offering a number of different services.

Beyond these many fields of activity, the Oblates made a name for themselves as chaplains for a number of religious congregations, hospitals, the Canadian Armed Forces and prisons. They also devoted themselves to therapy for the rehabilitation of alcoholics and for personality growth (Raymond Beauregard's personal-growth homes). Others pursued careers in personal development movements such as Personality and Human Relationships (PRH).

Missionary life was also fostered among the laity. The Association missionnaire de Marie Immaculée (AMMI) became over the years an important rallying point for lay people wishing to contribute to Oblate endeavours and find inspiration in Oblate spirituality. Officially creatd in 1893 at the General Chapter, the AMMI-Winnipeg chapter was created in 1948 by Omer Laplante o.m.i. who was much inspired by the orientation, caracteristics and, to a large extent, structure of the Catholic Action Mouvement. Under the provincilate of Paul Piché o.m.i., the link between Catholic Action and the AMMI was broken. In 1959, Omer Laplante became once again the director of the AMMI. Its main function was to foster christian training, Oblate vocations and cooperation with Oblate works. In 1978, the AMMI had 3,500 members. Its activities have included regular meetings, audiovisual presentations, PRH sessions, fall Supper-Meetings and the publication, since 1968 of the periodical Mon Frère et Moi whose circulation went to 2,400.