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The Impact of the Old Catholic Mission

The Mission has had a long presence in Fort McMurray. While the most obvious role of a priest or nun is to provide for the spiritual well-being of a population, the presence of Oblates of Mary Immaculate and the Grey Nuns of Montreal has given the Mission in this community a humanitarian direction.

The Church often required that missionaries knew many languages and learned the local languages in their communities. Many of the priests in Fort McMurray came from French Canada and struggled with English, Cree, Montagnais, and Chipewyan. By the time they were established in Fort McMurray, the priests were fluent in these languages. This not only allowed them to give services according to who their parishioners were, but also allowed them to be translators between different members of the community. They crossed the French-English barrier, and they made connections with First Nations people.

The mission was involved in the building and administration of St. Gabriel's Hospital and the Separate School System, supporting the Grey Nuns and lending the lay brothers for construction and maintenance needs. The mission chapel and the warehouse church both housed families who otherwise would not have a home, and later the chapel served as a place for youth to meet.

Priests in Fort McMurray often taught Fort McMurray's children, and not only in catechism. This is true from Father Laffont, founder of the Mission, who taught local children to swim, to Father Mercredi, who coached sports in the 40s and 50s, and Father Brown, taught art in the 60s.

In ways unique to the community's needs and the missionaries' abilities, the Old Catholic Mission provided a foundation of support for Fort McMurray until its movement to Heritage Park in 1973.

For more information about the Grey Nuns, read "Northerners Say: 'Thanks, Sisters,'" by Agnus Sutherland s.g.m, and published by Les Oeuvres de Mère d'Youville in 1996; "The Place We Call Home," written by Irwin Huberman and published by the Historical Book Society of Fort McMurray in 2001; "The Flying Bishop," by Gabriel Breynat, omi, and published by Burns & Oates in 1955; "The History of the Roman Catholic Church of Fort McMurray 1911-1987," by Cynthia O'Donnell in 1987; "Arctic Journal II: A Time for Change," written by Bern Will Brown and published by Novalis in 1998; "Meeting Place of Many Waters," by Darlene J. Comfort and Comfort Enterprises in 1973; and "Alberta's North: A History, 1890-1950," written by Donald G. Wetherell and Irene Kmet, published by The University of Alberta Press in 2000.

In this exhibit, the Fort McMurray Historical Society has quoted from "Extracts from the Mission Diary," 1911-1914. There is no known remaining copy of this book; the quotations used were found in Cynthia O'Donnell's 1987 "The History of the Roman Catholic Church of Fort McMurray 1911-1987."

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Aerial view of Fort McMurray
May 1965
Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada


Credits:
Bob Duncan
Fort McMurray Historical Society