SPECIAL NOTE: Please note that Olivier Lafreniere, who wrote many letters, is the brother of Ovide Benjamin Lafreniere.
Pembina Mountain (Montagne de Pembina)
January 17, 1878
To His Grace Monsignor Taché, St. Boniface.
Monsignor
I have promised to find you a lot (place) of wood
for the church, but these last few days I have not had the time to search for
it. It's been 2 days since we started
looking, M. Lapierre and I, and it is difficult to finder a section all in
wood, but in section 14 township 5 place (rang) 9 we found the SW quarter
well-wooded.
We have talked among ourselves, and all the
inhabitants here would like me to ask of you permission to commence to build a
small chapel. We will give, M.
Charbonneau and myself, 1.5 acres each in section 35 township 4 place (rang)
9. This would then find itself in the
present centre of the parish and in a beautiful place.
I am your very humble and very devoted servant.
Olivier Lafrenière
St- Leon, April 20, 1879
To His Grace Monsignor Taché
Monsignor
Allow me to address myself to you again to talk to
you about the church. I have received a
letter from Rev. Father Gladu who told me that the lot owned by the Hudson’s
Bay Co. is not for sale and that you desire that we work well together to find
another suitable location for building the church and that we should write to
you on this subject; but I believe it is difficult to get along well now
because the group of the parish who is found in the northwest of section 3
insist that the church must be made within section 3 and that the ground is
suitable, but in this we ask ourselves if this would be working together for choosing
the suitable location. The group of
inhabitants who are in the southeast of the parish say that as we are not going
to have the church on the lot of the Co. that it is at least at my house, and
it is the place that is the most central and I will confirm that it’s here that
will make the least disputes and if we would take the voices that would have it
here because we are more numbrous and with a large difference, at least a mile
and a half of marsh south of the small lake of section 3 and nobody of this
side can avoid it without travelling 3 miles in passing north of the lake, and
while on the other side there is not more than 2 or 3 who would have to travel
around this marsh and they are closer; all the others are to the north and have
well-built paths.
I am going to try to inform you of the sections the
furthest away; it’s the section 4-5-9 of the west, and to the north it’s the
section 20-5-9, and to the south section 6-4-8, and to the east it is section
28-4-8. I hope that you will forgive me
if I am a little long on this letter, but I was begged by all of this side to
give you all these explanations because were it only myself I would not make a
large difference; only that I would like there to be as few disputes as
possible, because for making something we need that everyone put in a
hand. We ask again for a delay of a few
weeks for deciding the thing so that all the arrivals are well-placed and we
ask you as well your advice on how that we must next act; if we must decide by
elections or otherwise.
Our school goes very well and we hope that that will
make a large goodness in our young colony and from this we must give much
recognition to Reverend Father Gladu for having us obtain something so grand.
Accept, sir, the feelings of respect and loyalty of
your very humble and very obedient servant.
Olivier
Lafrenière
Saint-Leon, February 13, 1879 – the parish of
St-Leon, Pembina Mountain, has voted for
the first time 3 commissioners for the school district. Those elected are E. Lafreniere (sic), Ovide
Lafontaine (sic) and Ismael Desroches.
(LE
METIS)
Did you know that.... Saint-Leon was erected a
mission and a parish the same day? In
fact Mons. Tache, through two secretaries, signed two decrees on April 22,
1879, the first designating Saint-Leon as a mission and the second as a
parish. Here is the text of the two
decrees.
DECREE OF THE CANONIC
ERECTION OF THE MISSION OF ST-LEON.
Alexandre Antonin Tache, by
the mercy of God and the Grace of the Holy See, Archbishop of St. Boniface.
To all those who present themselves will be made to
know that We recognize this land as a Mission under the name of Saint-Leon I
and so the day of celebration will be the eleventh of April. This is applying to the territory known as
the fourth and fifth Townships of (rangs) VIII and IX to the west of the
principal meridian of the Province of Manitoba.
The said Mission of St-Leon is entirely under our
jurisdiction to the charging of the missionaries that We or our Successors will
judge to be sent to conform in entirety to the ecclesiastic rules established
in this Archdiocese; especially administered are the Sacraments, the word of
God and the other particulars of religion to the loyal of said mission; in
addition to these here the said missionaries must bear respect and obedience,
to assist in the exercise of worship and to the well-being of said missionaries
following our ordinances.
And by the power of present Decree the said Mission
of St-Leon becomes a civil corporation by virtue of Chapter XXIII of statutes
of Manitoba 37 and 38 Vic. (July 22
1874).
The present Decree will be read and published after
the first mass that will take place in the said Mission after the reception of
said Decree.
Given to St. Boniface under Our Signature and Seal
and the Counter Signature of Our secretary the twenty-second day of April of
the year one thousand eight hundred and seventy-nine.
Alex. Arch. Of St. Boniface
G. Dugast,
ptre., sec. Adhoc.
August 14, 1890
This decree is modified
with replacement of the word Mission by that of Parish.
Alex.
Arch.
DECREE OF THE CANONIC
ERECTION OF THE PARISH OF ST-LEON.
Alexandre Antonin Tache, by
the mercy of God and the Grace of the Holy See, Archbishop of St. Boniface.
To all those who present themselves will be made to know
that We recognize this land as a Parish under the name of Saint-Leon I and so
the day of celebration will be the eleventh of April. This is applying to the territory known as
the fourth and fifth Townships of (rangs) VIII and IX to the west of the principal
meridian of the Province of Manitoba.
The said Parish of St-Leon is entirely under our
jurisdiction to the charging of the priests or pastors that We or our
Successors will judge to be sent to conform in entirety to the ecclesiastic
rules established in this Archdiocese; especially administered are the
Sacraments, the word of God and the other particulars of religion to the loyal
of said Parish; in addition to these here the said priests or pastors must bear
respect and obedience, to assist in the exercise of worship and to the
well-being of said priests or pastors following our ordinances.
And by the power of present Decree the said Parish
of St-Leon becomes a civil corporation by virtue of Chapter XXIII of statutes
of Manitoba 37 and 38 Vic. (July 22
1874).
The present Decree will be read and published after
the first parochial mass of St-Leon the first Sunday after its reception.
Given to St. Boniface under Our Signature and Seal
and the Counter Signature of Our secretary the twenty-second day of April of
the year one thousand eight hundred and seventy-nine.
Alex. Arch. Of St. Boniface
Joseph McCarthy, ptre. Omi
Secretary
Received on February 14,
1887 and published the 20th of the same month at the parochial mass.
J. Theobald Bitsche, priest
To His Greatness Mons.
Archbishop of St. Boniface, Manitoba.
Monsignor:
Like the last times we have spoken so much of
Manitoba, there are many German Catholic families of Ontario who would wish to
settle there. But before making the
decisive step they desire to better know the place where they would be able to
choose as their new home. It’s why one
M. Anthony Messner wants to do an exploratory voyage. Since there are moments I find myself in
Ontario while preaching missions, and that starting the month of July I find
myself free, this M. Messner has invited me to accompany him in offering to pay
the cost of my travels. I would readily
accept this offer in having the hope to provide some usefulness in your diocese.
I am, Monsignor, a member of the congregation of the
Precious Blood of Rome, and at the moment free of all engagements. My superiors in Rome have desired for a long
time to found some missions in the new world.
I am ready to make the first step and if it goes well I will inform my
superiors. As for me, I can speak
French, German, Italian and English.
In the hope that Your Greatness would well accept my
offers, I beg him to be in agreement with my respecting feelings towards him.
Rev. Theobald Bitsche
C.P.P.S.
Formosa, Bruce Co. Ontario
May 26, 1879
To His Greatness Mons. Alex.
Tache
Arch. Of St. Boniface
Monsignor:
According to the counsel of Your Greatness wanted to
give me, I have accompanied M. Ant. Messner de Formosa Ontario on his excursion
to Manitoba. We arrived at St. Boniface
on July 13. (1879)
We had hoped to find one or two entire townships for
our colony but this, to us, was impossible.
After two excursions we decided to establish
ourselves in the Pembina Mountains, by St-Leon.
The earth appeared to be excellent and the climate very healthy. The Catholic inhabitants received us with
much kindness, and they were very happy to hear of other Catholics going to
settle beside them, and as well they hoped to have just as soon a priest
amongst them.
M. Messner assured a large area of land that he
bought. He returned to Formosa. He is counting on returning here around
September with more families. His
intention is to establish a general store and to build a mill and a sawmill
near the area that Your Greatness designated for the future church.
I hope that soon we will have at St-Leon a colony of
Catholics both pious and hard working.
The families that will come from Ontario are the children of Alsaciens
and German Lorains who were established 30 to 50 years ago in the vicinity of
Guelph. Many between them speak English
well, and several have not forgotten their French.
M. Messner left his two sons, ages 16 and 17 years
in the college of St. Boniface. The two
were students of the college of La Salle in Toronto.
For not making useless costs, and at the same time
to render service to new colonists, I am, in following the counsel of R.P.
Tissot and of M. the priest Cherrier, staying at St. Boniface where I await the
orders of Your Greatness, ready to work as much as I possibly can, for the
glory of God, and for the salvation of the soul.
I ask of you, Monsignor, to bless our enterprise and
to accept my feelings of the utmost respect and of perfect dedication in having
the honor to be, of Your Greatness, the very humble servant of Jesus Christ.
R.P.
Theobald Bitsche C.P.P.S., Saint-Boniface August 4, 1879
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