Description of Historic Place

The Sacred Heart Parish, Rectory and The Stations of the Cross is a Municipal Heritage Property in the Village of Lebret. The property is located on two separate parcels of land. The first parcel, located at the head of the main street, features a one-storey fieldstone church constructed in 1925. The second parcel, located on the hill overlooking the village, features a 1929 wood-frame chapel and a procession of the Stations of the Cross along a pathway which rises to the top of the hill.

Heritage Value

The heritage value of the Sacred Heart Parish, Rectory and the Stations of the Cross lies in its association with the religious history of the area. In 1864, Bishop Tache, on his way from Fort Ellice to Ile-a-la-Crosse, stopped and said Mass for the Metis near present day Lebret and promised to return and start a mission. In 1865, he returned and established one of the earliest Catholic Missions in Saskatchewan. The mission became the focal point of Catholic church activities in the region, including the establishment of an Indian Residential school in the village and a training facility for Oblate brothers. A parish rectory was built in 1886 and housed the parish Priest until 2005, when it was demolished. The current church was constructed in 1925 and continues to host regular religious services.

The heritage value of the property also lies in the architecture of the church, which was influenced by traditional Quebec ecclesiastical architecture. This influence can be observed in the use of fieldstone as the main building material, the metal-clad belfry featuring the use of a column-supported pediment, round-arch windows with tracery and mouldings, and Tyndall Stone trim along the front façade.

The heritage value of the property also resides in its status as a landmark in the community. Located directly north of the church, at the base of the hill, is the small chapel and procession of the Stations of the Cross. Near the site of the current chapel, Bishop Tache erected a large 15-foot wooden cross in 1865 on the highest hilltop in the area, where it was visible for a great distance throughout the valley. As the place where the first wooden cross was erected is a gate that marks the entrance to the path up the hill to the 1929 shrine chapel. fourteen large white crosses along the path symbolize the road to Calvary that Christ walked on the day of his crucifixion. The shrine chapel and the Stations of the Cross are the focal point of the annual Corpus Christi celebrations.

Source:

Village of Lebret Bylaw No. 82.

Character-Defining Elements

The heritage value of the Sacred Heart Parish, Rectory and The Stations of the Cross resides in the following character-defining elements:
-those elements of the property that speak to its association with the religious history of the area and its landmark status, including the location of the church and chapel on their original sites, the fourteen wooden crosses and the pathway leading to the chapel;
-those elements of the church that reflect its traditional Quebec ecclesiastical architecture, including fieldstone exterior walls, regular massing, steep gable roof, rounded-arch windows with tracery and mouldings, metal-clad belfry tower with a column- supported pediment and Tyndall Stone trim.