St. Boniface Cathedral

The first St.Boniface Cathedral was established by Archbishop Provencher when he arrived in the Red River Settlement in 1818. The first Cathedral served as a residence, school, and chapel for Catholics in the region.

A second cathedral began construction a year later to better accommodate the growing community, and the oak construction was finished in 1825, featuring a tall bell tower. In 1832, a third cathedral began construction, this time using part of the second construction in the building of the new. The new cathedral featured a three-storey addition and two twin spires on-top of the cathedral. This cathedral would unfortunately burn down on 1860, destroying the cathedral and the mission's historical documents. 

The building featured on Fonseca's map was the fourth cathedral constructed in St. Boniface. Constructed out of a much more expensive stone rather than lumber, this cathedral was smaller than the last, with only one spire and similar in design to the second cathedral built in 1819. The bells from the previous cathedral survived the fire but were damaged as they crashed from the towers down to the floor. The bells were sent back to their maker in London to be re-cast into a single bell. This company was Whitechapel Bell Foundry, the same foundry that re-cast Big Ben in 1858, the same bell that now rings from the Elizabeth Tower in London, England.

The St. Boniface Cathedral Cemetery holds many notable Manitobans, including the body of Métis leader and the Founding Father of Manitoba Louis Riel, whose funeral was held in the St. Boniface Cathedral in 1885 after his hanging in Regina that same year for treason. His grave can still be found in the cemetery, along with other memorable Manitobans. 

In 1900, a new cathedral was proposed by Archbishop Langevin as St.Boniface was named the seat of the Archdiocese of St.Boniface, the highest Catholic authority in Western Canada. It would be completed in 1908, and would once again feature two bell towers, but in towered in size compared to any of its predecessors. The fourth cathedral remained until 1909, but was eventually torn down to make more space. The 1908 construction was designed by Montreal architecture firm Marchand and Haskell, and is "the best example of French Romanesque architecture in Manitoba." It had room for 2,500 patrons, and became one of the "most imposing churches in Western Canada."

​On July 22, 1968, a fire broke out and caused extensive damage to the massive church, effectively gutting the inside. Now the current St.Boniface Cathedral which began construction in 1972, utilizes the outer walls of its burnt predecessor. The architect of the build, Étienne Gaboury replied the following when asked why he chose situate the new cathedral within the ruins of the previous facade, said: "'We're not trying to reconstruct the old church, we have these ruins, the burning is part of the church's history and from these a new cathedral arises.'" 

St.Boniface Cathedral is still a commanding landmark within the City of Winnipeg, and though it has went through many changes over its 200+ years in Red River, it still holds so much history to explore. 

The address of the current St.Boniface Cathedral is 190 avenue de la Cathédrale.