In 1854, Father Louis LaFleche was assigned to the Mission de la riviere Salle and began to build a church. In 1857, the small mission was elevated to the status of parish and was named “St. Norbert” by Bishop Alexandre-Antonin Tache in honour of the first bishop of St. Boniface Bishop Norbert Provencher.
The first church was built on the current site in 1857 and was made of logs. The newer building that replaced it in 1883 burned down in 1929. The current church was completed in 1937. The beautiful building has twin towers, and houses the body of Father Joseph-Noël Ritchot, St. Norbert’s parish priest from 1862-1905. Father Ritchot was a supporter of the Métis people, and of Louis Riel. Richot was a member of a delegation that travelled to Ottawa to meet with representatives of the Canadian government regarding the 1870 transfer of land in the Red River Settlement from the Hudson’s Bay Company to the Dominion of Canada.
More Information
St. Norbert Catholic Church – Tourisme Riel
Government of Manitoba – St. Norbert History