1861 - A New Mission

A Social Studies story for Grade 2 - What was life like back then?

Father Albert Lacombe arrived in Lac Ste. Anne in 1853, but he quickly began to search for a more suitable land to settle permanently. He wanted a place with fertile soil for agriculture and a place closer to the Blackfoot camps so that he could minister to them. Father Lacombe considered much of the land near the North Saskatchewan River, but he continually returned to one particular area. The soil was good, and there was wooded land as well, useful for constructing buildings. It was also close to Fort Edmonton and a mission Father Lacombe had established there, St Joachim.

in January of 1861, Father Lacombe brought Bishop Taché to the proposed mission site. Bishop Taché gave his blessing to the mission, giving it the name St Albert.

From Black Robe's Vision vol. 1:
Page 18
Page 19


Related Posts:
1861 - The Founding of St Albert