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January 17, 2010 Regina Archbishop Daniel Bohan said it was fascinating for him to be posted to an area of Canada he had read and heard about growing up in New Brunswick. He was referring to the classic battle of the Little Big Horn where Sioux Chief Sitting Bull defeated General George Custer after which Sitting Bull took his people across the Medicine Line (Canadian Border) and safety into what is now south west Saskatchewan. The Archbishop made the reference in his homily during an Archdiocesan Centennial celebration of the Moose Jaw/Gravelbourg deaneries in the Co-Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption. The celebration included the awarding of Archdiocesan Awards recognizing 10 individuals for long and faithful service to parishes within the 2 deaneries. The awards were created as part of the Archdiocesan Centennial celebrations and the recipients were the first in the Archdiocese to receive them. As he has done at previous Centennial celebrations, the Archbishop gave a brief history of how the Gravelbourg area in south western Saskatchewan came to be. It was during this part of his homily that he referenced Sitting Bull and the Sioux who sought refuge in an area south and west of this community. French speaking Metis nomadic hunters from Manitoba came to the area in 1870 and when one of their number became ill a priest from the Oblate mission at Fort Qu’Appelle was called. He decided to stay and in 1880 the first parish was established at Willowbunch in what became the Diocese of Gravelbourg in 1930. There were then about 30,000 Roman Catholics in 30 parishes. Declining rural population resulted in the diocese being absorbed into the Regina Archdiocese and the Saskatoon Diocese in 1998. The mass was bilingual recognizing that Gravelbourg was established mostly by French speaking people and remains largely a French community. Bohan used both French and English in his homily and in the mass. Several French hymns were sung, the prayers of the faithful were said in several languages by representatives of different cultures, some in native dress acknowledging the changing demographics in Saskatchewan. Reverends Armand Guenette, Richard Lariviere, Roger Ducharme and Mr. Andre Moquin received Papal awards announced earlier but were unable to attend previous ceremonies held in Regina. Lavinea Dionne, Berniece Foly, Gail Foley, Helen Foley, George and Mildred Quarrie of Coronach; Reverend John Foley of Hodgeville, Sister Margo Hamel mo, Gravelbourg, Reverend Stephen Ripplinger and Fernand Ducharme (both retired) and Gerard Gauvin, Swift Current received Archdiocesan Awards for long and faithful service to the Archdiocesan Church, their own parishes and their communities. Dorothy Knoss of Rockglen, Deceased August 9, 2009, was recognized posthumously. The award consists of a medal struck specifically for the award and a glass etched desk/shelf plaque. Frank Flegel  Enlarge |
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