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March 4, 2010 Regina’s first Roman Catholic parish was the site of a special mass held March 4 in Blessed Sacrament Church with bishops from western Canada in attendance as part of the Regina Archdiocese Centennial celebrations. The Western Canada Bishops, for the first time, held their annual meeting at St. Michael’s Retreat House, Lumsden and came to Regina for the special mass. The Archdiocese is celebrating a year of Centennial that began on Pentecost, May 31, 2009 and will end June 6, 2010 with a huge gathering at the Brandt Centre. The day also had some significance as March 4, 1910 was the date the Regina Archdiocese was established. Blessed Sacrament church was originally St. Mary’s and the original building was about 2 blocks from the current site on Scarth street across from the Hotel Saskatchewan. The current church was built in 1905 and it became Blessed Sacrament in 1934 when St. Mary’s moved to the then east side of the city. Regina Archbishop Daniel Bohan in his homily recounted how the parish had a role in the early history of Regina: Louis Riel’s body was held for about 3 weeks under the main altar of the original church until it became safe to transport it to St. Boniface where he was buried. He also recounted how the great Chief Sitting Bull came to Southwest Saskatchewan, now part of the Regina Archdiocese, after defeating General George Custer in the Battle of the Little Big Horn. “These events underline the importance of the Plains Indians people who lived in this part of the continent for many thousands of years before the European people came here. We are aware that this coming was not always a blessing to the Indian people.” Bohan said the development of the Archdiocese occurred side by side “with these dramatic events,” as Catholic parishes were founded to provide pastoral care, first for the Metis hunters who followed the buffalo, then the arrival of the settlers from all over the world “who brought with them their faith and their church.” The celebration was also attended by a dozen priests from the Archdiocese as well as more than a hundred other people. The Blessed Sacrament Choir provided music and a choir from the Pere’ Athol Murray College of Notre Dame from Wilcox, Saskatchewan, added special songs during and after the service, ending their contributions with a rousing, traditional “Cheer, Cheer for ol’ Notre Dame.” The bishops, following the celebration, attended a banquet at the Hotel Saskatchewan. Frank Flegel 
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