The First St. Mary’s Ukranian Catholic Church in Mountain Road was originally built in 1904. The first Ukrainian settlers to this region arrived in 1896. At first, they attended church services at Hun’s Valley (Polonia). In 1904, a committee was formed to build a log church at Mountain Road on land donated by Mati Baranuik. As the settlement grew, the church became too small and plans were formed for the construction of a larger, more elaborate church. The original church was used from 1904 to 1925.
Between 1924 and 1925, with the supervision of Father Philip Ruh, a majestic wooden cathedral was built using free lumber (harvested from Riding Mountain National Park) and volunteer labour, at a total cost of $18,000. The church took 11 months to build. Shaped like a cross with a capacity for several hundred parishioners, 130 stained glass windows, and an interior painted with brightly-coloured murals, the building had no pews or electricity. Light was provided by hundreds of candles and parishioners stood during services. When it was constructed it was considered the largest wooden structure in Canada.
On August 19th 1966, lightning struck the church and it burned to the ground. As the church burned local residents gathered to watch the uncontrollable fire. My Mom watched as my Grandpa ran into the church, along with other local men, to save as many items as they could. Some of the statues that were removed as the fire burned are placed in the present day church. The only structure that survived the fire was the bell tower which still stands on the site today.
The present church was built to replace it, at a cost of $93,000. The first Mass took place on March 11th 1968. Mass is still held at the church today, although regular Sunday services have been replaced with more irregular dates.
Monuments have been erected at the site to pay tribute to both the church as well as the Mountain Road School. Be sure to take time to view the pictures on the monuments to understand and appreciate the grandeur and beauty of this site.
If a church event is taking place please respectfully pass this cache by until it is compleated. Cache placed with permission from the First St. Mary’s Ukrainian Catholic Church board.