St. Peter's Colony, Abbey get national recognition
It's been over 100 years, but one piece of local history has received some national recognition.
On July 11, a formal commemoration of the establishment of St. Peter's Colony and Abbey was held at St. Peter's Cathedral, just north of Muenster, a building which just turned 100.
A number of dignitaries from the federal government and local groups were on hand for the occasion.
St. Peter's Colony, founded in 1903, is one of the largest German group settlements in Canada, and represents a unique blend of ecclesiastical initiative by the Benedictines, the Catholic Settlement Society, and the German American Land Company, explained Allan Duddridge, with the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada.
These three groups created a vibrant and distinctive community characterized by the use of the German language, an almost universal adherence to the Roman Catholic faith, and a dependence upon church-sponsored institutions - especially the teaching and nursing orders - in the management of the colony's daily life, he explained.
"Over time, the forces of assimilation and later immigration have inevitably compromised the original character of St. Peter's Colony," he said. "Nevertheless, the establishment of the colony created one of the largest German group settlements in Canada, a Catholic centre whose influence was felt across the West."
Abbot Peter Novecosky, OSB, of St. Peter's Abbey was also on hand to commemorate the day.
Abbot Peter, wearing the same cross as Abbot Bruno, the first abbot for the monastery, pointed out that the parish and the monastery shared the same grounds for 17 years before the monks moved across Hwy. 5 to their current site.
"We've always had a great relationship with the parish and the community," Novecosky said. "A relationship of cooperation and goodwill, and friendship."
Dr. Francis Swyripa, a historian with the University of Alberta, spoke on the historic significance of the establishment of the colony and the abbey.
The establishment of the colony in 1903, spearheaded by the Benedictine monks, on 50 townships of reserved land, had a significant historical impact on the province, and the west, Swyripa noted.
"First, it represented a special type of ethno-religious settlement on the prairies: a combination of ecclesiastical initiative through the Order of St. Benedict, homesteading through the Catholic Settlement Society, and the land purchase through the German American Land Company based in Minnesota," she said. "Second, from 1921 to 1998, St. Peter's Abbey functioned as an Abbacy Nullius or independent diocese, its boundaries coinciding with those of St. Peter's Colony, the only one in Canada."
"And third, the pioneer Benedictine monks, together with the Elizabethan and Ursuline Sisters, not only supplied a fledging frontier society with crucial spiritual guidance, health care, and education, but also made an incalculable Catholic contribution to the infrastructure of early Saskatchewan."
The legacy of those early German settlers, Swyripa said, is still seen today in the churches that dominate the skyline, the place names of the communities, and the family names that still mark the farms and businesses.
Senator Raynell Andreychuck was on hand to bring greetings from the federal government on recognizing the important historical contribution that the Colony and the abbey had made to the development of the province and the country.
"We need to earnestly start recognizing that we are part of what made Canada what it is today," she said. "The ecclesiastical enterprise to establish a German Catholic settlement in the middle of the prairies took a great deal of courage, fortitude and vision. But it was faith that laid the foundation for the institutional infrastructure that has sustained the area for over a century."
This region made an indelible mark on the fabric of the nation, helping to create a cultural mosaic, Andreychuck noted.
A plaque commemorating the establishment of the colony and the abbey was unveiled at the end of the ceremony. The plaque will be mounted outside the church to remind visitors of the important achievements of St. Peter's Colony and the abbey in the region.
Story courtesy of Pat Peckover of the Humboldt Journal
