Gravelbourg Ecclesiastical Buildings
{{Short description|National Historic Site of Canada}}
{{Use Canadian English|date=January 2023}}
{{Infobox Historic building
|name = Gravelbourg Ecclesiastical Buildings
|image = La Cathédrale, Gravelbourg, SK.jpg
|caption =
|map_type =
|coordinates = {{Coord|49|52|20.6|N|106|33|26.3|W|region:CA|display=inline,title}}
|location_town = Gravelbourg, Saskatchewan
|location_country = Canada
|architect = Joseph-Ernest Fortin
|engineer =
|construction_start_date = 1917
|completion_date = 1919 (additions in 1927)
|date_demolished =
|cost =
|structural_system =
|style = Classical Revival
|size =
|embedded = {{Designation list|embed=yes|designation1=NHSC|designation1_offname=Gravelbourg Ecclesiastical Buildings|designation1_date=1995}}
}}
{{Portal|Christianity}}
The Gravelbourg Ecclesiastical Buildings are a National Historic Site of Canada consisting of a cathedral (Our Lady of Assumption Co-Cathedral), bishop's residence, and convent.{{CRHP|11188|Gravelbourg Ecclesiastical Buildings}}
History
The buildings were constructed by Joseph-Ernest Fortin, an architect from Montreal. The convent and bishop's residence were constructed in 1917 and 1918, respectively, with the cathedral itself constructed between 1918 and 1919. Later additions were made to the convent in 1927.{{cite web |url= https://www.pc.gc.ca/apps/dfhd/page_nhs_eng.aspx?id=850|title= Gravelbourg Ecclesiastical Buildings National Historic Site of Canada|website= Parks Canada Directory of Federal Heritage Designations|access-date= 15 July 2021}} Gravelbourg was founded by Louis-Pierre Gravel on behalf of the Catholic Church in order to encourage French settlement in Saskatchewan.{{cite thesis|last= Hamilton|first= Beckey|date= 2006|title= Francophone settlement in the Gravelbourg Block Settlement and Francophone and Metis Settlement in the Willow Bunch Block Settlement in southwestern Saskatchewan, 1870--1926|publisher= University of Regina|url= http://pcag.uwinnipeg.ca/Prairie-Perspectives/PP-Vol05/Hamilton.pdf|access-date= 15 July 2021|archive-date= 24 March 2014|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140324020542/http://pcag.uwinnipeg.ca/Prairie-Perspectives/PP-Vol05/Hamilton.pdf|url-status= dead}} Its position as the centre of Franco-Saskatchewanian settlement led to the establishment of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Gravelbourg in 1930. Despite the suppression of the diocese in 1998, the cathedral's significance is reflected in its status as co-cathedral of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Regina.{{cite web |url= https://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/diocese/dg008.html|title= Diocese of Gravelbourg|website= Catholic-Hierarchy.org|access-date= 15 July 2021}}
The buildings were designated a National History Site of Canada in 1995 due to its significance in the history of French Canadian colonization.