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Ste. Therese Roman Catholic Church

Lorne, Manitoba, R0G, Canada

Formally Recognized: 1989/12/11

Contextual view, from the northeast, of Ste. Therese Roman Catholic Church, Cardinal, 2006; Historic Resources Branch, Manitoba Culture, Heritage and Tourism, 2006
Contextual View
Primary elevations, from the northwest, of Ste. Therese Roman Catholic Church, Cardinal, 2006; Historic Resources Branch, Manitoba Culture, Heritage and Tourism, 2006
Primary Elevations
Interior view of Ste. Therese Roman Catholic Church, Cardinal, 2006; Historic Resources Branch, Manitoba Culture, Heritage and Tourism, 2006
Interior

Other Name(s)

Ste. Therese Roman Catholic Church
Cardinal Church
Chapelle Ste. Thérèse de Cardinal
Église de Cardinal
Chapelle Ste. Thérèse de Cardinal

Links and documents

Construction Date(s)

1927/01/01 to 1939/12/31

Listed on the Canadian Register: 2007/05/18

Statement of Significance

Description of Historic Place

Ste. Therese Roman Catholic Church, also known as the Cardinal Church, is a tall wood-frame structure erected in stages between 1927 and 1939 in Cardinal. The municipal designation applies to the church and the grounds it occupies.

Heritage Value

Ste. Therese Roman Catholic Church, a landmark in the Cardinal area, is a quality example of ecclesiastical architecture in the French and Quebecois classical tradition, as characterized by its symmetry, large nave and formal tower soaring above its surroundings. The wooden structure also symbolizes the fierce pride and commitment of parishioners, who, desiring to establish their own identity and confident in their community's prospects, persevered with the challenges of fundraising and church construction even though this broke with their tradition of attending mass in nearby Notre Dame de Lourdes. Their 1927-29 chapel, expanded a decade later to include a sacristy and tower, was dedicated to Saint Therese of the Child Jesus and featured a wooden altar crafted by Francois Blain. Closed in 1960 at a time of Cardinal's decline, the church found new life in the early 1990s when descendants of the area's early residents mobilized to save it with a complete restoration.

Source: Rural Municipality of Lorne By-law No. 1497, December 11, 1989

Character-Defining Elements

Key elements that define the heritage character of the Ste. Therese Roman Catholic Church site include:
- its location on the edge of the village of Cardinal, amid mature trees, grassed grounds and rolling agricultural fields

Key elements that define the church's unpretentious, classically inspired architecture include:
- the symmetrical main mass consisting of a square tower, a high, elongated nave under a gable roof and a pentagonal apse, with a perpendicularly appended, gable-roofed sacristy
- the dramatic tower featuring second-level eyelet windows, a central stained-glass bull's eye, a pyramidal roof interrupted by a belfry with pointed arched openings, an octagonal steeple with metal sheathing, finial and ornamented Latin cross, etc.
- the mostly pointed arched openings in simple wood surrounds, including the clear multi-paned windows with basic wooden tracery, the coloured-glass entrance transom, etc.
- the modest materials and details, including the horizontal wood siding, cedar-shingled roofs, trim and corner boards painted to contrast with the facades, double entrance doors, decorative return eaves, etc.

Key elements that define the church's interior layout, finishes and details include:
- the intact formal plan organized by the vestibule, centre-aisle nave, sanctuary, etc.
- the altar set behind a large pointed arch inscribed with a banner and featuring a lowered ceiling converging above a large statue of St. Therese, intact wooden communion rails, etc.
- the plank floors, walls and arched ceilings throughout
- the details and finishes, including the historically accurate colour palette, simple mouldings and trim, wooden pews, L-shaped choir loft stairs, the plank confessionals and closets, etc.

Recognition

Jurisdiction

Manitoba

Recognition Authority

Local Governments (MB)

Recognition Statute

Manitoba Historic Resources Act

Recognition Type

Municipal Heritage Site

Recognition Date

1989/12/11

Historical Information

Significant Date(s)

n/a

Theme - Category and Type

Building Social and Community Life
Religious Institutions

Function - Category and Type

Current

Religion, Ritual and Funeral
Religious Facility or Place of Worship

Historic

Architect / Designer

n/a

Builder

n/a

Additional Information

Location of Supporting Documentation

RM of Lorne 307-3rd Street Box 10 Somerset MB R0G 2L0

Cross-Reference to Collection

Fed/Prov/Terr Identifier

M0036

Status

Published

Related Places

n/a

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