Local # 48 Lebret, Balcarres, Abernethy
Contact Information
Historical Lebret
The site of Lebret first came to non-First Nations outside attention in 1814 when Abbé Provencher visited. A further such visit occurred when Abbé Picard from Pembina arrived in 1841 and wintered with John McDonald.
In 1864 the site later became the village of Lebret for the Catholic mission, established in 1866 as one of the earliest in what became the Province of Saskatchewan in 1905.
It "became the main centre of Catholicism for the Métis people in the region and a base for Oblate priests who travelled the southern plains. The federal government financed the Qu'Appelle Indian Residential School. in Lebret. which started in 1884 and run by missionaries of the Catholic Church.
The village was incorporated in 1912 and the fieldstone Sacred Heart Church built in 1925.
In 1929 the landmark stations of the cross and the small chapel shrine on the hill overlooking Lebret were erected. Until the latter half of the 20th century Lebret was an important religious and educational centre. In addition to the residential school and the convent, there was a public school, and the Oblates established a theological training centre, Sacred Heart Scholasticate, on the south side of Mission Lake.
Today, Lebret remains a picturesque, yet very quiet, community retaining its vitality while other towns once of equal significance and size steadily dwindle in population and economic activity. Lebret is a prominent community and has one of the most historical Metis cemeteries in the Qu'Applle Valley.
Mailing Address
Box 234
Abernathy, SK
S0A 2A0
Tanshi!
Voice of The People MN-S CONSTITUTIONAL REFORM Check calendar for dates!