Grouard, Apostolic Vicariate of

GROUARD, APOSTOLIC VICARIATE of. – The mission is situated in the southwestern part of the Canadian Far North. Its evangelization began through hunters who, speaking to the natives about God and marrying Indigenous women, taught them and their children the prayers and principal truths of the faith. After 1818 the territory was visited by several secular priests, and in 1841 the Oblates of Mary Immaculate arrived. The zeal of these missionaries succeeded in winning several tribes to Catholicism. New stations were founded along the great river route leading toward the Arctic Ocean, and numerous provisional chapels were built. On 8 April 1862 Pius IX detached the regions of Athabasca and Mackenzie from the diocese of St. Boniface de la Rivière Rouge (now Manitoba) in order to establish them as an apostolic vicariate entrusted to the Oblates of Mary Immaculate; on 30 July 1901 it was divided into the vicariates of Athabasca and Mackenzie. On 15 March 1927 part of the territory of Athabasca was united with Mackenzie, and the regions of Great Slave Lake and Yukon were erected into the vicariate of G.

This locality originated from the St. Bernard station (15 June 1882), where Indians and Métis gathered, and took its name from the apostolic vicar, Mgr. E. Grouard, while he was still alive. He was a great benefactor of civilization. B. on 2 Feb. 1840 at Brulon, immediately after being ordained a priest (4 May 1862), he set out with Fr. E. Petitot for western Canada. On 21 Nov. 1863 he became an Oblate of Mary Immaculate, and the following year began his ministry, which he later recounted in Souvenirs de mes soixante ans d'apostolat dans l'Atabaska-Mackenzie (Lyon 1923). On 18 Oct. 1890 he was promoted apostolic vicar of Atabaska-Mackenzie; d. on 7 March 1931.

The mission of G. has an area of 224,596 sq. km. (equal to that of England and Scotland together). The territory consists of a vast plain broken only by a few hills and by the Saw-ridge mountain range; it is covered with extensive forests and with prairies cultivated with oats, barley, fodder grain, potatoes, and legumes, which reach full maturity despite the severity of the climate. The thermometer falls to 40 and 50 degrees below

zero: the winter is long and severe, and the waterways remain frozen until the beginning of May. Summer is limited to the months of July and August. Communications are fairly well developed. Sledges are still in use at the mission stations of Vermillon and Wabaska; in the other areas they have been replaced by horse-drawn vehicles and automobiles. The inhabitants number 60,000, most of them whites of English and French origin; the indigenous population numbers a few thousand and has very primitive customs. The following statistical data are taken from the 1949 annual report: Catholics 20,714, of whom 18,760 are of the Latin rite and 1,954 of the Greek rite; schismatics 2,262; Jews 28; Protestants 29,580; atheists 1,137. There are 8 secular priests, 57 Oblates of Mary Immaculate, and 4 Redemptorists; 25 brothers; 208 sisters; 21 catechists; 100 teachers. Quasi-parishes 25; primary stations 24, secondary stations 118. Schools: 31 elementary schools with 2,372 children; 30 middle schools with 682 pupils; 15 secondary schools with 254 pupils; 5 hospitals with 173 beds; 6 pharmacies with 7,226 annual consultations; 4 orphanages with 236 children. Three periodicals are printed there, with a total circulation of about one thousand copies. There are also several charitable and Catholic Action associations.