PRINCE ALBERT, DIOCESE of. — In the province of Saskatchewan, Canada. The Catholic population numbers 32,475 souls, gathered in 44 parishes and 78 secondary missions; 36 diocesan priests and 70 religious priests, including more than 50 Oblates of Mary Immaculate, exercise the sacred ministry.
The diocese of P. A. occupies the whole central part of the province of Saskatchewan. The first priests to pass through its territory were, in 1838, Abbots Norbert-François Blanchet and Modeste Demers, of the diocese of Québec. On 28 May 1842 Jean-Baptiste Thibault, also from Québec, arrived at Fort Carlton and remained there for a week in apostolic work, preaching, baptizing, and hearing confessions. As soon as they arrived in the Canadian West, in 1845, the Oblates of Mary Immaculate were entrusted with this territory. In 1880 they had three residences there: Duck Lake, Saint-Laurent-de-Grandin, and Battleford. In 1882, Fr. André settled permanently at P. A.
The small town was chosen as the seat of the apostolic vicariate of Saskatchewan, founded in October 1890 with Mgr. Albert Pascal as its first apostolic vicar; on 3 December 1907 the vicariate was elevated to a suffragan diocese of Regina. Mgr. Pascal (d. in 1920) was its first bishop.