Municipal Heritage Site No. 70
This is one of the finest rural Roman Catholic churches remaining in Manitoba. It is an outstanding example of the Romanesque Revival style characterised by the use of the round arch for openings and details. The building recalls Quebec precedents with its broad facade and towers at the corners. The asymmetrical arrangement of steeples was a favoured design element of several Roman Catholic congregations in southern Manitoba.
Fannystelle was founded in 1889 by a French philanthropist, the Countess of Albufera, who named it after her late friend Fanny Rives, a white marble bust of whom stands in the grounds of this church.
Records of the Societe Historique de St. Boniface show the town¹s original inhabitants were French ³Nobles² and ³well-to-do gentlemen.² Also, some of the more ³riotous² sons of French families were encouraged to join the settlement, hopefully to begin a ³new² life. So Fannystelle remained primarily French for some time.