When it was created in 1904, Sacre-Couer (Sacred Heart) was Winnipeg¹s first French-language Roman Catholic parish. It came into being due to the growth of the Francophone community and the need to separate services from St. Mary¹s Church (now Cathedral), on St. Mary Avenue.
Archbishop Langevin of St. Boniface officiated at the dedication in 1905. Father Xiste Portelance, from Ottawa, of the Order of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate, became responsible for the parish.
An unique feature of the two-storey white brick building was the separation of functions by floor. The school, and the living quarters of the Sisters of the Holy Names who ran the school, were on the ground floor. The church was on the second.
In 1974 the Winnipeg School Division leased the space for a French immersion school. In 1990 it bought the property. It demolished the church in 1992 to make room for a French immersion program.
At the time of demolition the church housed the oldest French-speaking parish west of the Red River. At one time the church¹s congregation consisted of 500 families.
Photographed in 1992.
Included in Testaments of Faith, Manitoba’s Pioneer Churches.