From the Archives


On this page, we share from time to time the things that our archivist found and wants to share with you! It tells you about our history in Canada and how our mission began and developed over the years. "From the Archives" currently draws on content from the Franciscan Archives of Western Canada, which contains records from BC, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. To learn more, visit us at archives.franciscanfriars.ca.
Last year, the Archives received a grant from the American Academy of Franciscan History to preserve and make accessible the photographs and audiovisual materials in our collection. In addition to photographs, negatives, and slides, our Archives also holds VCR tapes, film reels, vinyl records, (…)
Construction on Red Lake church in Ontario in October 1952. Fr. Stan Frytek is standing second from the left. Written on the back of the photograph: “Part of kitchenette visible. Cement mixer we used. It took 250 sacks of cement for job. Boy in (…)
From 1946-1953, Fr. Stan (Ladislaus) Frytek was in charge of St. John’s mission at Red Lake in northwestern Ontario and many of its outlying missions, including McKenzie Island, Cochenour, Balmertown, Finn Town, Madsen, Campbell, and Dickenson, as well as Lac du Bonnet and Bisset (…)
Every month we share an interesting photo from our archives! — Friars harvesting potatoes in a field at La Resurrection Friary in Montreal, 24 Sep 1923. (…)
Every month we share an interesting photo from our archives! — Members of the Boy Scouts troupe formed by Fr. Martin Bettin in Ilo, Peru, 1966. (…)
The Franciscans from the Custody of Christ the King of western Canada arrived in Peru as missionaries in July 1962. They were assigned the missionary district in southern Peru in the department of Moquegua, looking after two cities, Moquegua and Ilo. The first (…)
Map depicting locations of Franciscan communities in Canada, June 1930. Includes a list of the names and dates of foundation of each house on the back. (…)
Construction began on Holy Rosary Cathedral in Regina in June 1912. Below are two photographs from the Archives depicting the construction process. The first mass in the cathedral was celebrated on 8 Dec 1912 for the Feast of the Immaculate Conception and was held (…)
Here in Alberta, where the Franciscan Archives of Western Canada is located, archives across the province are celebrating Archives Week to promote awareness and access to archives. The Universal Declaration on Archives states: Archives record decisions, actions and memories. Archives are unique and irreplaceable (…)