A Roman Catholic church in Edmonton’s Oliver neighbourhood has been designated a municipal historic resource.
The St. Joachim mission was established at Fort Edmonton in 1850. The church was built at 110th Street and 99th Avenue in 1899 to accommodate the growing size of the congregation. The steeple and stained glass windows were added afterwards.
The church was the centre of Oliver’s Catholic community until St. Joseph’s Cathedral was built four blocks away in 1925. It is one of two Francophone parishes in Edmonton.
St. Joachim Church was built in 1899. (CBC )
City council designated the church as a municipal historic resource on Tuesday.
“This beautiful red brick church is an excellent representation of late nineteenth-century French-Canadian ecclesiastical architecture and an important part of Catholic history in Edmonton,” David Johnston, principal heritage planner for the City of Edmonton, said in a news release.
Francis X. Deggendorfer was the architect. According to the city, the Baroque and High Victorian Gothic details he incorporated into the interior and exterior of the building makes it recognizable.
The church was designated a provincial historic site about 40 years ago.