The church is located in Waskatenau, a town between Radway and Smoky Lake. The cemetery (SE 29-59-19-4) 4 acres of land were donated by M. Diachyshyn and were incorporated in 1941. The land for the church (72’ x 32’) was purchased from Woodward for $350.00 in 1950. The construction began in 1950-1951. The contractor was Walter Gulka from St. Paul, Alberta. The cornerstone was blessed on June 17th, 1951, and the church was blessed on June 14, 1970, by Bishop Neil Savaryn in the presence of Fr. Peter Moysiuk, Fr. Eugene Dmytruk, Fr. Peter Iwanec, Fr. Peter Petryshyn, and the Parish priest Fr. Theophile Hurko.
The church building with a finished basement (which was worked on in 1964) cost $35,000.00. In 1974 the Parish started their own branch of the Ukrainian Catholic Women’s League. The cantors in the parish were Dmytro Mulyk, Theodor Koziak, Michael Diachyshyn, and Joseph Mychalchuk.
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GPS Co-ordinates: 54.094499, -112.788100
Cemetery GPS Co-ordinates: 54.122344, -112.808669
Affiliation: Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Edmonton
Holy Spirit Ukrainian Catholic Church – Waskatenau, AB
In 1907 the first church of St. Nicholas was built on 10 acres of land donated by the Government. It was built 5 km. southwest from Thorsby. The first parish priest who blessed the church and the cemetery was Fr. Matthew Hura, OSBM. After three years as a Ukrainian Catholic Church, the church land was taken over by the Orthodox. Ukrainian Catholics purchased 2 acres of land 5 km. east of Thorsby (SW 13-49-28-4) and built a church dedicating it to “Nativity of St. John Baptist”.
In 1931 the parishioners purchased a parcel in the town and transported the whole church structure to the new place. In 1959 the decision was made to build a new church. Construction started in 1961. It was completed in 1969. On July 7 (the feast day) the church was consecrated by Bishop Neil Savaryn and Fr. Raphael Melnyk. The Parish has two cemeteries. On October 26, 1980, a monument was placed in front of the church commemorating 75th anniversary of the Province of Alberta
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Visit this Cemetery (St. Nicholas Ukrainian Greek Catholic Cemetery)
GPS Co-ordinates: 53.220511, -114.050094
Cemetery Co-ordinates: 53.22211, -113.97548
Cemetery Co-ordinates: 53.19187, -114.07410
Affiliation: Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Edmonton
St. John the Baptist Ukrainian Catholic Church – Thorsby, AB
The church is located 10 km. south of Vilna. The first settlers from Ukraine arrived at the beginning of the 20 th century. In 1910 the parishioners already purchased 10 acres of land for the church and the cemetery. The first church was built in 1913 and the second was completed in 1934.
The first church, in 1968, was transformed into a church residence and provided with all the utilities. The Parish has a very active UCWL membership. Originally there were 20 families and during the best times there were 52 families. On July 7, 1985, the Parish celebrated its 75th anniversary with Bishop Demetrius Greschuk in attendance.
First one to serve the community was Fr. Philip Ruh, an Oblate that joined the Ukrainian Catholic Church.
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GPS Co-ordinates: 54.034170, -111.850948
Cemetery Co-ordinates: 54.034308,-111.849553
Affiliation: Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Edmonton
Holy Eucharist Ukrainian Catholic Church – Stry, AB
The history of the present church dates back to the late 1890s when a group of early settlers, under the leadership of Fr. Nestor Dmytriw (1863–1925), formed the first Ukrainian Catholic Parish in Alberta on May 2, 1897.
Following the Privy Council judgement awarding the original, jointly built Star Church to the Orthodox followers, two parcels of land nearby were donated specifically for a Catholic Church and cemetery. The Catholic followers built their church on one of these parcels, approximately one half-mile south of the present sanctuary. Completed in 1911, this structure went up in flames on Holy Thursday, 1922. Construction of the present cruciform church was completed in 1927 on what had been the second parcel of donated land.
The interior painting was done in 1930 by Peter Lipinski and remains in its original form to this day. Note his skillfully painted wall motifs, including the imitation stonework, faux marble columns and the embroidery-inspired design, which runs along the upper portions of the walls.
Also on display in the church are some items saved from the 1922 fire—on the Tetrapodium are enamelled paintings of Christ, the Blessed Virgin Mary and four evangelists, along with two brass clamps from the main Gospel Book. The cross from the dome of the second church was found in the ashes and can be seen hanging as you enter the church.
A stone belfry was built in 1949 under the direction of European stone mason M. Setina. To commemorate Fr. Basil Laba’s mission in 1954, a “Mission Cross” was erected northwest of the church.
See HERE for more information on Peter Lipinski.
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GPS Co-ordinates: 53.875930, -112.753172
Cemetery Co-ordinates: 53.875854,-112.755360
Affiliation: Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Edmonton
