"Toutes les nations du mond": building a multi-ethnic and multi-lingual faith community in Southern Alberta, 1905-1916

Abstract

Between 1905 and 1916, southern Alberta was home to a multi-ethnic and multi-lingual community of Catholics from across Europe and North America. This community was remarkable for its cohesiveness and its accommodation of ethno-linguistic diversity. The present study examines clerical efforts to sustain this community. As Alberta developed according to an Anglo-Protestant model, the Oblates of Mary Immaculate endeavoured to keep laypeople in the Catholic fold by providing them with a familiar linguistic and cultural setting. Oblates mastered foreign languages, adopted unfamiliar liturgy and discipline, recruited specialized clergy, and strove to suppress ethno-linguistic partisanship among the faithful. Although the erection of the Diocese of Calgary ( 1912) brought these missionaries into direct conflict with episcopal administration, the clergy remained united in its commitment to nurturing the multi-ethnic and multi-lingual character of the Catholic community.