St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Church

The arrival of the Canadian Pacific Railway (C.P.R.) at Fort Calgary in 1883 established the fledgling community as a hub for settlement and development in southern Alberta. The trail south from Calgary to Fort Macleod became a significant transportation route and several stopping houses and small communities emerged along the path, including Fish Creek. The Catholic community in Fish Creek was initially ministered to by several travelling members of the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate (O.M.I.) religious order, including Father Albert Lacombe, the renowned missionary, Father Joseph-Jean-Marie Lestanc, a well-known itinerant priest, and Father Jacques Riou. In 1904, the area's Catholics united to construct St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Church on land donated by Patrick Glenn, son of John Glenn, one of Calgary's pioneer farmers. Lacombe is believed to have become the first resident priest at the church in 1909 and served here until his death in 1916. The cluster of St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Church, St. Paul's Anglican Church, and the Lacombe Home site in the area speaks powerfully to the religious significance of this place in Calgary's history.

St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Church is a typical, early twentieth century Alberta church. Unlike many other early Catholic churches in the province, however, which were often inspired by Neo-Classical or Romanesque models, this church is defined by its Carpenter Gothic style of architecture which reproduces the traditionally stone elements of Gothic architecture in wood. This style is evident in the steeply pitched roof and the pointed arch windows. Like many early buildings serving Alberta communities, St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Church was constructed using local craftsman.