St Malo Parish and Grotto first designated heritage sites

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This article was published 25/07/2024 (360 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The St Malo Grotto is under renovation and has officially been designated a municipal heritage site.

The RM of De Salaberry on Tuesday also gave heritage status to the St Malo Parish and both of its cemeteries on Poitras Street. The church was first established in 1890, and the original grotto along the river in 1896.

“This really came from a request from the Parish itself,” said Reeve Darrel Curé.

De Salaberry had to create a new bylaw, as these are the first official heritage sites in the RM. The public hearing Tuesday night had no opposition.

There is no cost to having the designation, but there could be financial opportunities with grants. The recognition could also draw even more tourists that already come from all over the world, according to the registration book in the small chapel above the grotto that listed names and addresses from locales as varied as Switzerland, South Africa and the Phillipines.

Parish board member Leo Roch gave a tour of the work already being done on the Beach Road site as concrete was being poured in front of the pews where the annual pilgrimage that draws a thousand worshipers will return Aug. 18. Each year the stations of the cross are reenacted and there are services provided in French and English.

This is Roch’s last year on the board after six years, and he is glad to see all the work that has recently been done to make the site safer, convenient and more colourful with mortar work, new permanent bathrooms with wheelchair access coming soon, and painted stations of the cross courtesy of artist John Millar. He was the artist who also created a replacement statue of St. Bernadette, which was placed in the chapel last spring after it was stolen from the chapel in 2022. There are now security cameras in the chapel.

Another long row of wooden pews built by Marc Forest and placed amongst the trees is planned to be added. A second additional row may be built next year to allow hundreds more worshipers to have a seat on site.

A cross blessed with the waters of the River Jordan that was donated by the Manitoba Métis Federation (MMF) will also be going up inside the chapel at the Grotto. That cross was donated ahead of last year’s August pilgrimage, but needs to be kept indoors.

Roch said the Parish is also working with the MMF to reestablish two baseball diamonds on Parish land, with the RM potentially maintaining the field.

“This year we were approached again, and we said bring us the plan and we’ll get things done,” said Roch.

Roch said the increase in donations the last few years have allowed a lot of work to happen.

“Without the money you can’t do much. But over the last five, six years we’ve been able to get donations and updated all the mortar on the rocks downstairs. They were falling apart so we got a big grant with the Sir Thomas Cropo Foundation. They pay just about 50 percent of the renovations so that really gave us a boost,” explained Roch.

Collections from the annual pilgrimage go into maintaining the Grotto site. Then, a parishioner donated $10,000 for the grotto a couple years ago.

“That’s how it started to develop. Before that, the grass was cut and stuff like that, but there was no additions being made because there was no funding. But now it’s sort of snowballed,” said Roch.

The upkeep is necessary as the worship space is exposed to the harsh elements of Manitoba. It is why the old cross was sealed and put back in place at the shrine. And it is why a new, 1,100-pound Christ is risen statue for the last stage of the cross will be put on a new, more visible foundation along the Grotto path. The old statue of the final station had lost an arm.

But even with all the work being done, the new designation is meant to preserve a piece of 19th century history.

“Mostly, it’s to promote what we got,” said Roch.

Worshippers looking to make the pilgrimage to the Grotto this third Sunday in August are asked to bring their own lunch for a large community picnic. The local Knights of Columbus are unable to provide brunch for such a large crowd again, explained Roch.