Work begins on 124-year-old La Broquerie church

Funds are continuing to be raised for the restoration of The Catholic Parish of St Joachim of La Broquerie, but ground has already been broken in the first round of restorations.

“This is our first project we’re starting on Monday. We have to do the accessibility on the building,” said Lucien Grenier, president of Le Committée du 125, which is raising the money to renovate the church.

An excavator took down the stairs and ramp in the morning ushering in a slate of projects that need to be done including foundation work at the rear of the building, new doors, new lighting, stripping and repainting the frames for the stained glass windows at the front of the church, and replacing the side windows.

“It’s a historical site. The only one in the RM of La Broquerie and Town of La Broquerie and it’s going to be 125 years old next year so we’re trying to give it what it should look like. Trying to give it its respect and what it deserves as a building of 125 years old in a municipality like ours,” said Grenier.

The four-year project has already amassed $500,000 in eight months through donations, grants, and gifts in-kind. A GoFundMe campaign was started and it has raised $2,600 of a $25,000 goal. Grenier said the $500,000 raised was done through “determination and perseverance with a lot of communication to the public.” Le Committée du 125 has a fundraising goal of $1.5 million to do all the repairs.

One of the donors is Russell Edwards, owner of WGI Westman Group Inc. Edwards donated $10,000 to the church because he used to go to mass there every Friday as a child with his family.

“I think it’s absolutely essential that our historic buildings remain as they are. They do deteriorate with age, and they do need (restoration), and the municipality and the people who do that (have a) responsibility to keeping these ancient structures up that were built by the pioneers,” said Edwards.

Grenier said the church is a cornerstone of the community as it was one of the few buildings built when the town was founded. St Joachim was built in 1898 but dedicated in 1901. The church was built by volunteers from the parish and was supervised by the local priest, Father Alexandre Giroux. The bricks were all made by hand from nearby clay deposits and the wood was cut locally. St Joachim was named a Manitoba municipal heritage site in 2000.

“This building is a sign of hope and stability,” said parish priest Father Serge Buisse.

A number of fundraisers have been had on behalf of the church. Right now Le Committée du 125 is holding a raffle for a golf vacation worth $5,000 for four and a $500 gift card for Thermea Spa in Winnipeg.

Anyone wishing to hold a fundraiser for the church or to volunteer should contact Grenier at ljgrenier@icloud.com. For those who wish to donate to the renovations of the church visit the parish website paroissestjoachim.com or visit the parish’s GoFundMe campaign at gofundme.com/f/restoration-of-our-municipal-designated-heritage-building.