In 1818, newly arrived Rev.
Norbert Provencher and two colleagues constructed the first church on land on the east bank of the Red River donated by Hudson's Bay Company's
Thomas Douglas, 5th Earl of Selkirk. The small log building measured 50 feet by 30 feet and served as chapel, residence and school. It was soon replaced with a larger building. In 1832, Provencher, now bishop, built the first cathedral. "The bells of St. Boniface" are mentioned in
John Greenleaf Whittier's 1859 poem "The Red River Voyageur". "On December 17, 1891, Whittier's 84th birthday,
Archbishop Taché had "the bells of the Roman mission" rung in the poet's honour." On December 14, 1860, a fire destroyed "Provencher’s cathedral". In 1862, Bishop Taché went to Quebec to raise funds to rebuild the cathedral in stone. This second cathedral was somewhat smaller; the bell tower was completed eight years later. Between 1888 and 1906, the number of Catholics in St. Boniface had increased from 2,154 to 4,615, almost all of them of French heritage. By 1900, St. Boniface was the fifth-largest city in the West and needed a larger cathedral. Local contractors Senecal and Smith were engaged to build a new cathedral to plans by Montreal architect Jean-Omer Marchand. On August 15, 1906,
Monsignor Louis-Philippe Adélard Langevin dedicated the cathedral, which became one of the most imposing churches in Western Canada. On Monday, July 22, 1968, the 1906 cathedral was damaged by a fire which destroyed many of the structure's features and contents including the
rose window, vestments, 1860 bells, and parish records. Only the façade, sacristy, and the walls of the old church remained. In 1972, a new, smaller cathedral, designed by
Étienne Gaboury and Denis Lussier, was built behind the 1906 façade. == Cathedral cemetery ==