Timeline
1840's: Jesuit Missionaries visit Fort Thompson (predecessor to Kamloops) and provide baptisms. Father Modeste Demers (in 1842). Father Pierre-Jean De Smet accompanied by Father John Nobili (in 1845-46). Father John Nobili returned in 1846. These missionaries didn't maintain a presence.
1844: Small log cabin constructed near Secwepemc village (would later become St Joseph's Church)
1845: St Louis Mission established (now Mission Flats), without a resident priest.
1867: First permanent missionary (Oblates of Mary Immaculate - OMI). Not long after his arrival, the Jesuit log cabin church site was built as St Joseph's Church.
1880: St Louis School established at St Louis Mission by Sisters of St Ann (would move a couple of times and become St Ann's Academy).
1887: Sacred Heart Catholic Church built on Battle and 2nd (near present day Cenotaph).
11 December 1887: Church opens and First Mass celebrated. Officiated by Father Le Jeune.
1889: Father Bedard assigned as first parish priest.
1893: Oblates charged with running “Kamloops Industrial School”. Indian Residential School established.
17 March 1912: Knights of Columbus Kamloops Council formed to serve the Church.
1919: Sacred Heart Catholic Church destroyed by fire.
1919-1925: Congregation met at St Ann's Academy and other community halls.
December 1925: New building opened at 255 Nicola St.
1927: Catholic Women's League established.
December 1945: Diocese of Kamloops formed - Roman Catholic Diocese of Kamloops (RCDK)
March 1946: First Bishop of Kamloops named. Sacred Heart Catholic Church elevated to the status of Cathedral.
1962: OLPH school established.
1963: St Ann's named as a parochial school of Sacred Heart Cathedral.
1979: Parishioners from Valleyview, Barnhartvale, and Dallas begin attending Holy Family Church.
Meeting Places
- 1844-1887:St. Joseph's Church
- 1880-1887: St. Anne's Convent, two miles west of Kamloops
- 1887-1919:Battle Street and Second Avenue
- 1919-1925: St Anne's Convent (at present location)
- 1925-Present:255 Nicola Street
Leadership History
- 1867: Father Florimonde Gendre (OMI)
- 1871: Father Charles Grandidier (OMI)
- 1880: Father Jean-Marie Lejacq (OMI)
- 1889: Father J. A. Bedard (OMI)
- 1946: Father Jean-Marie-Raphaël Le Jeune (OMI)
- 1946-1952: Bishop Edward Quentin Jennings
- 1952-1973: Bishop Michael Alphonsus Harrington
- 1974-1982: Bishop Adam Exner
- 1982-1999: Bishop Lawrence Sabitini
- 1999-2002: Father Jeremiah (Jerry) Desmond
- 2002: Bishop David Monroe
- Present: Bishop Joseph P. Nguyen
Congregation Website
Meeting Times
- Mass Times occur throughout the week. Currently:
- Sunday 8:30am, 11:30am, 6pm
- Monday 7pm
- Tuesday 7pm
- Wednesday 9am
- Thursday 7am
- Friday 7am, 9am
- Saturday 7pm
Information Sources
- https://www.sacredheartkamloops.org/com-jevents-menu/home/about-us/history.html
- https://shuswappassion.ca/history/the-impact-of-the-missionaries/
- 1887. 'Opening of the RC Church.' The Inland Sentinel. 10 December 1887. A03.
- M Ignace and R Igance. 2017. Secwépemc People, Land, and Laws: Yerí7 Re Stsq'ey's-kucw.
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