Memorable Manitobans: Philip Ruh (1883-1962)

Philip Ruh Click to enlarge

Cleric, architect.

Born in Alsace-Lorraine near the Franco-German border, on 6 August 1883, Philippe Roux (later Philip Ruh) studied with the Oblates of Mary Immaculate in Holland and joined the order there. He was sent to Ukraine to learn the language, customs and Byzantine rite. In 1913, he was posted to serve as a missionary to the Canadian Ukrainian Catholics in central Alberta. He spent 10 years in Alberta and was later transferred to Manitoba, coming to Cook’s Creek in 1930. He was parish priest there until his death in 1962.

Ruh designed, altered or influenced more than 50 churches, halls, schools and other structures in Canada, on the prairies, in Ontario, Quebec, and in Michigan and Pennsylvania in the United States. In several cases he not only designed the structures, but he worked with volunteers on the site, contracted the construction and raised project funds, striving always to keep debt to a minimum. Ruh designed Ukrainian Catholic churches around Manitoba and at Kenora, Grimsby, and St. Catharines in Ontario; at Saskatoon, Regina, and Krasne in Saskatchewan; and at Edmonton, Leduc, and several mission areas in Alberta. His most well-known structures were the “Prairie Cathedral” and Grotto at Cook’s Creek.

He died at Winnipeg on 24 October 1962 and was buried in the cemetery of the Ukrainian Catholic Church at Cook’s Creek. A collection of his work is held at the Ukrainian Catholic Archeparchy of Winnipeg Archives.

Some of Ruh’s architectural works in Manitoba included:

Building	Location	Year	Status
Patronage of the Blessed Virgin Mary Ukrainian Catholic Church	Mountain Road, RM of Rosedale	1924-1925	Destroyed by fire (1966)
Ukrainian Catholic Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary	Sixth Avenue NW, Portage la Prairie	1925-1927	Demolished (1982)
Holy Ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ Ukrainian Catholic Church	Winnipegosis, RM of Mossey River	1927-1929
Ukrainian Catholic Church of the Immaculate Conception	Cook’s Creek, RM of Springfield	1930-1938
Holy Trinity Ukrainian Catholic Church	Mink Creek, RM of Ethelbert	1932-1933
Ukrainian Catholic Church of the Resurrection	1106 First Street NW, Dauphin	1936-1939
Redemptorist Fathers College / St. Vladimir’s College	Roblin, Municipality of Roblin	1941
Mother of Perpetual Help Ukrainian Catholic Church	580 Talbot Avenue, Winnipeg	1942
St. Peter and Paul Ukrainian Catholic Church	Cloverleaf, RM of Brokenhead	1943	Demolished (c2009)
Holy Eucharist Ukrainian Catholic Church	Oakburn, RM of Yellowhead	1943-1954
St. Dymytrius Ukrainian Catholic Church	Ladywood, RM of Brokenhead	1948-1949
Blessed Virgin Mary the Protectress Ukrainian Catholic Church	East Selkirk, RM of St. Clements	1950
Holy Trinity Ukrainian Catholic Church	6297 Henderson Highway, RM of St. Clements	1952
Holy Eucharist Ukrainian Catholic Church	505 Watt Street, Winnipeg	1954
Holy Eucharist Ukrainian Catholic Church	380 Sophia Street, Selkirk	1955
Blessed Virgin Mary the Protectress Ukrainian Catholic Church	Rossdale, RM of St. Andrews	1958-1960

Churches built in Manitoba by Mike Sawchuk, a carpenter trained and influenced by Rev. Ruh:

Building	Location	Year	Status
Holy Trinity Ukrainian Catholic Church	Mink Creek, RM of Ethelbert	1932-1933
Sacred Heart of Jesus Ukrainian Catholic Church	Gilbert Plains, RM of Gilbert Plains	1935-1936
Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary Ukrainian Catholic Church	Toutes Aides, RM of Lakeshore	1937
Holy Ghost Ukrainian Catholic Church	Sandy Lake, RM of Harrison	1937
Holy Ghost Ukrainian Catholic Church	Zoria, RM of Gilbert Plains	1937
St. Michael Ukrainian Catholic Church	Roblin Farms, RM of Shell River	1940
Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Ukrainian Catholic Church	927 Assiniboine Avenue, Brandon	1940-1941

See also:

Propam’yatna knyha (Jubilee Book) 1891-1941. Yorkton, Saskatchewan (1941).

Misioner i budivnychyi (Missionary and Architect) by Philip Ruh, 1960.

Pioneers of Manitoba by Robert Harvey (1970).

Missionary and Architect, A Translation of the Autobiography of Reverend Philip Ruh, O.M.I., translated by Morris Kowalchuk, editor Gloria Romaniuk. Winnipeg (1984).

Ukrainian Churches of Manitoba: A Building Inventory by Historic Resources, Manitoba Culture, Heritage and Recreation. Winnipeg (1987).

Schematism of the Ukrainian Catholic Church a Survey of the Church in Diaspora by Dmytro Blazejowskyj. Rome (1988).

Monuments to Faith by Basil Rotoff, Roman Yereniuk and Stella Hryniuk. Winnipeg (1990).

Ukrainian Catholic Churches of Winnipeg Archeparchy by Anna Maria Kowcz-Baran. Winnipeg (1991).

Carved in Stone by the Manitoba Genealogical Society. Winnipeg (1997).

Sources:

Obituary, Winnipeg Free Press, 26 October 1962, page 28.

“A builder of churches, Ukrainian priest dies,” Winnipeg Tribune, 27 October 1962.

Dictionary of Manitoba Biography by John M. “Jack” Bumsted, Winnipeg: University of Manitoba Press, 1999.

We thank Reid Dickie for providing additional information used here.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough and Gloria Romaniuk.

Page revised: 11 December 2022

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