Historic Sites of Manitoba: St. Vital Catholic Church (1629 Pembina Highway, Winnipeg)

This Roman Catholic church on Pembina Highway in Winnipeg, a facility of the Archdiocese of Winnipeg, was designed by architect Roy Sellors and built in 1956. A bell at the church, blessed on 8 September 1860 by Archbishop Alexandre-Antonin Taché, was formerly on a school operated by the Grey Nuns on the east side of the Red River, opposite St. Maurice School on the west side. In 1897, the school was rebuilt on the west side of the river.

An honour roll inside the lobby of the church lists parishioners who served in the military during the Second World War, including some who were killed in the line of duty.

Bell at St. Vital Catholic Church (October 2026) Source: Gordon Goldsborough Site Coordinates (lat/long): N49.83030, W97.15235 denoted by symbol on the map above

Second World War Casualties

Name	Service	Rank	Birth Date	Death Date
Aime Beauchamp	1 Corps Field Park Company, Royal Canadian Engineers	Sapper	6 October 1921	23 February 1943
Louis Laurent Hamelin [RCAF Brandon]	81 Squadron, Royal Canadian Air Force	Warrant Officer Class II	18 May 1920	23 March 1943
Metro Zytaruk	Cape Breton Highlanders, Royal Canadian Infantry Corps	Private	17 March 1923	29 September 1944

See also:

Memorable Manitobans: Roy Sellors (1913-2005)

Historic Sites of Manitoba: St. Maurice School (1639 Pembina Highway, Winnipeg)

Historic Sites of Manitoba: Joseph P. Borowski Memorial (1629 Pembina Highway, Winnipeg)

Sources:

“St. Vital church, in Fort Garry has bell older than Canada,” Winnipeg Tribune, 3 February 1968, page 21.

We thank Wayne Chan for providing additional information used here.

This page was prepared by Jordan Makichuk.

Page revised: 5 October 2026

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