Blessed Sacrament Parish Funds
Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church in downtown Regina, has a rich history of being a place of worship and spiritual home for more than 120 years and is a worthy tribute to Regina’s Pioneers.
Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church in downtown Regina, has a rich history of being a place of worship and spiritual home for more than 120 years and is a worthy tribute to Regina’s Pioneers. It is the first and oldest Roman Catholic faith community and church building in Regina, and the city’s second oldest church still in use. Blessed Sacrament was designed by Samuel Hooper in the Gothic Revival style with construction beginning in 1905.
Our giving fund supports the long-term financial sustainability of the Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church. Contributions to this fund will help ensure the continuing work of our parish community for generations to come.
Blessed Sacrament was gifted a pipe organ built in 1994 by Casavant Frères of Quebec, by the Provinciale Presentation De Marie sisters. This fund will assist with the transportation, installation, and modification of the organ.
It is the first and oldest Roman Catholic faith community and church building in Regina, and the city’s second oldest church still in use. Blessed Sacrament was designed by Samuel Hooper in the Gothic Revival style with construction beginning in 1905.
Our giving fund supports the long-term financial sustainability of the Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church. Contributions to this fund will help ensure the continuing work of our parish community for generations to come.
Blessed Sacrament was gifted a pipe organ built in 1994 by Casavant Frères of Quebec, by the Provinciale Presentation De Marie sisters. This fund will assist with the transportation, installation, and modification of the organ.
Blessed Sacrament's History
Blessed Sacrament Church is a worthy tribute to Regina’s Pioneer Catholics. It is the first and oldest Roman Catholic faith community and church building in Regina, and the city’s second oldest church still in use.
The Roman Catholic community of Regina and district constructed its first church on Cornwall Street and 12th Avenue in the latter part of 1883 and named it St. Mary’s Church. It seated 200 people. Fr. L.N. L’Arche was the first pastor and the church was officially dedicated in August 1884 by Archbishop Tache of St. Boniface. The parish became headquarters for many of the Catholic missionaries who served throughout the prairies at that time. In November 1885, following the funeral mass for the executed political figure Louis Riel, he was buried beneath this building’s floorboards by his son, Treffle, before Riel was exhumed for shipment to Saint Boniface, Manitoba.
The Roman Catholic community of Regina and district constructed its first church on Cornwall Street and 12th Avenue in the latter part of 1883 and named it St. Mary’s Church. It seated 200 people. Fr. L.N. L’Arche was the first pastor and the church was officially dedicated in August 1884 by Archbishop Tache of St. Boniface. The parish became headquarters for many of the Catholic missionaries who served throughout the prairies at that time. In November 1885, following the funeral mass for the executed political figure Louis Riel, he was buried beneath this building’s floorboards by his son, Treffle, before Riel was exhumed for shipment to Saint Boniface, Manitoba.
The original church stood for over thirty years. In 1905, the Oblate Fathers began the building of the church on Scarth Street and called it St. Mary’s Church. The current Blessed Sacrament Church was designed by Samuel Hooper in the Gothic Revival style and was built in 1906. The apse of the church was added in 1913. In 1933, the Scarth Street Church was renamed ‘Blessed Sacrament’ (the name St. Mary’s was assigned to St. Joseph’s Hall on Winnipeg Street, where a new St. Mary’s Parish was born). This brick church became Blessed Sacrament Parish in 1934.
Next door, a school was opened in 1908 and closed in 1932. The Saskatchewan Transportation Bus Terminal and Reliance School occupied the building before it was replaced with the Saskatchewan Power Corporation building in 1963. A parish hall was built in 1911 on Hamilton Street and in 1934 was named the Catholic Youth Centre (CYC) hall. This hall was demolished in 1985.
Between 2015-2019, extensive structural repairs to the church foundations and floor, bell tower and roof were undertaken. In 2024-2025, the interior of the Church was repainted because of smoke damage from a fire outside.
About the Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church
Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church in downtown Regina, has a rich history of being a place of worship and spiritual home for more than 120 years and is a worthy tribute to Regina’s Pioneers. It is the first and oldest Roman Catholic faith community and church building in Regina, and the city’s second oldest church still in use. Blessed Sacrament was designed by Samuel Hooper in the Gothic Revival style with construction beginning in 1905.
Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church in downtown Regina, has a rich history of being a place of worship and spiritual home for more than 120 years and is a worthy tribute to Regina’s Pioneers. It is the first and oldest Roman Catholic faith community and church building in Regina, and the city’s second oldest church still in use. Blessed Sacrament was designed by Samuel Hooper in the Gothic Revival style with construction beginning in 1905.
The church features many outstanding architectural characteristics including the simple beauty of its bright interior with a series of stained glass windows designed by the noted artists of Raoult Freres of Normandy, France. Additionally, the acoustics of this historic church are magnificent and the choir and assembly easily fill the church with pleasantly rich music. The church itself and its outstanding acoustics continues to draw choirs and musicians from this area for concerts and performances. At this moment, we are lacking something crucial to our worship space: the authenticity of a musical instrument which has the ability to fill our resonant space without electronic amplification, and one that can provide unparalleled support for congregational singing and to accompany choirs. That is, a pipe organ which offers massive dynamic range (from delicate to thunderous) and diverse timbres, while maintaining centuries of tradition, solemnity, and liturgical, musical, and ceremonial depth.
Blessed Sacrament Parish
2049 Scarth Street • Regina, Saskatchewan • S4P 2H5
Telephone +1 (306) 522-7422
Email: [email protected]
www.blessedsacramentregina.ca
The church features many outstanding architectural characteristics including the simple beauty of its bright interior with a series of stained glass windows designed by the noted artists of Raoult Freres of Normandy, France. Additionally, the acoustics of this historic church are magnificent and the choir and assembly easily fill the church with pleasantly rich music. The church itself and its outstanding acoustics continues to draw choirs and musicians from this area for concerts and performances. At this moment, we are lacking something crucial to our worship space: the authenticity of a musical instrument which has the ability to fill our resonant space without electronic amplification, and one that can provide unparalleled support for congregational singing and to accompany choirs. That is, a pipe organ which offers massive dynamic range (from delicate to thunderous) and diverse timbres, while maintaining centuries of tradition, solemnity, and liturgical, musical, and ceremonial depth.
A Pipe Organ
We received an inquiry about a pipe organ from the Provinciale Presentation De Marie sisters from Ste. Hyacinthe, Quebec. As they were leaving their current location and their chapel, they wished wished to give their pipe organ to a church. Of course, we at Blessed Sacrament Church were interested. And when they heard about our interest way over here in Saskatchewan, they were overjoyed! This organ’s size is suitable for Blessed Sacrament and is in pristine condition. This organ has the capacity to be reconfigured to the space that will be selected at Blessed Sacrament.
The Ste. Hyacinthe Casavant Frères Pipe Organ
This pipe organ, built in 1994 by the Casavant Frères organ company, was removed from Maison Provinciale Presentation De Marie in Ste. Hyacinthe, Quebec, in October 2025. Their convent was sold and converted into a school.
The Ste. Hyacinthe Casavant Frères Pipe Organ
This pipe organ, built in 1994 by the Casavant Frères organ company, was removed from Maison Provinciale Presentation De Marie in Ste. Hyacinthe, Quebec, in October 2025. Their convent was sold and converted into a school.
Casavant Frères Pipe Organ Builders
Established in Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec, Canada, where it was founded in 1879, the company has successfully promoted the ancestral techniques of organ building throughout Canada, North America and all over the planet. It adapted to the technical evolution of this instrument and to the artistic trends of the contemporary period. Over the years, Casavant consulted many experts from all over the world. They built organs in Canada and all over the world including U.S.A, Zimbabwe, Mexico, Australia, Japan, South Korea, Puerto Rico, and China.
Why a Pipe Organ?
Pope Benedict XVI, at the 2006 blessing of the new organ in Regenseberg, stated:
The organ has always been considered, and rightly so, the king of musical instruments, because it takes up all the sounds of creation... and gives resonance to the fullness of human sentiments, from joy to sadness, from praise to lamentation. By transcending the merely human sphere, as all music of quality does, it evokes the divine. The organ's great range of timbre, from piano through to a thundering fortissimo, makes it an instrument superior to all others. It is capable of echoing and expressing all the experiences of human life. The manifold possibilities of the organ in some way remind us of the immensity and the magnificence of God...
Pipe organs have roots all the way back in the 3rd century BC, having been invented by a Greek engineer named Ctesibius of Alexandria. Most importantly for us, pipe organs have been used in churches for hundreds of years and remain relevant today because:
- of their history within Christendom.
- air flowing through the pipes reflect one's deepest aspirations, deepest joys and sorrows.
- pipe organs have a lifespan of hundreds of years with regular maintenance, compared to instruments with integrated electronic systems which are disposable after perhaps 40 years.
- pipe organs are commonly repairable with non-proprietary parts and are locally serviceable.
- attendance at pipe organ concerts remains steady.
- Blessed Sacrament church has a long history welcoming people for important liturgies both Catholic and ecumenical – and for concerts. People leave, amazed at the acoustics, the beauty and the reverence in the church.
- a pipe organ also offers something more difficult to quantify but deeply important: authenticity. It is the real instrument the Church’s music was written for. Real pipes create a sound that rolls to the rafters, richly fills the entire church, and supports congregational singing naturally. This authenticity draws interest, fosters musical engagement, and strengthens parish identity.
Costs
The pipe organ will be given to us but there are costs for the current storage, and then the transportation and installation of such an organ at our church. Additionally, some modifications may be required in the church itself depending on the precise location of the components. We estimate the costs to be in the range of one hundred thousand dollars.
Support the Blessed Sacrament Parish Funds
Blessed Sacrament Parish Giving Fund
Our giving fund supports the long-term financial sustainability of the Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church. Contributions to this fund will help ensure the continuing work of our parish community for generations to come.
Blessed Sacrament Parish Pipe Organ Fund
Blessed Sacrament was gifted a pipe organ built in 1994 by Casavant Frères of Quebec, by the Provinciale Presentation De Marie sisters. This fund will assist with the transportation, installation, and modification of the organ.
