The administration of the Beausejour parish of the Descent of the Holy Ghost is now amalgamated with the Ukrainian Catholic Winnipeg Deanery

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By the year 1890, the trickle of Ukrainian immigrants to Canada from the area known for a time as Western Ukraine began. They came with the hope of a free and happy life on the broad Canadian plains. One of the first families to settle in the Brokenhead area was the Roman Kowton family. More Ukrainian families soon followed from the Old Country. These were farmers or farm labourers who were content to settle on the land. Some took up residence in Beausejour, and for the most part, became CPR labourers.

They were Catholics of the Eastern Rite. They began to organize their own parishes. They did not attend the Roman Catholic services as they did not understand the language or customs.

The Holy Ghost Catholic Parish in Beausejour was founded on July 27, 1913. It is a parish of the Eastern Rite and in union with Rome. Among the active parishioners of the Ukrainian community were: Steve Rudakewich, Peter Zydorko, Nikifor Makuch, John Yarmish, Fred Nesterovich, Mykola Slobodjan and others. They strived to have a formal parish established. At the general meeting on January 31, 1914, it was decided to purchase the Roman Catholic Church and this building then served the needs of the Ukrainian Catholics of Beausejour.

In 1963 a new church was built on Park Avenue. This is one of the most attractive buildings in the community and a credit to the Ukrainian people. It was consecrated in 1964.

(Source: They Stopped at a Good Place; History of the Beausejour, Brokenhead, Garson, and Tyndall area of Manitoba: 1875 - 1981, pp 330f [1981; Adapted])

Established in 1925.

(Source: Manitoba Genealogical Society [Adapted])

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Dominion Land Survey coordinates: LSD14-05-12-07-E1

In the Town of Beausejour

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A part of the town's story and those of its inhabitants from the early days of European settlement through roughly 1981 is told in the volume "They Stopped at a Good Place; History of the Beausejour, Brokenhead, Garson, and Tyndall area of Manitoba: 1875 - 1981", especially starting on the cited pages. A free digital version of this and many other Manitoba local history books can be found online in the University of Manitoba Digital Collections. There is also a list of such books organized by district and town name on the Manitoba Historical Society's website on their page entitled "Finding Aid: Manitoba Local History Books".

A list of burials in this cemetery is available from the Manitoba Genealogical Society (reference #0776), transcribed by a member or members in 1993. Also available to MGS members is a searchable online database named the "MGS Manitoba Name Index" (or MANI). Some additional information is contained in the 1996 MGS publication "Carved in Stone: Manitoba Cemeteries and Burial Sites" (revised edition, Special Projects Publication, 106 pages).

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Additionally, the volume "Ukrainian Catholic Churches of Winnipeg Archeparchy", also freely available online via the U of Manitoba Digital Archives, provides information about the parish, especially starting on page 241. That one book is from Volume IV in the set entitled "History of Ukrainian Catholic Churches in Canada".

Also, the Ukrainian Museum of Canada (Manitoba Branch) centralizes, curates and makes available extensive records from various groups related to the communities established by the families of Ukrainian descent who settled lived in, died in, or contributed to the story of Manitoba.