Ukrainian Catholic Church of St. Anthony Petchersky

The Lac du Bonnet & District Historical Society Inc. is planning to move the Brightstone St. Anthony Petchersky Ukrainian Catholic Church to the grounds at Halliday Park, beside the Lac du Bonnet District Museum. The Society wants to preserve this historic and structurally sound building! St. Anthony will become a home to demonstrate, teach, and celebrate Lac du Bonnet’s Ukrainian heritage.

Most recently, the Lac du Bonnet & District Historical Society completed Phase 1 of this preservation project by designating the Church as a Municipal Heritage Building.

The project is quite the undertaking with Phase 2 consisting of the physical movement of the Church. It requires a crane rental to remove the Church dome for transport and then again raise it up once the building has reached the Museum grounds. In addition, moving beams need to be installed, and pilot trucks are necessary to work with the Hydro crew to lift hydro lines. A telephone crew must drop the low hanging telephone lines, allowing the Church to journey towards its new location beside the Museum.

Phase 3 involves construction of a continuous concrete footing to lower the church building onto.

In order to accomplish these Phases, the Historical Society is fundraising $30,000, and we are incredibly grateful to those who have supported this cause so far. It is our hope that this vital project will honour the Ukrainian settlers who came to Lac du Bonnet in search of land and a better future for their families. Once St. Anthony Petchersky Ukrainian Catholic Church reaches its new home at Halliday Park, we look forward to celebrating Ukrainian language, religion, and culture within this historic building.

Accumulator 50/50 Fundraiser for St. Anthony

50/50 tickets are now available at the Museum. Draw will be held in December.

  • $5 for 1 ticket
  • $10 for 3 tickets

Click to enlarge

Click the button to read the June 4, 2025 article by Marc Zienkiewicz, “You can help in the effort to preserve an historic church”

 

The Ukrainian Catholic Church of St. Anthony Petchersky was founded in 1937 on an acre of donated land in Brightstone. Using donated materials and volunteer labour, a small church, with a capacity for fifty people, was built. Reverend Hewko established the church, as a branch of Brightstone’s St. John the Baptist Parish, for the Ukrainian Catholic farm families of the district. The church was underutilized as many families attended other churches or didn’t attend church at all, resulting in various priests travelling in from Winnipeg to give services. Special celebrations were the only time the church was filled.

In Brightstone (Photo courtesy of Stanko Family)

During the 1950s, Father Joseph Kamenecky came from Beausejour regularly. At the same time, many parishioners moved to Lac du Bonnet and attended the Notre Dame du Lac Roman Catholic Church. Father Kamenecky began conducting Ukrainian Catholic services at the larger Notre Dame.

By 1960, the new parish of St. Anthony Petchersky was founded, consisting of a new church executive and a ladies’ organization. A $1,000 donation facilitated the purchase of a 2 ¾ acre lot in the town of Lac du Bonnet, where the church was moved from Brightstone. The new site was consecrated August 1961.

The congregation of St. Anthony Petchersky parish remained small. By 1980, the twenty-five members were older people who understood Ukrainian. Some of the younger generation attended Notre Dame du Lac Roman Catholic services. Despite attempts to raise funds for the church, services were only held one Sunday a month. Funeral services were available upon request, with the occasional burial at the Brightstone cemetery.

The St. Anthony Petchersky church fell into disuse. By 1995, the building was purchased by an RM resident and moved to land northeast of Lac du Bonnet. Restorations have been on going.

In Lac du Bonnet (Photo courtesy of Kost Family)