The cathedral of St. George was completed in 1943, being built to replace an earlier structure that had been purchased from St. Paul’s Roman Catholic Parish in 1917. This small building had been the original St. Paul’s Church. It was moved in 1918 to a site in Pleasant Hill and blessed by Blessed Bishop Nykyta Budka.
The church was outgrown and by 1939 work had begun on the construction of the present building. Fr. Philip Ruh, O.M.I., of Winnipeg, was called upon to draw up a design for the new church. The present church is made of brick and concrete and is dominated by a massive dome surrounded by four smaller domes. It was blessed in 1957 by Metropolitan Maxim Hermaniuk and Bishop Andrew Roborecki.
Lavishly decorated by the local artist, Theodore Baran, the church was completed in 1943 and named a Cathedral in 1951. Baran worked on the building from 1950 until 1968 and employed stylized motifs, images of the Holy Trinity, the Life of Christ, the Mother of God, and the Saints in its decoration. In his work he utilized gold, green, blue, and other vibrant colours to create a striking interior.
The Cathedral of St. George has been visited by many prominent and saintly figures over the years. In 1972, Blessed Bishop Vasyl Velychkowsky, celebrated a Hierarchical Divine Liturgy here. Every Patriarch of the Ukrainian Catholic Church has visited this church since Josyf Cardinal Slipyj visited in 1968.
The Cathedral of St. George stands proudly today as a testament to the faith of its community and of its founders.
The information provided here is taken in part from the work of Anna Maria Kowcz-Baran, Ukrainian Catholic Churches of Saskatchewan, published in 1977. This monumental historical survery can be found for sale at the Musée Ukraina Museum for $20.00.