Manitoba Municipal Heritage Site No. 107
Grey Nuns’ Convent
1066 PTH 26,
St. Francois Xavier
Designation Date: February 10, 1994
Designation Authority: St. Francois Xavier (R.M.)
Present Owner: privately owned
The Grey Nun’s Convent represents an important connection to the pioneer order of Roman Catholic sisters who served in the St. Francois Xavier Parish, one of the Manitoba’s historic Metis communities, for nearly 120 years. The nuns opened a mission school in the parish in 1850, just six years after their order arrived in the Red River Settlement from Quebec to teach, nurse and care for the elderly and orphans. Their 1916 convent, the sisters’ third in the parish, included a school for Native children as well as a residence and chapel for the nuns. The wood-frame building’s unpretentious exterior, with its high walls, Tudor-style gable ends and plain detailing, remains largely unaltered. Situated on its original site, the rehabilitated convent is a local landmark recalling a vital aspect of St. Francois Xavier’s development.
