Mission Community Information

The Mission district is an inner city neighborhood of Calgary, Alberta, Canada that originated as Notre Dame de la Paix, a Catholic mission, and was for a time the incorporated Village of Rouleauville. Mission contains the very popular 4th Street with many trendy restaurants and shops, and it hosts the Lilac Festival in May.

After a temporary location 40 km (25 miles) away (started in 1872), Father Constantine Scollen, on behalf of the Roman Catholic Church founded the permanent location in 1875. It was the only Catholic mission west of Saint Boniface, Manitoba. In 1883 Oblate missionary Father Albert Lacombe, returning after a ten year absence,obtained two quarter sections of land for a "Mission district", to ensure a strong French speaking Catholic community.Father Scollen who had lived in the area since 1862 and who had witnessed Treaty Six with the Cree Nation and Treaty Seven with the Blackfeet Nation left for Edmonton and then U.S.A.

After obtaining the rest of the land that's now Mission, the area was incorporated as the Village of Rouleauville named after Charles Rouleau. The village was founded in what was then the Northwest Territories. Despite Lacombe's desire to preserve the French language and culture, Rouleauville progressively lost its French character, becoming overwhelmingly English. In 1907 the village was annexed by Calgary. In the process all the French names of streets were replaced by Calgary's street numbering system.

In the latter part of his life, Lacombe helped found a number of Catholic schools throughout the West, including St. Mary's School in 1885, initially using a two-storey log cabin convent in Mission district (Rouleauville). It is now the oldest school still operating in Calgary (though in a newer building). Talisman Centre is also located in this neighborhood.

In 1889 St. Mary's Church was founded, and in 1912 it became St. Mary's Cathedral when it became the seat of the newly formed Diocese of Calgary.

Schools include St. Monica, Our Lady of Lourdes, Western Canada High School, and Maria Montessori School.