Before the first log church was constructed at Moskalyk’s (Spas Moskalyk), Peter Siracky, a founding member of that church, often hosted religious services in his home for family and neighbours. In 1940, in appreciation of their new-found freedom and love of the church, he commissioned three stonemasons to build an all-stone chapel on a 0.04-acre parcel of land on the northeast corner of his property. The chapel, constructed in traditional European style, is known as the “Church of the Weary Traveller” or the “Church of the Road”. It is a walk-in chapel, about eight feet wide by twelve feet long with a round domed (stone) ceiling. Upon the altar is a statue of St. Bernadette as she saw the Blessed Virgin Mary at Lourdes.
The chapel was consecrated by Fr. Marko Romanowich, O.S.B.M., on August 28, 1940 and was dedicated to the 50th anniversary of the arrival of Ukrainian pioneers to Canada (1891–1941). On August 5, 1990, the chapel was rededicated to the 100th anniversary of Ukrainian settlers in Canada with the ceremony being officiated by the Basilian Fathers.
St. Bernadette of Lourdes was a French nun who lived in the 1800s. As a young teenager, she had a series of visions of the Virgin Mary in the Massabielle grotto, ultimately leading to the founding of the shrine of Lourdes.
Watch this video to learn more about St. Bernadette.
GPS Co-ordinates: 53.621476, -112.262722
Affiliation: Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of Edmonton
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