Local fundraising to rebuild St. Jean Baptiste Church

By Grant Cree

Several local groups are fundraising to rebuild St. Jean Baptiste Church after being destroyed by fire on June 30. The 114-year old parish was a landmark in Morinville, and now there are numerous fundraising campaigns to rebuild the parish and community gathering place. 

Tara Ricioppo, the Art Teacher and Faith Lead at Morinville Community High School (MCHS), decided to help with an online auction organized by the Greater St. Albert Catholic School Board (GSACRD).

“It came together kind of fast,” said Ricioppo, who credited GSACRD for the church fundraising initiative, which she supported with other faculty at MCHS.

Her involvement started when fundraising was raised during a monthly meeting with her peers. A teacher suggested an online auction similar to the one used to secure students’ donations to make pet beds.

“ I got the word out to faculty at MCHS and our Principal Don Hinks put it out to the parents,” said Ricioppo, who also posted the fundraising message on the school’s Facebook page. Soon after, a colleague forwarded her a website for online auctions.

“I checked it out, and it looked pretty user-friendly,” she said. “I posted that we were looking for items and seeing if anybody had anything they would like to donate. I’ve never done this before and wasn’t sure what to expect.”

Ricioppo set up the online post on November 28, and the word went out that they were looking for donations. The online auction started on Dec. 13 and closed on the 16th. “We ended up with 100 items and we put it online just for three days,” she said. “For our goal, I put $1,500, and we raised $2,722. So yeah, we’re pretty excited about that.”

Due to pandemic safety restrictions on public gatherings, the school authorities decided against an in-person cheque presentation. Instead, they donated the funds to St. Jean Baptiste Church online.

“I think we might have some kind of fundraising adventure again in the spring because it’s obviously it hit the community pretty hard,” said Ricioppo. “I think people are still processing what happened.”

According to Alberta Culture and Community Spirit, Father Jean-Baptiste Morin led several Francophone families from Quebec in 1891 to what is now the Morinville area. Construction began in 1894 on a church featuring an ornate brick building with a steep gable roof, tall central steeple with flanking towers and stained-glass windows.

The heritage value is associated with French religious culture, connected with the majestic architectural traditions in Quebec. The St. Jean Baptiste Church was completed in 1907, and the first mass was held on Jan. 1, 1908.