The Oblate Missions Collection and Missionary Resources is a uniquely valuable historical resource for researchers and oral historians. The collection includes handwritten letters from hundreds Oblate missionaries (see the index here), an impressive collection of photos (take a glance at some of our photo galleries here), and archdiocesan newsletters owing to the Oblate presence in north-western Canada since their arrival in the region in the mid-19th century. To find out more about this important collection, or if you have something specific in mind, don’t be afraid to contact us. Who are the Oblates of Mary Immaculate, and why are they important? The congregation was founded in Aix-en-Provence on January 25, 1816 by Saint Eugène de Mazenod (1782-1861), a French clergyman from the Catholic Diocese of Marseille. In 1841, at the request of Ignace Bourget, Archbishop of Montréal, the congregation sent its first missionaries to Canada. Initially welcomed in St-Hilaire in Montérégie, the Oblates soon settled in Montreal and Bytown (Ottawa). The Oblates quickly began preaching parish missions and later took on parishes in poor areas. The Oblates spread throughout the wilds of Témiscamingue and Abitibi, and reached as far as Moose Factory and Fort Albany on the cusp of James Bay. In 1845, at the request of Joseph Provencher, the Oblates went to Rivière-Rouge (St-Boniface) in Manitoba. This marked the beginning of missions in Western and Northern Canada. The Oblates served both White and Métis populations, as well as the Amerindians and Inuit, whose languages they learned and studied. It was around 1854 that the first missions were established in the territory that was to become Alberta. Not only were the Oblates called to spread the Christian faith around the world, but their founder encouraged the keeping of documentary archives. Although the documents and photographs are products of their time, sometimes using terms or expressions that shock us today, the fact remains that these archives, correspondence and memoirs are precious tools that help to retrace the history of our region and our province.