University of SaskatchewanHARVEST
  • Login
  • Submit Your Work
  • About
    • About HARVEST
    • Guidelines
    • Browse
      • All of HARVEST
      • Communities & Collections
      • By Issue Date
      • Authors
      • Titles
      • Subjects
      • This Collection
      • By Issue Date
      • Authors
      • Titles
      • Subjects
    • My Account
      • Login
      JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.
      View Item 
      • HARVEST
      • Electronic Theses and Dissertations
      • Graduate Theses and Dissertations
      • View Item
      • HARVEST
      • Electronic Theses and Dissertations
      • Graduate Theses and Dissertations
      • View Item

      The German Catholics of St. Peter's Colony: 1903-1930

      Thumbnail
      View/Open
      PAPROSKI-THESIS.pdf (721.6Kb)
      Date
      2011-09-13
      Author
      Paproski, Bruce
      Type
      Thesis
      Degree Level
      Masters
      Metadata
      Show full item record
      Abstract
      The Canadian government, at the turn of the last century, encouraged immigration to Canada. Thousands of German-Catholic immigrants from the United States and Europe responded to the promotion campaign and settled in central Saskatchewan. They formed a religious unit, St. Peter’s Colony, in conjunction with Benedictine monks, many of whom were of German-Catholic origin. The monks and colonists built churches and schools. Some of the schools were privately run church (parochial) schools. Catholic nuns taught in some of the public schools. The majority Anglo-Saxon Protestants looked on with suspicion at Peter’s Colony. There was a fear that the German Catholics were resisting assimilation into the larger Anglo-Canadian culture. The German Catholics were accused of being disloyal when investigations concluded they were using schools to promote their religious faith and German language. The question of loyalty and how it was understood by the German Catholics of St. Peter’s Colony has never been examined. The histories of communities and pioneers of the former colony focus on their particular topics of interest and do not take a comprehensive look at the common values and aspirations shared by the pioneers. This thesis examines the sense of loyalty and citizenship of the colonists by looking at three important aspects of the former colony. The thesis begins by examining the correspondence and decisions of Benedictines. Then the thesis analyzes community histories to determine how communities perceived themselves as belonging to a German-Catholic colony and country of Canada. Next, it reviews histories of the pioneer families to uncover their common values and aspirations. Finally, the thesis concludes that the colonists of St. Peter’s Abbey were loyal citizens who expressed their values through their German-Catholic culture.
      Degree
      Master of Arts (M.A.)
      Department
      History
      Program
      History
      Supervisor
      Waiser, William (Bill) A.
      Committee
      Klaassen, Walter; Deutcsher, Tom; Garcea, Joseph (Joe); Zellar, Gary
      Copyright Date
      August 2011
      URI
      http://hdl.handle.net/10388/ETD-2011-08-25
      Subject
      Loyal
      German Catholic: Saskatchewan
      Colony
      Monk
      Benedictine
      Abbot
      Prior
      Collections
      • Graduate Theses and Dissertations
      University of Saskatchewan

      University Library

      © University of Saskatchewan
      Contact Us | Disclaimer | Privacy