Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Here’s a really quick look at The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Ukrainian Catholic Church (a mouthful) perched atop an escarpment in the neighbourhood of Renfrew. There’s great views from the property overlooking Bridgeland below and in back, there’s the spectacular skyline of Downtown Calgary. Built in the latter half of the 1950s, it’s follows pretty typical (traditional) Ukrainian Church practice in form and construction.

The main structure is cruciform is shape, really only obvious if looking down from the heavens and the altar is west facing, the preferred orientation. Above, there’s one large dome flanked by four smaller in size. In this configuration, and there can be others (in specific numeric groupings), the five represent Christ along with Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, the “Four Evangelists”.

This structure replaced an earlier church, dating back to the 1910s and found in neighbourhood a bit to the northwest which was later moved to Bridgeland a few blocks away down the same street the current building is on. This building is no longer there. On the opening of this new church the name of the Parish changed its name from St. Stephen’s to present day Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

This is one of a handful of Ukrainian Catholic Churches in the city. We’d sure love to see the inside and have put in a request to make an official revisit. Finger’s crossed.

The week before…
Upper Kananaskis Lake Loop.

Short Subjects: reports that for any number of reasons are brief in nature. They might be updates to older articles, previews of posts planned or not yet published, brief snippets of things that don’t fit in anywhere else or subjects that are so obscure that information on them can’t be found. Or sometimes we just ramble on about Lord knows what.

We’d be happy to hear from you. Go here: contact us!

Date of adventure: July, 2018.
Location: Calgary, Alberta.

Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church Calgary.

It dates from the 1950s.

And we’d love to go back to document it more.