Cape Croker Mission

The Chippawas occupied the Saugeen and Huron Peninsula in the beginning of the 18th century. Chippawas communities also settled at Brooke (Owen Sound) during the 19th century, and then at Cape Croker. When Indigenous Catholic communities moved to Cape Croker, the Indian Department approached the Jesuit fathers, then stationed at Berlin, Ontario, and requested that a priest visit them. George Falhuber, S.J., arrived in the summer of 1857, and alongside Indigenous peoples, built a log church where the present church is located.

The Jesuit presence was sporadic in the subsequent years, but from 1860 until 1902, Jesuit missionaries located in Wikwemikong visited Cape Croker regularly. These missionaries came three or four times a year, while also visiting surrounding communities of the Bruce Peninsula. In 1902, Gaston J. Artus, S.J., was appointed to the mission at Cape Croker and subsequently established a more permanent Jesuit presence in the area. Joseph Cadot, S.J., replaced Father Artus and stayed in the region for twenty-seven years. In 1907, a stone church was erected. Indigenous peoples contributed to the building of the church, then named St. Mary’s. In 1931, Father Cadot moved to Saugeen and resided there until his retirement at the Jesuit Novitiate in 1936. The Cape Croker Mission included the activities of priests in the area. The St. John’s Catholic Church at Waubaushene was part of the activities of the Cape Croker Mission.