“Ever since I was old enough to walk to church, I went to the Mission House church and then the big church on Sundays,” said Leon Rafferty, a 68-year-old elder from Behchok.
Earlier this month, St. Michael Parish announced it would demolish the former Mission House, which for decades served as a home for priests, a place where they preached and ultimately served as a spiritual home for the community.
It was originally built in the 1930s as a Roman Catholic missionary school.
“I think people should remember that the Mission is where it all began,” Lafferty said, referring to a time when there weren’t many places to come together as a community and offer support.
(Photo courtesy of NWT Archives)
Behchok, then known as Fort Ray, was considered a major trading post for the Hudson’s Bay Company, which helped establish the community and provided extra income for its residents.
Other than the hospital, the Old Mission House was the place to go.
“If you needed help, that was the place to go. If you needed advice from a priest, that was the Mission. If you needed banking, that was the Mission,” Lafferty said.
Mr Lafferty fondly remembers his time serving as an altar boy at the Old Mission House and believes it formed the foundation for who he is today.
Being involved with the church was a family affair, and it was his grandmother who suggested it.
“That church was so small and you could see it from anywhere in our little town, so everywhere I went I was reminded of that church,” he says.
(Photo courtesy of NWT Archives)
While younger people may not understand the significance, “it’s good to have memories,” he says.
But Mr Lafferty said he would be happy to see the building go and that it should be turned into a car park because “parking has always been an issue”.
Several years ago, the Old Mission House was deemed unusable due to mold, asbestos, and other problems caused by aging. Volunteers and church members are currently cleaning up the site in preparation for demolition, including tables, chairs, dishes, and cooking pots and pans.
Rafferty returned to pick up some souvenirs and selected a door handle that he plans to reuse in his own cabin.
“It’s very sad because it’s such a historic place,” said Father Gerald (Mick) Fleming, the current priest of St. Michael’s Church, “and it was such an important (building) in the life of the community.”
The old mission houses were small enough to be heated in the winter and had living quarters, kitchens and bathrooms – some features that even modern churches don’t have.
There are currently no plans to reuse the space, Father Mick said.
“We’re trying to preserve as much as we can,” he says.
The parish cleaned up the place, donated items and sent photos and documents to the Bechocho Museum (on the second floor of the Kogocho Sportsplex Centre) for safekeeping.
“To dream and consider what possibilities there might be for the use of this space as we move forward as a community and as a parish is only possible if we unfortunately have to demolish it.”
If it were up to him, he said, he would build another building on the site “to house catechesis and Bible study programs and have proper restroom facilities as a mark of respect for the elders.”
“It played an[important]role in the lives of our elders, many of whom have passed away,” he said. “They are people who have that history, who are holders of a lot of sacred knowledge who have been emotionally and spiritually attached to it, so it’s always hard to let go.”
Fr Mick said he plans to host a memorial service at the old mission house for local residents in the coming months.
“He was like a father to us.”
“When we were younger, there weren’t many places to go, but the mission was always a place where anyone could stop by and sit and talk,” said George MacKenzie, a former Tulichow Grand Chief and parishioner.
He said that on their return from the Hudson’s Bay Company near the island, they all gathered at the Old Mission House.
He fondly remembers Father Jean Pochat, a former priest who kept the doors open.
“We talked about everything,” MacKenzie says. “I was his student.”
McKenzie said he also served as an altar boy before returning to boarding school in Fort Smith.
Fr Pochat served the community through St. Michael’s Church and Mission for some 46 years and was so loved that he was buried on the grounds.
“He was like a father to us,” he says. “He was understanding and a great listener.”
Like Rafferty, Mackenzie says his time with Father Pochat was a defining moment in shaping who he is.
“I remember him being part of the mission building,” he added.
“We will never forget what that building looked like and what it meant to us, young and old. It was a place to gather, not necessarily to worship, but just to visit one another.”
Kara Sampariel was still a child when Father Pochat died.
“I remember visiting the Mission House one Halloween trick-or-treat and seeing Pochat teaching another priest how to count in two different languages, Latin and Dogrib. Pochat counted perfectly, but the other priest kept getting it wrong.”
“He was a good man and I am still touched that he called Behchok home and that he is buried there.”
The Rev. Jean Pochat passed away in 2010 at the age of 82 after serving the Northwest Territories for 60 years.
