St Ann’s Church, Cowichan Valley

St Ann’s Church just outside Duncan in the Cowichan Valley is one of the most striking of a number of very photogenic churches in the area. The church itself is situated under Mt. Tzouhalem and has an interesting cemetery with the oldest gravestone marked 1891. I have not confirmed this but there are many old gravestones in the cemetery.

The history is quite interesting as well. In 1858, Father Pierre Rondeault established a mission for the Cowichan Indians. He built the old stone “Butter Church” on Comiaken Hill overlooking Cowichan Bay in 1870 but was forced to abandon that church in 1890 and build St Ann’s just down the road where the diocese had clear title to the land. St Ann’s Church was destroyed by fire in 1902 and rebuilt in 1903. This is the church we know today. The Way of the Cross, a traditional pilgrimage from St Ann’s Church to the White Cross on the top of Mt. Tzouhalem is practiced on Good Friday.

Father Pierre Rondeault died in 1900 and is buried beneath the small chapel at the back of St Ann’s Church.

The cemetery at St. Ann's Church, Cowichan Valley, Vancouver Island

Native grave at the cemetery at St. Ann's Church, Cowichan Valley, Vancouver Island