In 1912 Father Patrick Beaudry obtained two lots of land in Edson from Mrs. J. O’Reilly residing in Grand Forks and a small church with a seating capacity for 40 people was built under his care in the Autumn of 1912. On November 10, 1912 it was dedicated to St. John the Evangelist and on July 22, 1922 Archbishop O’Leary blessed the church on his first visit to Edson. In 1926 the parishioners changed the name of their parish to Sacred Heart (though the reason for this change is not documented). In 1951 a new church was built an on Oct 19, 1952 Archbishop MacDonald blessed the cornerstone of the new Sacred Heart Parish. The former church was converted into a parish house. The parish was served by many Oblate, diocesan and Redemptorist fathers.
Prior to 1912 Immaculate Conception church offered two services, one in French and one in English. In the spring of 1913 a church building was begun for English-speaking parishioners lead by Rev. Maxime Pilion. The Parish had been erected by Archbishop Legal on Dec.21, 1912 and on July 13, 1913 the cornerstone was blessed. On May 10, 1914 Archbishop Legal blessed the new church and dedicated it to the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
In the 1930s and 1940s Sacred Heart served both the missions of St. Anne at Fraser Flats (1934-1945) and the mission of St. Patrick in Fairview (1939-1949).
In 1966 a fire destroyed the church. During the renovations serves were held at Sacred Heart School.
In 1978 the Ad Hoc Committee of the Inner City was formed by the Social Justice Commission. In 1985, although not formally acknowledge as such until 1991, Sacred Heart became the first Native Parish in Canada for an estimated 30,000 individuals of Metis and First Nations heritage.
Today the church continues to thrive in Edmonton’s inner city.
Sacred Heart Parish in Altario, formerly known as Bideford, was served from Consort by Father J.T. Currier and Father McQuaid until a church was built in 1927. Between 1927 and 1929 the church was a mission served from Assumption Parish in South Rosenheim. In 1929 Altario received a resident pastor, Father Schachtel who served at the parish until 1932. In 1932 Altario became a mission once again for Assumption Parish in South Rosenheim, served by Father Fidelis Becker (1932-1943) and Father Joseph Rolheiser (1943-1951).
In 1919 Father Jacob Schwebius celebrated the first mass in Compeer in a family home. Mass would continue to be celebrated in private homes in the area until the Compeer Altar Society was organized by Father Becker, pastor at Rosenheim, to raise funds to build a church. On July 23rd, 1948, after substantial renovations to a school purchased by the Altar Society Archbishop J.H. MacDonald blessed the new church and dedicated it to St. Joseph.
In 1951 both Compeer and Altario became missions of Consort. In 1968 when the diocese parishes were reorganized Altario and Compeer missions were transferred to Assumption Parish in Bodo served by Father Francis Dittrich until 1985. In 1985 both mission were transferred to Provost Parish. Finally in 1988 the missions of Compeer and Altario were amalgamated and the first mass, for the newly mergerd parishes was celebrated on August 28, 1988 in Compeer. Services continued until 1996 when due to limited resources and declining church population they were ceased. The Compeer church was closed on June 30 1996 and the building was sold on March 22, 2000.