The need for a Catholic Church in this town had been evident for some time. Beginning in 1945, the priest of the neighboring parish of Treherne had been coming to Holland once a month to celebrate Mass in the community hall. In 1946 the Catholic church was built by contractors with much volunteer labor. The new church was blessed by the Bishop of the St Boniface Diocese on October 12 of the same year and became known as Mission of St. John Berchmans of Holland.

The first baby baptized in the new church was Louis Van Den Bussche on Oct. 13, 1946, and the first marriage was Alice Baete to Richard Van De Kerckhove on Octover 22, 1947.

In September of 1964, the Catholic cemetery west of town was blessed by the Bishop of the St Boniface Diocese.

(Source: Holland Manitoba 1877-1967, p 95 [1967; Adapted])

~~~~~~~~~~

Established in 1948, one acre of land for the cemetery was purchased from Vic Patyn. First person buried there was Alzire Perrin. 

(Source: Manitoba Genealogical Society [Adapted])

~~~~~~~~~~

Dominion Land Survey coordinates: LSD03-28-07-11-W1

In the Municipality of Victoria

~~~~~~~~~~

As noted above, parts of the community's story, and those of its inhabitants, from the early days of European settlement through roughly 2002 is told in the volume "Holland Manitoba 1877-1967", especially on the cited pages, and in the related volume "RM of Victoria".

Free digital versions of these and many other Manitoba local history books can be found online in the University of Manitoba Digital Collections. There is also a list of such books organized by district and town name on the Manitoba Historical Society's website on their page entitled "Finding Aid: Manitoba Local History Books".

A list of burials in this cemetery is available from the Manitoba Genealogical Society (reference #0058), transcribed by a member or members in 1983. Also available to MGS members is a searchable online database named the "MGS Manitoba Name Index" (or MANI). Some additional information is contained in the 1996 MGS publication "Carved in Stone: Manitoba Cemeteries and Burial Sites" (revised edition, Special Projects Publication, 106 pages).