Saskatoon Catholic cathedral covered with paint after discovery of 751 unmarked graves

The doors of a Roman Catholic cathedral in downtown Saskatoon were splattered with paint Thursday afternoon after the discovery of hundreds of unmarked graves at the former Marieval Indian Residential School.

Sask. First Nation announces discovery of 751 unmarked graves near former residential school

Video of the event posted to social media showed a woman painting and splattering red paint on the door and the sign of  St. Paul’s Co-Cathedral.

Photos of the aftermath show the words “We Were Children” scrawled on the church door.

The Catholic Church has been criticized for its role in the residential school system, especially for its reluctance to provide records relating to burial grounds.

On Thursday, the Cowessess First Nation announced the preliminary discovery of 751 unmarked graves at the former residential school. The announcement caused shock and outrage across the country.

The finding comes after another discovery at the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc First Nation in B.C. which announced the discovery of a burial site adjacent to the former Kamloops Indian Residential School. Preliminary findings indicate the site contains the remains of 215 children.

 Emotional experience

An eyewitness said watching the event was a beautiful experience.

Cathy Bohachik was outside the cathedral commemorating the 60th anniversary of her parents’ marriage when roughly 20 people approached the area wearing orange shirts.

Then, one woman broke away from the group and began to paint the door.

“It was very solemn, and it was very peaceful and it was really beautiful,” she said.

“And then she started to do her artwork, and we were actually quite speechless.”

Bohachik was raised as a Catholic and said she had never heard of the residential school system growing up. She’s grateful she was there to witness the event.

“It was the most amazing experience I’ve seen in Saskatchewan, ever,” she said.

“I was very emotional all evening long, and I was so grateful that I was there to see it.”

By Friday morning, the paint had been removed and a security guard had been posted outside the church.

As of early Friday morning, neither St Paul’s Co-Cathedral nor the Roman Catholic Diocese of Saskatoon had issued a statement on the incident.

On Thursday, the Catholic Bishops of Saskatchewan addressed the Cowessess discovery, saying that the experience was “heartbreaking and devastating,” especially for residential school survivors.

The statement went on to say the Bishops support reconciliation and committed themselves to stand by Cowessess First Nation Chief Cadmus Delorme.

CBC