Keywords Architects Born in 1883

In 1930 Father Ruh was assigned to Cook's Creek, Man, where he remained to complete his double vocation as priest and as architect. It was in 1930 that he began to design and oversee the construction of the Church of the Immaculate Conception, a monument which was not finally completed until 1952. In 1941, in the middle of the long construction period, he was promoted to the position of monseigneur. The grotto and calvary adjacent to the church itself were begun in 1954 and were still incomplete at his death in 1962.

Father Ruh applied his skills and energies to many other churches during the long construction period at Cook's Creek. During the last 30 years of his life he designed many great churches in towns and cities across Ontario and western Canada. St Josophat's in Edmonton (c 1942) is one remaining example of his work. Churches were also designed for Dauphin, Saskatoon and Grimsby, Ont.

Father Ruh was one of the greatest church builders of Canada. Adapting the plans he brought with him to his adopted land, he achieved an often stimulating fusion of the grand style and the vernacular. At least 40 of the buildings he designed across western Canada remain as his legacy.

Mountain Road Church
Manitoba, designed by Philip Ruh (courtesy Provincial Archives of Manitoba).

Church of the Immaculate Conception
Cook's Creek, Manitoba (architect Father Ruh, begun 1930) (courtesy Manitoba Culture, Heritage and Citizenship, Historic Resources).

Author WILLIAM P. THOMPSON

Suggested Reading
B. Rotoff et al, Monuments to Faith (1990); Philip Ruh, Missionary and Architect (his biography in Ukrainian with an English translation) (1960).