Pointe-aux-Pères Site

The Pointe-Aux-Peres site consists of a large and open landscape located at Ferguson Point in the harbour of the City of Bathurst.

A Provincial Historic Site, it is thought that a Recollet Mission was established here in 1620. Although there are no surface remains, the site is significant as one of the earliest Christian missions in New Brunswick. The site’s first missionary priest was Father Sebastien-Bernadin. In approximately 1643, priests of the Jesuit Order constructed a second chapel, dedicating it to the Blessed Virgin. It was to this mission that Fathers Andre Richard and Baltazar came from Paris as missionaries. In honour of these men, the site was named Pointe-aux-peres. Then, in the mid 1640’s, a Jesuit Mission was established. The site was a place of worship for approximately 100 years.

Source: New Brunswick Culture and Sport Secretariat, Heritage Branch, Site File # 74.

Character-defining elements of the Point-Aux-Peres Provincial Historic Site include:

- its water edge context;

- its potential archaeological resources and resulting knowledge of mission life over 100 year period.