Protection of the BVM Parish – Craigend

Protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary Parish at Lac la Biche and Craigend represents the Ukrainian Catholic mission history of the Lake Belleview, Lake Eliza, and Lake Geneva communities. The parish history records Basilian mission work beginning around 1917-1919, including a first Divine Liturgy at Lake Eliza on June 18, 1917.

The community story is tied to Ukrainian settlers from western Ukraine, rural home services, and land donations for church and cemetery use. Because the surviving evidence is mostly historical mission material, the parish description is best understood as a modest account of its rural Catholic roots near Craigend.