St. Laurent de Grandin was the first permanent Métis settlement along the South Saskatchewan River. It is just north east of Duck Lake, Saskatchewan, and at present is north of the St. Laurent Ferry, and is now the Roman Catholic Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes.
Although never a town, St. Laurent was an important area of settlement and of spiritual significance in the area during the late 19th Century. St. Laurent’s picturesque scenery continues to attract tourists to the shrine along the Louis Riel Trail today.
In 1885 a statue was donated and placed at the site in appreciation of the first healing to occur. The statue remains an important element of the site. The grotto has been rebuilt many times over the years, most recently in 1951.
Listed as one of Canada’s Historic Places, during the 1885 North West Resistance the battle between the local community, dominated by the Métis, and the Canadian military, the site served as a place of refuge for community members. The cemetery contains the graves of several local residents killed during the battle of Duck Lake. The community upheaval which followed the 1885 North West Resistance eventually resulted in the mission being closed in 1894.
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