Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church was built 1909-10 by
Father Jean-Marie-Raphaël Le Jeune (April 12m 1855 – November 21, 1930) a native of Pleyber-Christ, France. An Oblate Father, he volunteered for missionary service, arriving in Canada in 1879. A gifted linguist, he travelled among the native people of British Columbia, eventually learning over twenty naive languages. Bringing the Catholic faith to the natives, he built several churches in Southern BC, this being one. It remained a Catholic church until 1984, becoming home to the
Chase Museum in 1987. The church itself continues, in a new building at 1200 Shuswap Avenue.
Since the opening of the museum, more buildings have been added to the site, as well as some outdoor displays. Today one may see a heritage homestead cabin, a garage containing a 1923 Franklin Touring Sedan, an Adams Leaning Wheel grader and, in a small pavilion, a stationary gasoline engine and a water pump. Just outside the entrance to the museum is a large stone cairn topped with a bell from a Canadian Pacific Railway engine. The 1923 Franklin is viewable anytime, as one side of its garage has glass picture windows.
Again, this museum was closed (or not yet open for the season) when we visited, so we have precious little information on interior exhibits, beyond what their website has to offer.
The Museum is housed in the historic Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church built by Father LeJeune in 1910. This structure has the distinction of being an original building in the new boom town. The heritage integrity of the church with vaulted barrel ceiling and cathedral-style windows has been retained throughout these many years. The building operated as a church until 1984 and has housed the museum since 1987.
From the Chase Museum
Chase Museum
In 2011, the Museum suffered a major fire that caused significant damage to the building and many artifacts. Since then, the museum has been fully renovated and hundreds of artifacts have been cleaned and restored. This massive effort would not have been possible without our dedicated volunteers and support from our local government.
The Museum itself is located within the original Catholic Church that was built in Chase in the early 20th century. On its grounds, the museum also has a heritage homestead cabin, a garage containing a 1923 Franklin Touring Sedan, and a historical grader.
In 2018 the Museum unveiled a large stone cairn topped with a bell from a Canadian Pacific Railway engine that traveled through Chase. This cairn, with the theme "Together We Are Stronger" displays plaques from the three First Nations bands in our district, the Province of British Columbia, the Village of Chase, and the Chase Museum. Alongside the cairn, the Museum now flies the flag of the Secwepemc Nation alongside the flags of Canada and British Columbia to symbolize the importance of First Nations people to our area
From the Chase Museum