Ponteix

Population: 577 (2021 census) 

Going to Ponteix, the “Auvergnois” will give you the same warm welcome. This is the name given to the Ponteix inhabitants since many of their ancestors came from the Auvergne region, in France. And they left beautiful traces of their passage. The church, the convent, the Gabriel hospital, and the different families established in the region over the years, have contributed to making this charming little town a place that catches the visitor’s attention. 

The Notre-Dame d'Auvergne church dates from 1929 and is classified as a historic site. Designed by Montreal architect Roland Simard of the Larose et Simard Firm, the neo-Romanesque style of the design is influenced by 12th-century church architecture in northern France. This influence is visible in the tall square towers that balance the façade, the corbels under the roof line, the semicircular windows, and the slender columns with capitals that showcase the entrance. The dimensions of the church contribute to its grandeur, with spiers spanning 34 meters, an interior length of 54 meters, and a 15-meter-high ceiling. The huge open interior space is one of the largest among the province’s churches and can accommodate 1,000 people. The use of regional materials, such as its textured Estevan brick, also contributes to the character of the church which is also known to be one of the largest reinforced concrete structures in southwestern Saskatchewan at the time of its construction. The parish museum, located in the same church, will fascinate curious souls just like the miraculous Pieta. Ponteix will interest lovers of religious tourism. 

Also worth visiting are the illuminated cross along Highway 13, the Notre-Dame-des-Champs sanctuary, the picturesque representation of Mo, the legendary plesiosaur found in Ponteix located at the entrance to the town, and the Notukeu Museum at the cultural center, which houses the collection of Paleo-Indian artifacts compiled by one of the amateur archaeologists of the Western Plains renowned for his rigor and professionalism: the late Henri Liboiron.