St. Norbert lies just south of the Perimeter Highway, at the junction of the Red and La Salle rivers, sometimes referred to as Winnipeg’s “other forks.” In 1869-1870, during the Red River Rebellion, Louis Riel ordered the construction of a barricade to the south of St. Norbert to prevent William McDougall, then lieutenant-governor of Rupert’s Land, from entering and taking over the settlement on behalf of the Canadian government. Father Noël Ritchot, a St. Norbert parish priest, was sent by Louis Riel to Ottawa to negotiate Manitoba’s entry into Canadian Confederation. Following the success of his mission, Father Ritchot built the Chapelle Notre-Dame-du-Bon-Secours (Our Lady of Good Help chapel) in St. Norbert and dedicated it to the Virgin Mary for allowing the political crisis to be resolved without bloodshed.
