Assumption Church denied national historic site designation; parish vows to keep pushing

Assumption Church loses its bid to be designated as a historical site. CTV Windsor’s Travis Fortnum explains.

Our Lady of Assumption Church will not be added to Canada’s list of national historic sites.

The news came as a disappointment to those working to preserve the historic building.

Paul Mullins, a longtime volunteer leading the restoration effort, said the outcome left him stunned.

“It’s incredibly disappointing to me, and a huge surprise to anyone who is familiar with this property and with this church,” Mullins said.

The parish submitted its application for national historic site designation in 2022.

Volunteers believed the church’s long history and role in the community made it a shoo-in.

“It was built in 1845 – established as a parish in 1767, exactly 100 years before Confederation - and it was the first Catholic parish in this part of the country,” Mullins said.

He added that the parish’s roots trace back even further, to a Jesuit mission among the Huron-Wendat in 1728 — a tricentennial they are preparing to mark in 2028.

The Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada, however, saw it differently.

In minutes from its December 2024 meeting, the Board wrote that “the overall architecture of the church was not considered an outstanding example of a church of that place and time.”

Parks Canada expanded on that decision in a statement to CTV News.

The agency said the Board considered both the church’s Gothic Revival architecture and its interior decorations by Italian-Canadian artist Guido Nincheri, but concluded the site did not meet the criteria for designation.

While members agreed the artwork is important, they found it was “not among the best examples” of Nincheri’s work, and that the church’s design is not considered outstanding for its place and time in Canada.

Mullins, however, argued the Nincheri work inside Assumption makes it unique.

“We’re celebrating the 100th anniversary of the beautiful artwork that was done by Guido Nincheri, an artist from Italy who was knighted by the pope, who did a self-portrait of himself up in the ceiling here and did a portrait of his wife as Our Lady of the Assumption above the altar,” he said.

According to the Board’s minutes, the Assumption commission was one of Nincheri’s earliest Canadian works, completed in 1925 after he set up a studio in Montreal.

Mullins shared the rejection with parishioners during Masses over the weekend.

“The comments I received afterwards were just amazement, surprise, disappointment,” he said.

“And an encouragement not to accept that as the final answer.”

What’s next

Mullins said parish leaders are now seeking clarification from Parks Canada and plan to approach Steven Guilbeault, the minister responsible for Parks Canada, to invite him for a personal tour.

CTV News asked Parks Canada why a decision made in December 2024 was only communicated to the parish this month.

A spokesperson noted that administrative requirements may affect timelines for communicating outcomes, and confirmed the door is open for another attempt. “Should new information about the proposed commemorative aspects of Our Lady of Assumption become available, the Board would be pleased to review a secondary application for nomination,” the agency said.

While disappointed, Mullins said parish leaders aren’t finished.

“They can’t see the forest for the trees,” he said. “Apparently we didn’t pass that particular test… but there’s so much more that’s represented in this church that we really have to take a broader look at it.”