On the 22nd of September, 1871, Bishop Taché was appointed Archbishop and Metropolitan of a new ecclesiastical province—that of St. Boniface, which comprehends the Archdiocese of St. Boniface, the Diocese of St. Albert, and the Vicariates Apostolic of Athabaska-Mackenzie and British Columbia. As already stated, Archbishop Taché's health began to fail during his harassing journey in the winter of 1860. The calamities above mentioned, the losses to be repaired requiring unceasing toil, and, above all, it may be said, the mental suffering of the three previous years, hastened the progress of the disease which seized Archbishop Taché in December, 1872, and kept him bedridden during the whole winter. The malady has since partially subsided, but His Grace still suffers constantly, more or less, and his strength is by no means equal to what his appearance would indicate.
In 1875 Archbishop Taché received a remarkable token of the sympathy he commands in the Province of Quebec. On the 24th of June, the thirtieth anniversary of his departure from Montreal, and the twenty-fifth of his election to the episcopate, His Grace was made the recipient of a very uncommon and valuable gift, that of a splendid organ for his cathedral. The instrument, which cost about $3,000, was built in Montreal by Mr. Mitchell, who accompanied it to St. Boniface, at the expense of the donors, to place it in the loft prepared for it there, "to raise its rich and melodious tones, as the expression of the feelings of the numerous friends and admirers of a holy missionary, a devoted bishop, and a noble citizen."
In 1877 Lord Dufferin visited the Province of Manitoba. Many looked forward with a certain anxiety to see the attitude the Archbishop of St. Boniface would take towards or receive from the Governor-General. That feeling was caused by the recollection of what Lord Dufferin had written to England with regard to Bishop Taché, and of how His Grace had repudiated His Excellency's assertions in the pamphlet alluded to above. Those better acquainted with His Grace knew quite well that every other feeling would be silenced in order to give vent only to that of profound respect towards the representative of Her Majesty, and for them it was no matter of surprise to see His Grace, contrary to his practice, appear daily in public, when an opportunity afforded itself, to testify his respect for the illustrious visitor. This, of course, was felt by Lord Dufferin, who shortly after wrote to a friend: "I left Bishop Taché very well and in good spirits. Nothing could have been kinder than the reception he gave me." It may even be said that Lord Dufferin seemed eager to express his esteem for the venerable prelate. The second day after His Excellency's arrival he was at the Archiepiscopal Palace of St. Boniface, and answered as follows to an address from the Archbishop and Catholic clergy of the locality:—
"Monseigneur et Messieurs,—I need not assure you that it is with great satisfaction that I at length find myself within the jurisdiction of Your Grace, and in the neighbourhood of those localities where you and your clergy have for so many years been prosecuting your sacred duties. Your Grace, I am sure, is well aware how thoroughly I understand and appreciate the degree to which the Catholic Priesthood of Canada have contributed to the progress of civilization, from the earliest days till the present moment, through the length and breadth of Her Majesty's Dominion, and perhaps there is no region where their efforts in this direction are more evident or more strikingly expressed upon the face of the country than here in Manitoba. On many a previous occasion it has been my pleasing duty to bear witness to the unvarying loyalty and devotion to the cause of good government and order of yourself and your brethren, and the kindly feeling and patriotic harmony which I find prevailing in this Province bear unmistakable witness to the spirit of charity and sympathy towards all classes of your fellow-citizens by which Your Lordship and your clergy are animated. To myself individually it is a great satisfaction to visit the scene of the labours of a great personage for whom I entertain such a sincere friendship and esteem as I do for Your Grace, and to contemplate with my own eyes the beneficial effects produced by your lifelong labours and unwearying self-sacrifice and devotion to the interests of your flock. I trust that both they and this whole region may by the providence of God be long permitted to profit by your benevolent ministrations. Permit me to assure Your Grace and the clergy of your diocese that both Lady Dufferin and myself are deeply grateful for the kind and hearty welcome you have prepared for us." These words, falling from the lips of the immediate representative of Her Majesty, during an official visit, should go some distance towards compensating Archbishop Taché for all the unfair accusations brought against him, and they were a source of heartfelt pleasure to the large audience surrounding the Governor-General on that occasion. During the same year an American writer who visited Manitoba, and published a pamphlet on the country, was taken by the well-known merits and pleasant intercourse of Monseigneur Taché, of whom he says:—"Of Bishop Taché, the Archbishop of this great domain, who resides at this mission (St. Boniface), much, very much, might be said. His travels, labours and ministry have been extensive and acceptable. Still a few words of the Psalmist will better express him as he is than any words of mine. 'The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord; and he delighteth in his way. Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright; for the end of that man is peace.' And so it seems to be with him, in the peaceful air of this Mission, which, with his kindly, genial way, seems to make the above-quoted words particularly appropriate, and to cause one to sincerely wish that 'his days may be long in the land, which the Lord his God hath given him.'"
In 1879 the friends of the Archbishop dreaded that the wishes expressed in the last quotation would not be realized. All through the month of April in that year His Grace was far from well, and on the 2nd of May, while assisting at a literary entertainment held at the college in honour of his festal day, he was seized with a severe attack of the chronic disease from which he suffers. For a whole week much anxiety prevailed relative to his recovery. Happily he got over the attack, and three months of rest passed in the Province of Quebec restored His Grace to his usual condition of health. The Archbishop had proposed crossing the Atlantic for his decennial visit to Rome, and also to attend the General Chapter of the Oblate Order. Sickness did not permit His Grace to make the intended voyage, which would have been the sixth one made by him to Europe. Archbishop Taché often complains of having lost most of his energy and activity; nevertheless it is easy to see that he is not idle concerning the interests of his flock. Last year witnessed the erection of a splendid college in St. Boniface, a spacious and beautiful convent in Winnipeg, the new and grand church of St. Mary in the same city, besides the chapels of Emerson, St. Pie, St. Pierre, and many other improvements in different localities; and when we know the active part Archbishop Taché has taken in all these improvements, and the considerable assistance afforded by him, it must be admitted that his force is not exhausted. His zeal, energy and activity may be measured to a certain degree by the following synopsis of what has been accomplished since his arrival in the country. When Father Taché was ordained Priest at St. Boniface, in 1845, he was only the sixth Roman Catholic clergyman in the British Possessions from Lake Superior to the Rocky mountains—that is to say in the whole diocese of St. Boniface. There were but two parishes and one mission established in the colony of Assiniboia, viz.: St. Boniface, St. François Xavier, and St. Paul; and two missions in the North-West Territories. At present there are in the same country an Archdiocese, a Diocese and a Vicariate Apostolic, Archbishop, three Bishops, twenty Secular Priests, sixty-two Oblate Fathers, thirty Oblate Lay Brothers, three Brothers of the Congregation of Mary, sixty-five Sisters of Charity, and eleven Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary. There are eighteen parishes in Manitoba, and more than forty established missions in the North-West Territories.
The above figures will convey some idea of the progress made by the Roman Catholic religion in the North-West during the last thirty-five years, and as Archbishop Taché has presided over its affairs for nearly thirty years as Bishop or Archbishop it is impossible to doubt that he has displayed a great deal of energy, activity and ability, as well as much Christian kindness and sympathy.
