The new, francophone, Diocese of Gravelbourg was established on January 31, 1930 with the same papal decree that announced the appointment of the successor to Archbishop Mathieu in Regina.

Several months later, on July 3, 1930, the appointment of the first Bishop of Gravelbourg followed.

Situated in the semi-arid southwest corner of Saskatchewan, this area suffered the most severe effects of the Great Drought. The total population of the new diocese, according to the 1931 census, was 124,000, of which 30,000 were Catholic, for the most part francophone.

The great majority of the clergy were also French speaking. The Prelate district in the northwest of the diocese had a heavy concentration of people of German descent.

The following were Bishops of Gravelbourg from 1930 to 1998.
To read about a Bishop, click a photo.

Bishop Villeneuve 1930 - 1932	Bishop Melanson 1933 - 1937	Bishop Guy 1937 - 1942
Bishop Lemieux 1944 - 1953	Bishop Decosse 1954 - 1973	Bishop Delaquis 1974 - 1995
Bishop Roussin 1995 - 1998