Father Pandosy’s Mission of the Immaculate Conception

When Father Pandosy’s Mission of the Immaculate Conception was finally closed in 1902, the land was purchased by the Kelowna Land and Orchard Company, then subdivided and sold as potential orchard sites. Two years later, fifteen acres of the Mission’s ranch were purchased by Dr. Paul dePfyffer, a Swiss lawyer who had come to the valley to farm. The property was again sold in 1947 and the dilapidated buildings were slated for demolition. A group of concerned people, including the Bishop of Vancouver and the Father Pandosy branch of the Knights of Columbus, rescued and restored the three original buildings. Father Pandosy’s sawn wood church was sold to a local Seventh Day Adventist congregation, who dismantled it and moved it to their property in Rutland. It was subsequently destroyed by fire.

In 1954, the Oblates of Mary Immaculate repurchased the two acres of land containing the original buildings. Four years later they re-dedicated the site as part of celebrations recognizing their one hundred years in British Columbia. The Oblates transferred the land to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Nelson in 1967, and it was subsequently designated as a BC Heritage Site in 1983.

The Father Pandosy Mission has since grown by another two acres and other historic buildings have been added to the grounds. A celebration of the 150th anniversary of Father Pandosy’s Mission was held in August 2010. Representatives from the Catholic Church, the Oblate Order and the Westbank First Nation gathered to acknowledge the remarkable priests whose early arrival transformed the Okanagan Valley. The Mission is located on Benvoulin Road. | Stuart Kernaghan, xyphotos.ca