ST. MARY'S CATHOLIC CHURCH

In 1850, Martín De León's family gifted the Catholic Church with the land of their original homesite. This land is the current site of St. Mary's Church and the Nazareth Convent. Several years later, in 1858, Father Augustine Gardet, the pastor of St. Mary's at the time, started construction for a church on this site. The church was completed in 1860 and formally dedicated in 1863. 

At the invitation of Father Gardet, the Sisters of the Incarnate Word and Blessed Sacrament, led by Mother St. Claire Valentine, arrived in Victoria on December 21, 1866. Just a few weeks later, the Academy of Nazareth opened and began the first day of classes with 55 students. In 1904, St. Mary's Church, in its current splendor, was completed. The construction of the current Nazareth Convent was also completed at that time and housed Nazareth Academy, boarders for the Academy, and a residence for the Sisters. This continued until 1951 when the current Nazareth Academy School building, across Bridge Street from the Convent, was completed and dedicated. Subsequently, the Convent then became a place primarily for boarders and the Sisters' residence. In 1963, the Incarnate Word Convent was constructed on Water Street in Victoria and ultimately reduced the number of Sisters residing at the Nazareth Convent.

Designed by Victoria architect, Jules Leffland in the Rococo Revival Style, the Nazareth Convent is his most unusual and creative design. Leffland's ecclectic creation drew from the then popular styles of Spanish and Mission Revival and perhaps historic references such as the Flemish Guild Halls.