Background
Grandin was born in Saint-Pierre-sur-Orthe, France, on 8 February 1829.
Grandin was born in Saint-Pierre-sur-Orthe, France, on 8 February 1829.
This took place in 1868. In the same year, Grandin attended the council of Quebec bishops in 1868 to discuss new religious boundaries in the Canadian northwest.
He was the ninth son in a family of fourteen children of Jean Grandin and Marie Veillard. Upon arrival he was sent to Saint-Boniface, where Bishop Alexandre-Antonin Taché was in charge. Grandin was subsequently assigned to a mission at Fort Chipewyan (now in Alberta).
He next served at Île-à-la-Crosse (now in Saskatchewan) for a number of years.
In 1867, Taché proposed that the vicariate of Saskatchewan be formed with Grandin as vicar of missions. As a result of these discussions, Saint Boniface was elevated and the suffragan diocese of Street Albert was created.
In 1871, Vital-Justin Grandin was appointed bishop. Grandin was never completely healthy.
He had been a sickly child and also had a speech impediment, and his health deteriorated during his later years.
Grandin"s efforts to increase Francophone settlement in Alberta were less successful, but many francophone communities founded at the behest of Grandin (such as Beaumont, Lacombe, and Morinville) still exist in central and Northern Alberta. Bishop Grandin died in office on 3 June 1902. Upon his death, Grandin was succeeded by Bishop Émile-Joseph Legal in the Saint Albert diocese.
Saint Vital, a neighbourhood and a provincial electoral riding in Winnipeg, Manitoba
Grandin, a neighbourhood in Saint Albert, Alberta
Vital Grandin Catholic Elementary School in Saint Albert, Alberta
Grandin LRT station plus adjacent Grandin neighborhood in Edmonton, Alberta
Bishop Grandin Boulevard, also known as Winnipeg Route 165
Bishop Grandin Greenway, a major redevelopment area in Winnipeg
Bishop Grandin High School, a secondary school in Calgary, Alberta under the Calgary Catholic School District
Numerous Catholic elementary schools in Alberta and Manitoba
In Australia the Grandin sporting house at Iona College in Brisbane is named after Bishop Grandin
In Australia the Grandin sporting house at Mazenod College in Western Australia is named after Bishop Grandin.
He did however preside over the development and expansion of the Diocese of Saint Albert, including the founding of new missions and churches throughout Alberta and the construction of hospitals and schools which, unusually for the time, were administered by members of female religious orders and lay clergy.