Ruh, Philip

Ruh, Philip, b 6 August 1883 in Bickenholtz, Alsace-Lorraine, d 24 October 1963 in Saint Boniface, Manitoba. Priest, missionary, and architect. He was ordained an Oblate priest in 1910 and went to Galicia for special training as part of a project to send celibate priests to western Canada. He arrived in Canada in 1911 and served parishes of the Ukrainian Catholic church in Alberta and Manitoba. Although not a trained architect, Ruh designed and built over 20 Ukrainian Catholic churches in Canada, as well as the monastery of the Basilian monastic order in Mundare, Alberta (1922–3), and the calvary at Cook’s Creek, Manitoba (1954–62). Most of his church designs have a cruciform floor plan, with a central dome and two, four, or more smaller domes, echoing the tradition of Ukrainian baroque churches. Saint George’s Cathedral (1939–43) in Saskatoon has a cruciform plan with a central dome and six smaller ones, as has the Church of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (1930–52) in Cook’s Creek. Saint Josaphat’s Cathedral (1936) in Edmonton is similar in style and has a classical colonnaded entrance and portico. Ruh designed and built the large wooden Saint Mary’s Church (1924–5) in Mountain Road, Manitoba, and churches in Portage la Prairie and Dauphin (Manitoba); Kenora, Saint Catharines, and Grimsby (Ontario); and elsewhere. His autobiography was published in 1960.

[This article originally appeared in the Encyclopedia of Ukraine, vol. 4 (1993).]