Saint-Cléophas, Quebec
| Saint-Cléophas | |
|---|---|
| Parish municipality | |
 |
|
 Location within La Matapédia RCM. |
|
 Saint-Cléophas
|
|
| Coordinates: 48°29′N 67°45′W / 48.483°N 67.750°WCoordinates: 48°29′N 67°45′W / 48.483°N 67.750°W | |
| Country |
 Canada
|
| Province |
 Quebec
|
| Region | Bas-Saint-Laurent |
| RCM | La Matapédia |
| Settled | 1908 |
| Constituted | May 19, 1921 |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Jean-Paul Bélanger |
| • Federal riding | Haute-Gaspésie—La Mitis—Matane—Matapédia |
| • Prov. riding | Matane-Matapédia |
| Area | |
| • Total | 97.70 km2 (37.72 sq mi) |
| • Land | 97.74 km2 (37.74 sq mi) |
| There is an apparent contradiction between two authoritative sources |
|
| Population (2011) | |
| • Total | 334 |
| • Density | 3.4/km2 (9/sq mi) |
| • Pop 2006-2011 |
 9.0% |
| • Dwellings | 137 |
| Time zone | EST (UTC−5) |
| • Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC−4) |
| Postal code(s) | G0J 3N0 |
| Area code(s) | 418 and 581 |
| Highways | No major routes |
Saint-Cléophas is a Parish municipality in the regional county municipality of La Matapédia in Quebec (Canada), situated in the administrative region of Bas-Saint-Laurent.
The name chosen for the parish during the municipal erection in 1921, highlights the work of Father Joseph Cleophas Saindon (1866-1941), a priest of the neighboring parish of Saint-Nom-de-Marie-de-Sayabec from 1896 to 1941, serving the parish from 1918. It is also named in honor of Saint Cleophas.
The Parish Municipality of Saint-Cleophas is part of the La Matapédia Regional County Municipality in the Bas-Saint-Laurent. The parish of Saint-Cleophas is part of the Archdiocese of Rimouski.
Saint-Cleophas is located on a side of the mountain chain of the Appalachian specifically in the section of Mt Saint-Anne. The municipality is located 8 km south of the Highway 132 through Sayabec on Lacroix road.
The local economy is mainly based on forestry, sawmills, agriculture and cattle farms of both sheep and dairy. There are also many forests producing maple syrup. In addition, Panval plant in Sayabec provides many jobs.
In the early 1900s, the pioneers of Sayabec created the foundations for St Cleophas in a town known as Awantjish, which was described as having good soil and timber (especially birch, maple and cedar.) By 1908, a group of settlers living in the territory of what is today St. Cleophas made offerings to the Bishop of Rimouski, Monsignor André-Albert Blais, to found a parish in the area. The prelate had considered that it was a premature gesture due to the low population of the area (about 300 people). Finally the parish opened at the end of the First World War. The mission of St. Cleophas to gain both parish and municipality status became a reality, and in 1921 the town detached from the Municipality of Sayabec. However, the pastor of Sayabec, Father Cleophas Saindon, served as the first pastor at St Cleophas until the vicar of Sayabec, Father Charles Pelletier could become pastor of St. Cleophas. It is also in 1921 that the town began to officially use a calendar to mark milestones.
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