The Oblate Order was founded in France in 1816 as the Missionaries of Provence by Charles Joseph Eugene de Mazenod (1782-1861). In 1826 the organization was renamed as the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate. The Oblates began to establish missions in western Canada in 1845 and rapidly became the major missionary organization for the Roman Catholic Church in the region.

The Oblate strategy in each region was to establish a central mission site which would be followed by secondary sites. In the case of the Peace River the first mission was the St. Charles Mission at Dunvegan. One of the later missions was to be the St. Augustine Mission on the Shaftesbury Trail.

A major figure in the history of the Oblates on the Peace River was Father August Husson (1849-1928). His service on the Peace River began with the establishment of a mission at Fort Vermilion in 1876. He is of importance to the Oblates in terms of his contribution as a builder. He was involved in building projects at Fort Vermilion, Dunvegan, Strong Creek, the St. Bernard and St. Antoine missions on Lesser Slave Lake, Fort St. John, Athabasca Landing, the St. Francois-Xavier mission at Sturgeon Lake, Whitefish Lake and the St. Augustine Mission on Shaftesbury Trail.