Winnipeg's St. Boniface Cathedral and its surrounding grounds have been granted heritage status.

The current cathedral was built into the skeleton of the original 1908 limestone building, which was destroyed in a 1968 fire.

St. Boniface Cathedral's empty stone ring was once filled with a large stained glass window that was destroyed in the 1968 fire. (Tourisme Riel)

Cindy Tugwell of Heritage Winnipeg says it wasn't granted heritage status before now because the owner had not sought it previously.

Now it has the highest heritage grade, which means an added responsibility to the owner. Many heritage properties cannot have alterations done to the facade. In this case, even the interior cannot be changed.

"It is a pure preservation if you will," said Tugwell, noting that "very few buildings" in the city have such an all-encompassing status.

"So you're looking at a landmark building," she said.

Métis leader Louis Riel is buried on the cemetery grounds of the cathedral.