We took my (late) aunt to Montréal to meet my husband’s family and to visit the city’s magnificent churches.
Oratoire Saint-Joseph du Mont-Royal (St. Joseph’s Oratory of Mount Royal)
Upon arrival in Montréal, we drove directly to Oratoire Saint-Joseph du Mont-Royal (Saint Joseph’s Oratory of Mount Royal), a Catholic shrine founded by Saint André Bessette in honour of Saint Joseph. It is a National Historic Site of Canada and the country’s largest church with one of the largest domes in the world. Before leaving Ottawa, we found out that there was an anniversary Mass that was going to be held that evening in honour of Saint André and we wanted to attend.
Luckily, we found a parking spot right away and made it on time. The Mass was a High Mass in French and the music was provided by the Petits Chanteurs du Mont-Royal, the basilica’s famous boys’ choir. It was my aunt’s first taste of a French Catholic service enhanced by heavenly Gregorian chants and French contemporary choral pieces.
After the Mass, we toured her around the property. The church was built in 1914 but was only completed in 1941. The construction was done in stages and was halted during the Great Depression. It started as a small chapel built in 1904 when Brother André, a monk from the Congregation of the Holy Cross became renowned as a miracle healer and was given funding to build a chapel from where to operate. The chapel has been expanded over the years, until they decided to build a basilica in honour of Brother André’s patron saint, Saint Joseph.
Nowadays, aside from the Basilica, the property has a Crypt Church, a Votive Chapel, a Shrine, great pipe organs including a Casavant, a set of carillon bells, a museum, an archives centre, an exhibition centre, a gift shop, a garden of The Way of the Cross, and a park. The original chapel also stands within the property.
We lit candles at the Votive Chapel and prayed to Saint Joseph at the shrine before we explored the other areas. At the end of the tour, we stood atop the stairs and watched the sunset against the backdrop of the Montreal skyline.
What a wonderful first day in Montréal for my aunt!
The next day was dedicated to a tour of the other notable churches in downtown Montréal.
Basilique Notre-Dame de Montréal (Notre-Dame Basilica of Montréal)
The first church we wanted her to see was, of course, the Basilique Notre-Dame de Montréal (Notre-Dame Basilica of Montréal), where my husband and I got married (Celine Dion got married at this church, too, but while hers was a hundred times grander, ours was a small, intimate wedding held at the chapel).
This church is considered a jewel of Quebec’s religious heritage and a masterpiece of Gothic Revival architecture. Its dual towers are reminiscent of the Notre-Dame-de-Paris, with the West Tower housing the famous Jean-Baptiste bell (St. John the Baptist is one of the patron saints of the French Canadians), and the East Tower housing a carillon of ten bells. Three large statues – Saint Joseph, the Virgin Mary, and Saint John the Baptist – keep vigil over the entrance.
But nothing will prepare you for the interior. It is truly a sight to behold! The first thing that will catch your eye is the deep blue colour that shimmers with gold-leaf ornamentation. Blue is my favourite colour, so this church became my immediate favourite the first time I entered it, and it was the same for my aunt, whose favourite colour was also blue.
Inside, you will be enthralled by its intricate woodwork, stained-glass windows that depict the religious history of Montréal, religious paintings, an ornate pulpit, and stunning statuary. The colours of its grand sanctuary from the rich azures to the bright reds and purples and the shiny silvers and golds make it hauntingly beautiful.
My aunt just sat at the back pew, silent and stunned by its sheer magnificence. I told her it had the same effect on me and I joked that on my first visit there, I was so mesmerized that I felt like being lifted up to some celestial sphere, resulting to me immediately saying “yes” when my husband proposed and asked if I would like to get married to him at this church. My husband joked back saying “it was all planned,” and that he knew he already got me when I remarked with glazed eyes and wide-open mouth just how “blue and beautiful” this church is.
It’s too bad that there was no scheduled light and sound show that time. On my first trip to Montréal, my husband and I watched “Aura,” an immersive multi-media spectacle that highlighted the Basilica’s architecture and art works and told the story of Montréal’s religious heritage. That was the date night that he had planned as the proposal night. He popped the question after the show and our tour of the church.
But as mentioned, our wedding actually took place at the Chapelle Notre-Dame-du-Sacré-Cœur (Chapel of the Sacred Heart) at the back of the main church. Because of the splendour and grand scale of the church, a more intimate chapel was built behind it. And because I wanted an intimate wedding, we booked the chapel instead of the main church.
Built in 1881 and inaugurated in 1891, the chapel showcased a Gothic revival style that was rich in carved motifs. Unfortunately, a fire seriously damaged it in 1978. It was totally reconstructed with the help of sculptors, cabinet-makers, and carpenters who were familiar with the ancient methods of construction, but was given a modern face.
The present altarpiece has 32 bronze panels and its contemporary design is meant to embody the union between the religious and spiritual mission of the chapel and the contemporary world.
I was glad that my aunt had the chance to see this chapel. Though she was not able to attend our wedding, she was with us at that moment as we knelt down and silently prayed for blessings for our marriage, our families, and our mini-pilgrimage.
Chapelle Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours (Our Lady of Good Help Chapel)
Next, we took her to the Chapelle Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours (Our Lady of Good Help Chapel). It was built in 1771 directly on top of the first stone chapel in Montréal, which was a site of pilgrimage in those times. It is also known as the “Sailors’ Church” for it is located near the port and became a favourite place of prayer for sailors when the Old Port of Montreal grew in importance in the 19th century. It was here where they offered their thanksgiving for a safe trip upon arrival and where they prayed for good voyage at the beginning of a journey. You will notice carved replicas of sailing ships from the vault of the chapel as a testament to their faith. Atop the church, a statue of the Virgin Mary known as the “Star of the Sea,” overlooks the harbour. It was donated by the Bishop of Montreal in 1849.
Inside the church are more testaments of its role in the religious history of the city. Two cameo paintings in the back wall feature prominent figures – Paul Chomedey de Maisonneuve, founder of Montreal who donated the land for the original chapel, and Saint Marguerite Bourgeoys, the first teacher and founder of the Congrégation de Notre-Dame. In the left-side altar, there is a reliquary that contains a wooden statuette of Our Lady of Good Help, brought back from France by Sister Marguerite from her second trip there in 1672. It was said that after a fire ravaged the chapel in 1754, it was found intact among the smoldering embers. Under the choir loft, there is a painting that was donated by the bishop as a votive offering in thanksgiving for the end of the typhus epidemic that struck the city in 1847 with the arrival of immigrants in fever ships.
The chapel also houses the tomb of Saint Marguerite Bourgeoys and a small museum dedicated to her life and the early history of Montréal. It also contains First Nations and French colonial artifacts that have been discovered along with the foundations of the original chapel and the fortifications of the colony. Unfortunately, the museum was closed at the time of our visit. We were also unable to take my aunt up to the spire because it was also closed. On other days, visitors can climb it to enjoy the view of harbour.
Coincidentally, at the time of our visit, I had just finished reading a book written by French-Canadian Suzanne Desrochers, “Bride of New France,” a novel that describes the journey of French women sent to Canada in the early 17th century to marry colonists in the then-New France, Quebec City and Montréal. While her characters are fictional, she mentioned names of key figures in French Canadian history and I was reminded of how Saint Marguerite was regarded as a “mother of the colony” when she lived in the very young city of Montréal and how she served as a friend and counsellor to young women of her age.
Cathédrale Marie Reine du Monde (Mary, Queen of the World Cathedral)
Our next church stop was Cathédrale Marie Reine du Monde (Mary, Queen of the World Cathedral). Its full name is actually Cathédrale Marie-Reine-du-Monde et St-Jacques-le-Majeur (Mary, Queen of the World and Saint James Cathedral) and is a minor basilica that functions as the Seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Montréal. This is the third largest church in the province of Quebec, next to Saint Joseph’s Oratory and the Basilica of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré.
The imposing structure covering 4,700 square meters is a replica of the Saint Peter’s Basilica in Rome in the ornate Renaissance style, which was a departure from the more popular Gothic Revival. It was built at the end of the 19th century at a location that was considered the heart of Montréal’s Anglo-Protestant sector. Shaped like a Latin cross, it has a large portico built in course ashlar and topped with a green copper dome. From the roof, statues of the patron saints of Montreal’s 13 parishes watch over those who enter.
Inside, the most distinguishing structure is the neo-Baroque baldachin in red copper and gold leaf with twisting columns that overlooks the altar. And like the other churches of Montréal, it contains paintings depicting the religious history of the city, as well as a Casavant pipe organ.
There was no Mass at the time of our visit, but we were blessed with being able to participate in a novena prayer.
Photo Credits:
Viator.com, Wikipedia Creative Commons - Benjamin w lam, Wikipedia Creative Commons - Tango7174, basiliquenotredame.ca, patrimoine-culturel.gouv.qc.ca, Wikipedia Creative Commons - Thomas Ledl, Wikipedia Creative Commons - DXR
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