We arrived in Quebec City shortly before noon after making a brief stop at Montmorency Falls. (And by "brief stop," I meant a roundtrip ride on the gondola just to see the falls up close and then take photos. There was no opportunity to do anything else because of the inclement weather that gradually brewed that morning and surprised us with a sudden burst.)
Since it was pouring rain, we headed straight to the Notre-Dame du Quebec Basilica. Built in 1647, it prides itself to be the oldest church in Canada, the first one to be built in stone, and the first to be elevated to the rank of a minor basilica. It was dedicated to the Immaculate Conception.
This was also a perfect timing for my aunt’s visit because we had a pleasant surprise. In 2013, the Vatican presented the gift of the “Holy Door” to the Basilica in celebration of its 350th anniversary. The gift from the Holy See was a massive bronze door embossed with Biblical figures. It is the seventh “Holy Door” in the world, and the only one to be found outside of Europe. Four of these seven doors are located in Rome.
In Catholic tradition, a "Holy Door" represents passage to salvation and imparts the message that God’s mercy reaches out to mankind’s frailty. Walking through a “Holy Door” is a symbolic act of surrendering things that we would like to leave behind such as sadness, resentment, and anger in order to become a new and better person. From an old practice dating back to the 15th century, “Holy Doors” remained closed and are sealed with cement and mortar. They are only opened once every 25 years to mark a special jubilee celebration.
However, at the time of our visit in 2015, Pope Francis made an exception. The period had been a particularly difficult year for everyone, so the Pope asked that all the “Holy Doors” worldwide be opened for this extraordinary year of mercy for all the suffering in the world - the acts of violence and terrorism, the wars, and the church controversies.
We were able to locate the “Holy Door” and perform our pass-through. But first, we had to follow the Pilgrims' Garden Path along the left of the cathedral door. Then, we entered the church through the "Holy Door" and stayed inside to pray.
After our moment of contemplation, it was time to show my aunt the architectural wonders of the Basilica. The church's main features are its stained glass windows, its three Casavant organs, as well as the chancel golden sculptures, including the splendid baldachin and golden carved canopy over the bishop’s throne at the altar. Supported by the chancel walls and standing on sculptures representing angels, the canopy gives the impression of floating above the main altar, especially when lit.
As it was still raining, we proceeded to the back of the church to check out a small exhibition of religious artifacts – paintings, sculptures, vestments, and liturgical items, as well as old maps, historical documents, and gold smithery from the French Regime. We also visited the crypt that houses the remains of the bishops of Quebec and the four governors of New France.
By the time we were done, the rain has stopped, but it was still dark and windy outside. We took our aunt to explore the streets and shops of the Upper Town before taking refuge at the Chateau Frontenac lobby when it started to drizzle again. That pretty much characterized our tour – about half an hour of walking around and then a few minutes indoors until the skies cleared up again.
We managed to take her to another church before the weather got really bad. At the Lower Town, we visited the Notre-Dame-des-Victoires Church, a small stone church in the Place Royale section that was constructed in the 17th century. It was named in honour of the Blessed Virgin, who interceded for the city and protected them from the siege of the English forces in 1711.
The church contains a number of 18th and 19th century paintings, an elegant tabernacle in the Sainte-Geneviève chapel, its patron saint, and a 17th-century model of the Brézé, the ship commanded by the Marquis of Tracy. We were told by the guide that on the feast of their patroness, the church still practices the tradition of handing out little buns to the parishioners as a sign of blessing and gratitude. We lit votive candles for a safe journey home before we left.
We spent the rest of the time roaming the streets of the Lower Town, with an additional mission in mind – find some rain ponchos. Though we had a couple of umbrellas, they were not able to keep us dry from the torrential rains and gushing winds. We saw several tourists sporting plastic ponchos with the Quebec logo, so we surmised that most souvenir shops sold these. But because of the storm, we had guessed that for that day, it was the most in-demand item and we realized we had better move fast before they’d run out.
Luckily, the next store we went to still had some ponchos for $5, so we got one for each of us. But even with the ponchos, we still got soaked. We ran back to the Chateau Frontenac and had coffee, tea, and hot chocolate while waiting for the storm to pass, after which there was really no point in walking around because it was cold, wet, and windy outside. Even the street vendors and the street performers have packed their wares and the empty streets made the city look like a ghost town in the mist.
My aunt assured us that she was not disappointed at all, because she saw what she came for - the two special churches, and that's all that mattered.
We decided to just have early dinner and call it a day. We were also driving back to Montreal that night and didn’t want to arrive very late.
We took my aunt to a restaurant called Buffet de L’Antiquaire on rue Saint-Paul. My husband wanted her to sample some traditional Quebec fare and we heard that this place served authentic regional food, given that it’s a 45-year old local family-run diner. We ordered pea soup and three kinds of meat pie – the Québécoise homemade meat pie with beans, the Quebec shepherd's pie, and the classic Le Cipaille (house specialty pie with beef, veal, pork and potatoes). We also tried their blood sausage pudding, which was the featured item that evening. The servings were huge and the food, laden with meat, was so filling. We ended up taking half of everything to go and skipping dessert.
As we walked back to the parking lot, the wind started picking up and by the time we reached the highway, the lashing wind and heavy downpour made us feel like we were in some kind of a doomsday deluge.
To assuage my aunt’s worries, we told her that it was nothing compared to the snowstorms that we deal with in the winter and that she could just relax and try to get some sleep in the car. We’d wake her up when we arrive in Montreal.
We got home safely and before bed, my mother-in-law gave us a “schluck” (German word for “gulp” and literally means a shot) each of the Jägermeister, an iconic German liqueur that is also a digestif, and its cousin, the Bärenjäger, a honey liqueur based on vodka that is described as "American heritage meets 18th-century Germany." According to old folks, the former has medicinal properties courtesy of the 56 herbs and spices used to concoct it. The latter is a blend of neutral grain spirit and real honey and a secret mix of herbs. My mother-in-law said they would help ease symptoms of cough, sore throat, and colds, if ever we did get some virus from getting soaked in the rain.
I didn’t know if it was the tonic drinks or simply fatigue…but we all slept soundly that night and even slept in the next morning.
Looking back, this church pilgrimage in the East Coast was indeed very special. It was my aunt’s last trip to North America before she succumbed to her illness. And while she did not get the chance to settle in Trois-Rivières, her favourite city in Quebec, I am glad that my husband, son, and I were able to spend some precious moments with her, doing the thing that she liked best when on a trip – visiting beautiful churches.
Photo Credits:
quebec-cite.com, expedia.ca, taste.ca
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