Montreal is home to many different religious faiths, but the oldest of the established religions in the city are Christian, and more specifically Catholic. Many of the original French settlers in Quebec and Montreal imported their Catholic faith with them, and for many years it was the dominant spiritual force in Francophone society. In the 1950’s and 60’s the Quiet Revolution greatly reduced the role of the church in the every day life of the Quebecois, but the great churches in Montreal continued to serve their faithful and have become permanent fixtures of Montreal’s architecture.
St. Joseph’s Oratory
Probably the most famous Montreal Church is St. Joseph’s Oratory, which rises up on high from Queen Mary street and is in fact visible from quite a distance as you approach the city from either the south or the east. The Oratory is the largest church in all of Canada, and it is famous for the miracles that were reported by Brother Andre who claimed that the power of St. Joseph was enabling him to heal the sick and the disabled. The initial building was constructed in 1904 but it was significantly enlarged several times, reaching its current grandeur in 1967. The church is beautifully illuminated at night, and thousands of people every year climb the steep steps leading to the dome. Some of these visitors say a prayer at each step hoping to be healed by invoking the name of Brother Andre, who’s heart is retained as a relic in the church itself.
Notre-Dame Basilica
Old Montreal is home to another large Catholic church, the Notre-Dame Basilica. The church construction was completed in 1879 after close to 50 years of work on the towers and the elaborate interior. The sanctuary of the church is noted for its dazzling spectrum of color, and there are many hundreds of religious carvings and statues that fill the interior. The church is open to the public and offers shows that depict the history of the church in Montreal.
St. Patrick’s Basilica
One of the few remaining large churches of Anglophone origin, St. Patrick’s Basilica is also a Catholic church which sprang up from the Irish immigrant community in the 1840’s. The Gothic building is a part of downtown Montreal, located on Rene-Levesque street, and provides a quiet place for reflection and prayer where many city residents can escape the hustle and bustle of the outside world.
Christ Church Cathedral
Representing a different faith, in this case Anglican, the Christ Church Cathedral has had a rather interesting recent history in the city. Destroyed by fire in 1856, it was rebuilt 3 years later, but in the 1920’s it became clear that the design of the building had serious problems, with the foundations sinking into the soft ground that surrounded it. This caused the steeple to be removed and re-built out of aluminum in order to lighten the load. The foundations were also re-poured.
The most dramatic architectural event to occur at Christ Church Cathedral was the development of a mall underneath the church itself. Connected to the underground city, the entire church was actually suspended in the air by a system of beams while the mall was constructed. The church floated for 9 months in 1987 until the project was completed.
Welcome to New To Montreal ! If you are new here, you can learn more about Montreal in subscribing to the RSS feed or via E-mail. Thanks for visiting!
Was this article useful ?
