Discovering Discovering Montréal’s Religious Heritage Montréal’s his book is your invitation to discover all the diversity and beauty of the religious heritage of Montréal and its environs, both Heritage Religious Discovering T ancient and modern. Offering 11 inspiring tours and superb photographs, this one-of-a-kind guidebook will reveal the secrets of an exceptionally rich heritage unequalled anywhere else in North America. Montréal’s Whether your exploration is motivated by faith, or an interest in architecture, art or history, Discovering Montréal’s Religious Heritage will guide you to the city’s most remarkable places of worship and Religious Heritage their treasure trove of breathtaking works of art: cathedrals, basilicas, churches, shrines, synagogues, and temples belonging to a wide range of confessions, as well as successfully converted religious buildings that have been given a new lease on life. www.ulyssesguides.com ISBN : 978-2-76581-765-9 (Digital Version) www.ulyssesguides.com Discovering Montréal’s Religious Heritage Research and Writing: Siham Jamaa Photo Credits Cover Page Additional Writing: Pierre Daveluy Detail of a stained-glass window in Église Saint-Philippe Translation and Copy Editing: © Flickr.com/Sandra Cohen-Rose, Colin Rose. The Votive Chapel at Saint Joseph’s Oratory of Mount Royal Elke Love, Matthew McLauchlin © iStockphoto.com/benedek. Maison Saint-Gabriel Additional Translation: Tanya Solari © Maison Saint-Gabriel. Notre-Dame Basilica of Montréal © iStockphoto.com/jasoncowellphoto. Editors: Pierre Ledoux, Claude Morneau Christ Church Cathedral © iStockphoto.com/lyonulka. The Cathedral-Basilica of Mary, Queen of the World Graphic Design Layout: Pascal Biet and Saint James the Great © Dreamstime.com/ Wangkun Jia. This work was produced under the direction of Olivier Back Cover Gougeon and Claude Morneau. Église Notre-Dame-de-Pompéi © Philippe Renault. Acknowledgements I would particularly like to thank the religious communities who once again welcomed me so generously, and opened the doors of their sanctuaries to me. I would also like to thank the team members on the Québec Religious Heritage Council for accompanying me so considerately during my research phase. And finally, thanks go to my publisher, Ulysses Travel Guides, for putting its trust in me once more, and for the enthusiasm and creativity of its team. Siham Jamaa This project was made possible in part by the support of the Québec Religious Heritage Council and Tourisme Montréal. The publisher wishes to thank the following people who sit on the Montréal Religious Heritage Roundtable and who collaborated in the revision of the texts: Susan Bronson, Anne-Marie Dufour, Jocelyn Groulx, David Hanna, Johanne Picard and Caroline Tanguay. The publisher also wishes to emphasize the participation of the following individuals, consulted during one or more stages during the preparation of this work: Mario Brodeur, Michel Couturier, Raphaëlle Daigneault, Danielle Decelles, Mireille Desrochers, Clarence Epstein, Lynn Habel, Madeleine Juneau, Paul Labonne, Marc Lacasse, Mylène Laurendeau, Stephan Martel, Dominique Tremblay and Janis Zubalik. Ulysses Travel Guides acknowledges the financial support of the Government of Canada. Ulysses Travel Guides would also like to thank the Government of Québec – Tax credit for book publishing – Administered by SODEC. Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec and Library and Archives Canada cataloguing in publication Jamaa, Siham, 1974- [Montréal. English] Discovering Montréal's Religious Heritage 1st edition. (Ulysses lifestyle) Includes index. Translation of: Montréal: un patrimoine religieux à découvrir. ISBN 978-2-89464-695-3 1. Sacred space - Québec (Province) - Montréal - Guidebooks. 2. Pilgrims and pilgrimages - Québec (Province) - Montréal - Guidebooks. 3. Montréal (Québec) - Tours. I. Title. II. Title : Montréal. English. BV896.C3J35213 2017 263'.04271428 C2016-942278-X No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means, including photocopying, without the written permission of the publisher. © May 2017, Ulysses Travel Guides All rights reserved Printed in Canada ISBN 978-2-89464-695-3 (Printed Version) ISBN 978-2-76581-765-9 (Digital PDF Version) Notre-Dame Basilica of ISBN 978-2-76582-182-3 (Digital ePub Version) Montréal. © iStockphoto.com/jeffadl Île Bizard boul. Gouin O. 13 boul. Saint-Jean 40 boul. des Sources 13 20 Lac ch. de la Côte-de-Liesse Saint-Louis MONTÉRÉGIE Contents Preface 6 In the Heart of the Old City 16 Montréal’s Religious Heritage… 9 Downtown: The Road to Christianity 44 On the Mountainside 76 Westmount and Notre-Dame-de- Grâce: the Anglophone Heritage 96 LAVAL Rivière des Prairies boul. Gouin E. boul. Henri-Bourassa E. 15 boul. Pie-IX 40 rue Sauvé E. rue Notre-Dame E. av. Papineau autoroute Métropolitaine rue Sherbrooke E. 40 rue Jean-Talon E. boul. Saint-Laurent MONTRÉAL 20 av. du Parc MONTÉRÉGIE St. Lawrence River 20 A Tour of the West Island 172 Getting to the Point: Montréal’s East End 188 Île des Sœurs Northern Montréal, 10 at the Crossroads of Ancient and Modern 200 St. Lawrence River Montréal’s South Shore: Holy Places Along the River 212 Plateau Mont-Royal Even More Discoveries 226 and the Neighbourhoods East of the Mountain 110 Some Artists, Artisans and Architects 230 Along the Banks of the Lachine Canal 144 Index of Places 234 The Soul of Working-Class Index of Artists, Artisans Francophone Montréal 154 and Architects 236 6 Preface he intention of this book is to help you Montréal’s religious heritage over the decades, discover Montréal, “the city of a hun- its architectural styles, the blending of religions T dred bell towers1”, through its missionary and the distinctive characters of its different origins and its rich and prestigious religious herit- territories and communities. As you travel age. Whether your interest lies in history, religion, through time, discovering the history revealed sacred art or architecture, this guide is an indispens- in these religious buildings’ architecture and able reference to current and repurposed places of artwork, you’ll get to know the fascinating worship in Montréal and its environs. From the story of how Montréal and its neighbourhoods churches and chapels, places of pilgrimage, and have grown, developed, evolved, and welcomed cemeteries that speak of the city’s Christian origins newcomers. to the synagogues and temples that reveal its past and present diversity, the 11 tours suggested will From east to west and north to south, you’ll reveal a multi-confessional heritage that is aston- encounter traditional architectural styles (neom- ishingly rich in history and architectural wonders. edieval, neoclassical, Baroque Revival, Roman- esque Revival, etc.) and modern places of wor- While not at all exhaustive, the tours proposed ship that demonstrate the daring and ingenuity in this guide are a way to discover or rediscover of contemporary designers. 7 The gardens at Saint Joseph’s Oratory of Mount Royal. © Tourisme Montréal/Eva Blue You’ll visit places that are rich in history, such as carefully planned natural light, and new ways to the Église de la Visitation-de-la-Bienheureuse- configure space. Many of these often overlooked Vierge-Marie, the Maison Saint-Gabriel and modern religious buildings are inspired by the the Saint-Sulpice Seminary; iconic monuments works of famous architects such as Frank Lloyd such as Notre-Dame Basilica, Mary Queen of Wright and Félix Candela. the World Cathedral and Saint Joseph’s Oratory of Mount Royal; and a profusion of neighbour- Some of the tours in this guide will also reveal hood churches and other places of worship, projects that have converted historic religious hidden treasures tucked away inside their own buildings into community spaces for meeting communities. and discussion and showcases for creating and spreading culture (libraries, museums, theatres, Much of this guide has been devoted to build- etc.). You’ll discover how carefully planned ings designed by resolutely modern architects. renewal projects have protected these valuable This little-known modern religious herit- parts of our urban heritage from deterioration age shows off how these talented architects have and even demolition, keeping these reinvented reinvented religious tradition by using daring spaces at the heart of their neighbourhoods’ and unusual shapes, contemporary materials, social and community life. 1 This expression is attributed to the writer Mark Twain, who used it to describe Montréal on his first visit to the city in 1888. 9 Montréal’s Religious Heritage… Precious Monuments and Historic Sites Maison de Mère The heritage site of the d’Youville, which preserves Religious Hospitallers the memory of St. of Saint Joseph, a Marguerite d’Youville, who monumental religious founded the Grey Nuns in complex that brought the 1737 (p. 16) traditional French hôtel- Dieu hospital to North Saint-Sulpice Seminary, America (p. 129) a major heritage building constructed between 1683 Maison Saint-Gabriel and 1685 (p. 19) Museum and Historic Site, a vibrant, living museum The Notre-Dame-de- that showcases traditional Bon-Secours Chapel, architecture and tells the nicknamed the Sailors’ story of rural life in New Church (p. 27) France (p. 145) Église du Gesù, a place of Église de la Visitation-de- worship that marked the la-Bienheureuse-Vierge- Jesuits' return to Québec in Marie, Montréal’s oldest 1842 (p. 47) extant church (1751) (p. 206) Sanctuaire Sainte- Marguerite-d’Youville, a suite of historic buildings The bell tower of the dedicated to the first Notre-Dame-de-Bon- Canadian-born saint Secours Chapel. © iStockphoto.com/UpdogDesigns (p. 221) 10 Discovering Montréal's Religious Heritage Monumental Places of Worship Notre-Dame Basilica of Christ Church Cathedral, Saint Joseph's Oratory Montréal, one of the most whose Gothic Revival of Mount Royal, the beautiful sacred places in style contrasts with the majestic pilgrimage site that the Americas (p. 20) postmodern skyscraper that dominates the city (p. 80) towers over it (p. 57) Église Saint-Pierre-Apôtre, Église Saint-Enfant-Jésus architect Victor Bourgeau’s Cathedral-Basilica of du Mile End, whose masterwork (p.