The Cathedral-Basilica of Notre-Dame de Québec ("Our Lady of Quebec City"), located at 16, rue de Buade,

Quebec City Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Communauté métrop ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

, is the

primatial Primate () is a title or rank bestowed on some important archbishops in certain Christian churches. Depending on the particular tradition, it can denote either jurisdictional authority (title of authority) or (usually) ceremonial precedence (t ...

church of the

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Quebec The Archdiocese of Québec ( la, Archidiœcesis Quebecensis; french: Archidiocèse de Québec) is a Catholicism, Catholic archdiocese in Quebec, Canada. Being the first Episcopal see, see in the New World north of Mexico, the Archdiocese of Québ ...

. It is the oldest church in Canada and was the first church in Canada to be elevated to the rank of minor

basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica is a large public building with multiple functions, typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek East. The building gave its name ...

, by

Pope Pius IX Pope Pius IX ( it, Pio IX, ''Pio Nono''; born Giovanni Maria Mastai Ferretti; 13 May 1792 – 7 February 1878) was head of the Catholic Church from 1846 to 1878, the longest verified papal reign. He was notable for convoking the First Vatican ...

in 1874. Four governors of

New France New France (french: Nouvelle-France) was the area colonized by France in North America, beginning with the exploration of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Great Britain and Spai ...

and the

bishops A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

of Quebec are buried in the crypt, including

François de Laval Francis-Xavier de Montmorency-Laval, commonly referred to as François de Laval (30 April 1623 – 6 May 1708), was a French prelate of the Catholic Church. Consecrated a bishop in 1658, he led the Apostolic Vicariate of New France from 1658 to ...

, Quebec's first bishop. The church is a

National Historic Site of Canada National Historic Sites of Canada (french: Lieux historiques nationaux du Canada) are places that have been designated by the federal Minister of the Environment An environment minister (sometimes minister of the environment or secretary of t ...

, and located within the UNESCO

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

of Historic District of Old Québec.

History

The cathedral is located on the site of a chapel, ''Notre Dame de la Recouvrance'', constructed by

Samuel de Champlain Samuel de Champlain (; Fichier OrigineFor a detailed analysis of his baptismal record, see RitchThe baptism act does not contain information about the age of Samuel, neither his birth date nor his place of birth. – 25 December 1635) was a Fre ...

in 1633. Construction of the first cathedral building began in 1647, and it was given the name ''Notre-Dame de la Paix''. Plan Profil et Elevation d une Nouvelle Paroisse Proposee a faire dans la ville de Quebec

Plan Profil et Elevation d une Nouvelle Paroisse Proposee a faire dans la ville de Quebec

The cathedral has twice been destroyed by fire, the first time being during the Siege of Quebec in 1759. It was rebuilt from plans by Gaspard-Joseph Chaussegros de Léry draughted in 1743. The

belltower A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell tower ...

, however, was designed by Jean Baillairgé, who also oversaw construction. The interior was designed by Jean Baillairgé and his son François from 1786 to 1822. In 1843, François' son, Thomas, suggested a reconstruction of the façade to resemble the church of

Sainte-Geneviève Saint Genevieve or Sainte-Geneviève may refer to: * Saint Genevieve (419/422–512), the patron of Paris * Saint Geneviève de Loqueffret (10th century), a local saint from Loqueffret, Brittany Buildings * Bibliothèque Sainte-Geneviève, a li ...

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, resulting in the finest Neo-classic façade in

Québec Quebec ( ; )According to the Government of Canada, Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is ...

. The cathedral was richly decorated with impressive works of art:

baldaquin A baldachin, or baldaquin (from it, baldacchino), is a canopy of state typically placed over an altar or throne. It had its beginnings as a cloth canopy, but in other cases it is a sturdy, permanent architectural feature, particularly over h ...

, canopy, episcopal throne dais,

stained glass Stained glass is coloured glass as a material or works created from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant religious buildings. Although tradition ...

windows, paintings, and chancel lamp (a gift of

Louis XIV , house = Bourbon , father = Louis XIII , mother = Anne of Austria , birth_date = , birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France , death_date = , death_place = Palace of Vers ...

). In 1922 the church was again gutted by fire, this time by the Canadian faction of the

Ku Klux Klan The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to the KKK or the Klan, is an American white supremacist, right-wing terrorist, and hate group whose primary targets are African Americans, Jews, Latinos, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and ...

, and restored by architects Maxime Roisin and Raoul Chenevert. Raoul Chenevert added a presbytery beside the cathedral in 1931–1932. In 2014 the cathedral celebrated its 350th anniversary. As part of the celebrations, a

holy door A Holy Door ( la, Porta Sancta) is traditionally an entrance portal located within the Papal major basilicas in Rome. The doors are normally sealed by mortar and cement from the inside so that they cannot be opened. They are ceremoniously ope ...

was constructed—the second outside Europe and only the eighth in the world. The holy door was opened on December 8, 2013, and remained open until December 28, 2014. It again opened from December 8, 2015, to November 20, 2016, for the Year of Mercy after which it was sealed until 2025. The cathedral was designated as a national historic site of Canada in 1989 because "...of its long and close associations with the history of New France; its influence on subsequent ecclesiastical architecture and interior decoration in Québec."Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada, Minutes, 1989
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Gallery

File:Intérieur de la basilique-cathédrale Notre-Dame de Québec 45.jpg, Interior

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cathedral-Basilica of Notre-Dame de Quebec Notre Dame de Quebec Roman Catholic churches in Quebec City Roman Catholic cathedrals in Quebec National Historic Sites in Quebec Roman Catholic churches completed in 1843 19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Canada Roman Catholic churches completed in 1922 Burned buildings and structures in Canada Rebuilt churches in Canada Roman Catholic churches on the National Historic Sites of Canada register Heritage buildings of Quebec 1843 establishments in Canada Neoclassical church buildings in Canada

History

Gallery

See also

References

External links