The Church of the Madonna della Difesa ( it, Chiesa della Madonna della Difesa, french: Église de Notre-Dame-de-la-Défense) is a Catholic church in the neighbourhood of

Little Italy Little Italy is a general name for an ethnic enclave populated primarily by Italians or people of Italian ancestry, usually in an urban neighborhood. The concept of "Little Italy" holds many different aspects of the Italian culture. There are ...

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...

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 ...

, Canada. It was built by

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

immigrants to the city, specifically those from

Molise it, Molisano (man) it, Molisana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 ...

, to commemorate the apparition of

the Madonna In art, a Madonna () is a representation of Mary, either alone or with her child Jesus. These images are central icons for both the Catholic and Orthodox churches. The word is (archaic). The Madonna and Child type is very prevalent in ...

in ''La Difesa'', in Casacalenda, Molise. It was designed by Roch Montbriant and Canadian artist

Guido Nincheri Guido Nincheri (1885 – 1 March 1973) was a Canadian painter and designer working mainly in stained glass and fresco. Biography Guido Nincheri was born in Prato, Italy in 1885. He studied art in Florence and immigrated to Montreal in November 19 ...

. It is Romanesque in style and laid out in a Greek-cross floorplan. It was inaugurated in 1919. It is famous for its large

cupola In architecture, a cupola () is a relatively small, most often dome-like, tall structure on top of a building. Often used to provide a lookout or to admit light and air, it usually crowns a larger roof or dome. The word derives, via Italian, fro ...

and brick façade, and especially its frescos by Guido Nincheri. A particularly well-known fresco depicts Benito Mussolini; painted before

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, it commemorates his signing of the Lateran Accords. A statue in front of the church commemorates "victims of all wars." Designated 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 on the advice of the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada (HSMBC), as being ...

in 2002, it is located at 6800 Henri-Julien Avenue at the corner of Dante Street (

Jean-Talon Jean-Talon is a provincial electoral riding in the Capitale-Nationale region of Quebec, Canada. It consists of part of the Sainte-Foy–Sillery–Cap-Rouge borough of Quebec City. It was named after former French colonial administrator of New ...

or Beaubien

metro Metro, short for metropolitan, may refer to: Geography * Metro (city), a city in Indonesia * A metropolitan area, the populated region including and surrounding an urban center Public transport * Rapid transit, a passenger railway in an urb ...

stations) in the borough of Rosemont—La Petite-Patrie. Plaqued in 2005, the Church serves the oldest Italian community in Canada.Church of the Madonna della Difesa
/ref> Three priests serve at the church; all are members of the Priestly Fraternity of the Missionaries of St.Charles Borromeo. File:Montreal NDDefense3 tango7174.jpg, The apse File:Montreal NDDefense2 tango7174.jpg, The interior File:Montreal NDDefense4 tango7174.jpg, The transept crossing

References

External links

Parish siteHistoric site designation360 degree virtual tour of the church
{{Authority control Italian diaspora in Canada Christian organizations established in 1919 M Landmarks in Montreal National Historic Sites in Quebec Roman Catholic churches completed in 1919 20th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Canada Rosemont–La Petite-Patrie Roman Catholic churches on the National Historic Sites of Canada register Romanesque Revival church buildings in Canada