Maxime Masson (October 15, 1867, in Saint-Justin – October 2, 1960) was a Roman Catholic priest. He was the main architect of religious buildings in the town of

Sainte-Thècle Sainte-Thècle is a Canadian municipality located in the province of Quebec in the Mékinac Regional County Municipality, in the Batiscanie watershed, in the administrative region of Mauricie. This municipality of 216 square kilometres is known ...

, located in

Mauricie Mauricie () is a traditional and current administrative region of Quebec. La Mauricie National Park is contained within the region, making it a prime tourist location. The region has a land area of 35,860.05 km² (13,845.64 sq mi) and a popu ...

, in the province of

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 ...

. He was pastor of the Sainte-Thècle parish for 52 years. During that time, he was the main coordinator for the construction of the church from 1903 to 1905, as well as the rectory and other buildings on the lot of the ''Fabrique de

''. He was instrumental in the erection of the monastery (''couvent'' in French) in 1912, led by the religious community

Daughters of Jesus The Daughters of Jesus (french: Filles de Jésus) is a French Roman Catholic congregation of Religious Sisters, founded in 1834 at Kermaria-Sulard, Brittany, in the Diocese of Vannes. Its goal is the care of the sick poor, and the education of ...

("Filles de Jésus" in French), and the erection in 1939 of the first college run by the religious

Brothers of St. Gabriel The Montfort Brothers of St. Gabriel (SG), otherwise Gabrielite Brothers or Frères de Saint-Gabriel (FSG), is a religious institute. Its roots go back to Louis de Montfort, who opened a few schools for poor children in La Rochelle, France, in a ...

(''Frères de Saint-Gabriel'' in French).

Craftsman talent

He designed and built including the magnificent

calvary Calvary ( la, Calvariae or ) or Golgotha ( grc-gre, Γολγοθᾶ, ''Golgothâ'') was a site immediately outside Jerusalem's walls where Jesus was said to have been crucified according to the canonical Gospels. Since at least the early mediev ...

(in 1935) located in the cemetery land, a cement lion in 1939 located on the outside of the church and the paintings on the ceiling of the sacristy. He carved the

Stations of the Cross The Stations of the Cross or the Way of the Cross, also known as the Way of Sorrows or the Via Crucis, refers to a series of images depicting Jesus Christ on the day of Crucifixion of Jesus, his crucifixion and accompanying prayers. The station ...

erected in the parish cemetery of

from stone that came from France. He performed extensive embellishment work such as cement flowerpots, cement balls, the steps, and water fountain in front of the church and the rectory. He made a carved wood clock, the base of which resembles the base of the church towers and the high altar.

Baptism statistics

Masson celebrated 2497 baptisms recorded in the registers of

, between February 7, 1903, and April 30, 1955.

First car

He owned one of the first automobiles in the history of

, a

Ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...

Model T 1911.

1938 hurricane

His biggest test was the collapse of the two church towers during the hurricane of August 3, 1938.

Studies and priest appointment

Born on October 15, 1867, in Saint-Justin ( Maskinongé County, Quebec, Canada), he was the son of Amable Masson, farmer and Zoe Paquin. He studied classics at

Séminaire Saint-Joseph de Trois-Rivières The Séminaire Saint-Joseph de Trois-Rivières is a private scholar institution in the Quebec region of Mauricie. Located in Trois-Rivières, Quebec, Canada, it is, within the unique Quebec education system, a secondary school. Historically religi ...

and theology at the Grand Seminary

Trois-Rivières Trois-Rivières (, – 'Three Rivers') is a city in the Mauricie administrative region of Quebec, Canada, at the confluence of the Saint-Maurice River, Saint-Maurice and Saint Lawrence River, Saint Lawrence rivers, on the north shore of the Sain ...

. He was ordained on July 8, 1894, in the chapel of the Seminary

by Bishop L.F. Lafleche. At the beginning of his priesthood, Masson was vicar of the parish of Saint-Justin (1894–1899), at Saint-Léon-le-Grand (1902), at Saint-Timothée of

Hérouxville Hérouxville (formerly called Saint-Timothée d'Hérouxville) is a parish municipality in the Mékinac Regional County Municipality in the administrative region of Mauricie, in the province of Quebec, Canada. Its watershed is mainly part of the B ...

(1902–1903), before being assigned as pastor to

, on February 6, 1903. Masson was the first president of the School board of the village of

from July 19, 1915, to April 14, 1947. He finished his course in

on July 1, 1955.

Local recognition

He was chaplain of the movement "Catholic Action" and pious associations. Two toponymic designations were assigned in recognition of his work life at

: School Masson (i.e. old boys' school) and Masson Street which connects the lower village and the village of the church. He died on October 2, 1960, and was buried in the cemetery of

.Book: ''Lac-aux-Chicots - Sainte-Thècle 1870 à 1975'', compiled by Geneviève Leblanc and Marie-Ange-Plamondon. Éditions du Bien public, published in 1976 by researchers: Geneviève Leblanc et Marie-Ange B. Plamondon. 152 pages.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Masson, Maxime 19th-century Canadian Roman Catholic priests People from Mauricie 1867 births 1960 deaths 20th-century Canadian Roman Catholic priests