The Cathedral of St. Hyacinth the Confessor (french: Cathédrale Saint-Hyacinthe-le-Confesseur), located in

Saint-Hyacinthe Saint-Hyacinthe (; French: ) is a city in southwestern Quebec east of Montreal on the Yamaska River. The population as of the 2021 Canadian census was 57,239. The city is located in Les Maskoutains Regional County Municipality of the Montérég ...

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

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denomination ...

of the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Saint-Hyacinthe The Roman Catholic Diocese of Saint-Hyacinthe ( la, Dioecesis Sancti Hyacinthi) (erected 8 June 1852) is a Latin rite suffragan of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Sherbrooke in Quebec, (predominantly francophone) Canada. Its cathedral episcopal ...

. The cathedral church, named in honour of St.

Hyacinth of Poland Hyacinth ( pl, Święty Jacek or ''Jacek Odrowąż''; ca. 1185 – 15 August 1257) was a Polish Dominican priest and missionary who worked to reform women's monasteries in his native Poland. He was a Doctor of Sacred Studies, educated in Pa ...

, was built in 1880 in the

Romanesque Revival Romanesque Revival (or Neo-Romanesque) is a style of building employed beginning in the mid-19th century inspired by the 11th- and 12th-century Romanesque architecture. Unlike the historic Romanesque style, Romanesque Revival buildings tended to ...

style.

History

The Diocese of Saint-Hyacinthe was erected 8 June 1852.

Jean-Charles Prince Jean-Charles Prince (13 February 1804 – 5 May 1860) was a Canadian Roman Catholic priest, teacher, seminary administrator, editor, and Bishop of Saint-Hyacinthe, Lower Canada from 1852 to 1860. Life Jean-Charles Prince was born 13 February ...

, former coadjutor of Montreal, was named the first bishop. At first, the old seminary building was used as

pro-cathedral A pro-cathedral or procathedral is a parish church that temporarily serves as the cathedral or co-cathedral of a diocese, or a church that has the same function in a Catholic missionary jurisdiction (such as an apostolic prefecture or apostolic ...

and

clergy house A clergy house is the residence, or former residence, of one or more priests or ministers of religion. Residences of this type can have a variety of names, such as manse, parsonage, rectory or vicarage. Function A clergy house is typically ow ...

.Choquette, Charles. "Saint Hyacinthe." The Catholic Encyclopedia
Vol. 13. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1912. 3 March 2023] A red brick chapel-cathedral was hastily built near the

Hôtel-Dieu In French-speaking countries, a hôtel-Dieu ( en, hostel of God) was originally a hospital for the poor and needy, run by the Catholic Church. Nowadays these buildings or institutions have either kept their function as a hospital, the one in Paris b ...

. During the funeral of Bishop Prince in 1860, the pro-cathedral began to show signs of weakness under the weight of the crowd. Charles La Rocque became bishop in March 1866. Realizing that the debts of his cathedral called for unusual measures, he closed the episcopal palace and retired with his staff to

Saint-Mathieu-de-Beloeil Saint-Mathieu-de-Beloeil is a municipality in southwestern Quebec, Canada, east of Montreal in the Regional County Municipality of La Vallée-du-Richelieu. The population as of the 2021 Canadian Census was 2,952. Demographics Population Popu ...

, where he combined the duties of bishop and pastor. The construction of the current building was undertaken by Bishop

Louis-Zéphirin Moreau Louis-Zéphirin Moreau (1 April 1824 – 24 May 1901) was a Canadian Roman Catholic prelate who served as the fourth Bishop of Saint-Hyacinthe from 1875 until his death in 1901. He was also the cofounder of the Sisters of St. Joseph of St. Hyac ...

, with the money saved by the economy of his predecessor. Its architect was Adolphe Lévesque, who fulfilled a contract for $50,000. It was named in honour of Dominican

confessor Confessor is a title used within Christianity in several ways. Confessor of the Faith Its oldest use is to indicate a saint who has suffered persecution and torture for the faith but not to the point of death.Beaulieu, Adaée. "La cathédrale de Saint-Hyacinthe dédicacée 142 ans ans plus tard", ''Le Courrier de Saint-Hyacinthe'', 15 Septembre 2022
/ref>

Architecture

Lévesque designed the building in the Romanesque style. The facade proved too heavy for the clay soil on which it rests. A restoration took place in 1908 by the architects

Maurice Perrault Maurice Perrault (12 June 1857 – 11 February 1909) was a Canadian architect, civil engineer, and politician. Born in Montreal, Canada East, the son of Henri-Maurice Perrault, a surveyor and architect, and Marie-Louise-Octavie Masson. P ...

and Albert Mesnard. They secured the foundation and replaced the original square towers with two slender bell towers. 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 ...

date from 1913.Paroisse Saint-Hyacinthe-le-Confesseur
/ref> A second renovation in 1942 removed the side balconies and installed a new baptistery. After the

Second Vatican Council The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the , or , was the 21st Catholic ecumenical councils, ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. The council met in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for four periods (or sessions) ...

various elements of the choir were rearranged; Czechoslovakian glass chandeliers were hung, replacing neon light fixtures. In 1975, the tomb of Bishop Moreau was installed in the left transept of the cathedral. Additional repairs were made in 1998–1999 to the forecourt and masonry work.

Interior

The painting in the vault of the choir which represents the Eternal Father is by a work of Ozias Leduc. In 1853 by Mgr

Ignace Bourget Ignace Bourget (October 30, 1799 – June 8, 1885) was a Canadian Roman Catholic priest who held the title of Bishop of Montreal from 1840 to 1876. Born in Lévis, Quebec, in 1799, Bourget entered the clergy at an early age, undertook several cou ...

, bishop of Montreal, presented Saint-Hyacinthe with a

harmonium The pump organ is a type of free-reed organ that generates sound as air flows past a vibrating piece of thin metal in a frame. The piece of metal is called a reed. Specific types of pump organ include the reed organ, harmonium, and melodeon. T ...

that was used until the installation of the Casavant organ, opus 8, in 1885.

References

External links

Cathedral website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Hyacinth's Cathedral Roman Catholic cathedrals in Quebec Buildings and structures in Saint-Hyacinthe Roman Catholic churches completed in 1880 Religious organizations established in 1852 Churches in Montérégie 19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Canada Romanesque Revival church buildings in Canada

History

Architecture

Interior

See also

References

External links