The Séminaire Saint-Joseph de Trois-Rivières is a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

scholar institution in the

Quebec region Image:Regions administratives du Quebec.png, 350px, The seventeen administrative regions of Quebec. poly 213 415 206 223 305 215 304 232 246 230 255 266 251 283 263 289 280 302 291 307 307 315 308 294 318 301 333 299 429 281 432 292 403 311 388 ...

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 ...

. Located in

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 ...

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 is, within the unique

Quebec education system Education in Quebec is governed by the Ministry of Education and Higher Education (''Ministère de l'Éducation et de l'Enseignement supérieur''). It was administered at the local level by publicly elected French and English school boards, chan ...

, a

secondary school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' secondary education, lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) ...

. Historically religious, it is now relatively

secular Secularity, also the secular or secularness (from Latin ''saeculum'', "worldly" or "of a generation"), is the state of being unrelated or neutral in regards to religion. Anything that does not have an explicit reference to religion, either negativ ...

but still holds many links with the religious and its community.

History

The roots of the ''Séminaire'' are found in 1860, when was founded the ''Collège des Trois-Rivières''.

Saint Joseph Joseph (; el, Ἰωσήφ, translit=Ioséph) was a 1st-century Jewish man of Nazareth who, according to the canonical Gospels, was married to Mary, the mother of Jesus, and was the legal father of Jesus. The Gospels also name some brothers of ...

was then chosen as

patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, or Eastern Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or perso ...

and ''Religion et Patrie'' (or ''Religioni et Patriae'', referring to the

Christian faith Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global populat ...

and the Quebec homeland) as motto. In 1874, the college is given to the care of the Trois-Rivières

diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, pro ...

. The latter makes it then its own diocese

seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy, ...

and bestows upon it the denomination of ''Séminaire Saint-Joseph des Trois-Rivières''. The old tradition of calling the city ''les Trois-Rivières'' (

plural The plural (sometimes abbreviated pl., pl, or ), in many languages, is one of the values of the grammatical category of number. The plural of a noun typically denotes a quantity greater than the default quantity represented by that noun. This de ...

grammatical In linguistics, grammaticality is determined by the conformity to language usage as derived by the grammar of a particular variety (linguistics), speech variety. The notion of grammaticality rose alongside the theory of generative grammar, the go ...

inflection In linguistic morphology, inflection (or inflexion) is a process of word formation in which a word is modified to express different grammatical categories such as tense, case, voice, aspect, person, number, gender, mood, animacy, and defin ...

) now being obsolete, ''Séminaire Saint-Joseph de Trois-Rivières'' is now the proper way to call the institution. The STR offered the classical course of the former Quebec educational system until the end of the 1967–1968 scholar year. It officially became a

in September 1968. It became a

co-education Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to t ...

school in 1998 while, as a

boarding school A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. As they have existed for many centuries, and now exten ...

, continuing to provide

dormitory A dormitory (originated from the Latin word ''dormitorium'', often abbreviated to dorm) is a building primarily providing sleeping and residential quarters for large numbers of people such as boarding school, high school, college or university s ...

residence to male students.

Architecture

The current massive building that houses the institution was built in 1929 and constitutes an example of pure neoclassical architecture. A new house for the seminary was made necessary by the destruction by

fire Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material (the fuel) in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction Product (chemistry), products. At a certain point in the combustion reaction, called the ignition ...

of the former building in the same year, on the same present estate of the Laviolette Boulevard. The modern building was actually built around the

chapel A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common ty ...

it now harbours. The structure is mainly consisted of grey Quebec Beauce

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies undergro ...

. The high and impressive facade is dominated by a large

dome A dome () is an architectural element similar to the hollow upper half of a sphere. There is significant overlap with the term cupola, which may also refer to a dome or a structure on top of a dome. The precise definition of a dome has been a m ...

bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids such ...

. The large main doors were designed by the

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

ironwork Ironwork is any weapon, artwork, utensil, or architectural feature made of iron, especially one used for decoration. There are two main types of ironwork: wrought iron and cast iron. While the use of iron dates as far back as 4000BC, it was th ...

artist that created the Monument of the Flame beneath the

Arc de Triomphe The Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile (, , ; ) is one of the most famous monuments in Paris, France, standing at the western end of the Champs-Élysées at the centre of Place Charles de Gaulle, formerly named Place de l'Étoile—the ''étoile'' ...

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 ...

. Like the school arms, the doors display symbols of the Christian religion and of Quebec, an embodiment of the motto "Religion et patrie". The presence, above the door, of a Saint Joseph statue and a mast displaying the

flag of Quebec The flag of Quebec, called the (), represents the Canadian province of Quebec. It consists of a white cross on a blue background, with four white fleurs-de-lis. It was the first provincial flag officially adopted in Canada and was originally sh ...

also underlines the motto of the school.

Musée Pierre Boucher

The main exposition areas of the Musée Pierre Boucher are found at the very main central entrance of the building. The

museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make these ...

preserves 7,500 works of art of all eras, paintings, drawings, prints, sculptures and

fine arts In European academic traditions, fine art is developed primarily for aesthetics or creative expression, distinguishing it from decorative art or applied art, which also has to serve some practical function, such as pottery or most metalwork ...

, as well as 13,000 artifacts illustrating the religious history of the diocese, of the city and the region and the life and customs of the 19th and 20th century. The Museum is affiliated with: CMA,

CHIN The chin is the forward pointed part of the anterior mandible (List_of_human_anatomical_regions#Regions, mental region) below the lower lip. A fully developed human skull has a chin of between 0.7 cm and 1.1 cm. Evolution The presence of a we ...

and

Virtual Museum of Canada The Digital Museums Canada (DMC; , ''MNC'') is a funding program in Canada "dedicated to online projects by the museum and heritage community," helping organizations to build digital capacity. Administered by the Canadian Museum of History (CMH) ...

. It is named after

Pierre Boucher Pierre Boucher de Boucherville (born Pierre Boucher; 1 August 162219 April 1717) was a French settler, soldier, officer, naturalist, official, governor, and ennobled aristocrat in Nouvelle-France or New France (in what is now Canada). Early life P ...

, an early Canadian settler who studied under and worked with the Jesuit missions in Georgian Bay. Boucher was twice governor of Trois Rivieres, and the first Canadian settler to be ennobled under

King Louis XIV Louis XIV (Louis Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was List of French monarchs, King of France from 14 May 1643 until his death in 1715. His reign of 72 years and 110 days is the Li ...

Further information

It is known under more than one name: the "Séminaire Saint-Joseph", the "Séminaire de Trois-Rivières" and, simply, the "STR". It not only houses the Archives and the Museum, but also a

, and a full wing of living quarters for the religious community. It is also well known for setting up a yearly

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film and television, a genre of film and television that incorporates into the narr ...

school play of professional scope. Its students are

colloquial Colloquialism (), also called colloquial language, everyday language or general parlance, is the linguistic style used for casual (informal) communication. It is the most common functional style of speech, the idiom normally employed in conver ...

ly and affectionately known as ''les suisses'', a reference to the stripes of a former

school uniform A school uniform is a uniform worn by students primarily for a school or otherwise an educational institution.They are common in primary and secondary schools in various countries. An example of a uniform would be requiring button-down shir ...

that made the wearer resemble a

chipmunk Chipmunks are small, striped rodents of the family Sciuridae. Chipmunks are found in North America, with the exception of the Siberian chipmunk which is found primarily in Asia. Taxonomy and systematics Chipmunks may be classified either as ...

, or ''un suisse'' in

Quebec French Quebec French (french: français québécois ), also known as Québécois French, is the predominant variety of the French language spoken in Canada. It is the dominant language of the province of Quebec, used in everyday communication, in educa ...

(notably). Coincidentally, the name ''suisse'' was given to the chipmunk (or ''tamia'' in international normative French) because of the similarity of their stripes to the striped cloth of the

Vatican Vatican may refer to: Vatican City, the city-state ruled by the pope in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica, Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museum The Holy See * The Holy See, the governing body of the Catholic Church and sovereign entity recognized ...

Swiss Guard The Pontifical Swiss Guard (also Papal Swiss Guard or simply Swiss Guard; la, Pontificia Cohors Helvetica; it, Guardia Svizzera Pontificia; german: Päpstliche Schweizergarde; french: Garde suisse pontificale; rm, Guardia svizra papala) is ...

uniform. :fr:Tamia

Notable alumni

* Richard Béliveau - Cancer prevention researcher *

Jean Chrétien Joseph Jacques Jean Chrétien (; born January 11, 1934) is a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 20th prime minister of Canada from 1993 to 2003. Born and raised in Shawinigan Falls, Quebec, Chrétien is a law graduate from Uni ...

- 20th Prime Minister of Canada *

Pierre de Bané Pierre is a masculine given name. It is a French form of the name Peter. Pierre originally meant "rock" or "stone" in French (derived from the Greek word πέτρος (''petros'') meaning "stone, rock", via Latin "petra"). It is a translation ...

- federal cabinet minister and Senator *

Maurice Duplessis Maurice Le Noblet Duplessis (; April 20, 1890 – September 7, 1959), was a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 16th premier of Quebec. A conservative, nationalist, anti-Communist, anti-unionist and fervent Catholic, he and his ...

- 16th Premier of Quebec * Gaétan Frigon - Entrepreneur and TV personality *

Gérald Gagnier Gérald Gagnier (14 October 1926 – 14 January 1961) was a Canadian bandmaster, composer, and trumpeter. His compositional output includes the symphonic poem ''Polyphème'', a ''Prélude'' for piano, a ''Suite romantique'' for strings, and '' ...

- bandmaster, composer, and trumpeter *

Gérald Godin Gérald Godin (November 13, 1938 – October 12, 1994) was a Quebec poet and politician. Born in Trois-Rivières, Quebec, he worked as a journalist at '' La Presse'' and other newspapers and magazines. His most important poetry collection, '' ...

- Poet and

Parti Québécois The Parti Québécois (; ; PQ) is a sovereignist and social democratic provincial political party in Quebec, Canada. The PQ advocates national sovereignty for Quebec involving independence of the province of Quebec from Canada and establishin ...

MNA *

François Massicotte François () is a French masculine given name and surname, equivalent to the English name Francis. People with the given name * Francis I of France, King of France (), known as "the Father and Restorer of Letters" * Francis II of France, King o ...

- Humorist * Laurent Poliquin - Poet *

Denis Villeneuve Denis Villeneuve (; born October 3, 1967) is a Canadian filmmaker. He is a four-time recipient of the Canadian Screen Award (formerly Genie Award) for Best Direction, winning for '' Maelström'' in 2001, '' Polytechnique'' in 2009, ''Incendies ...

- Film director

References

L'historique du STRArchives of the Séminaire de Trois-Rivières

External links

*
Musée Pierre Boucher
- official site

- partner site at Séminaire Saint-Joseph de Trois-Rivières {{DEFAULTSORT:Seminaire Saint-Joseph De Trois-Rivieres High schools in Quebec Art museums and galleries in Quebec Private schools in Quebec Schools in Trois-Rivières Tourist attractions in Mauricie Museums in Mauricie 1860 establishments in Canada