, image = Basílica de Notre-Dame, Montreal, Canadá, 2017-08-11, DD 26-28 HDR.jpg , imagesize = 280px , landscape = , caption = The church building's exterior, 2017 , pushpin map = Montreal , coordinates = , location = 110, rue Notre-Dame Ouest

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 Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

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Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

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Basilique Notre-Dame
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Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religious contexts * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...

, dedicated date = July 1, 1829 , consecrated date = , cult = , relics = , events = , past bishop = , people = , status =

Minor basilica In the Catholic Church, a basilica is a designation given by the Pope to a church building. Basilicas are distinguished for ceremonial purposes from other churches. The building need not be a basilica in the architectural sense (a rectangular ...

, functional status = Active , heritage designation = , designated date = , architect = James O'Donnell , architectural type = , style = Gothic Revival, English Gothic , groundbreaking = 1823 , completed date = , construction cost = £47,446 (1832) , closed date = , demolished date = , capacity = , length = , width = , width nave = , height = , diameter = , other dimensions = , floor count = , floor area = , dome quantity = , dome height outer = , dome height inner = , dome dia outer = , dome dia inner = , spire quantity = , spire height = , materials =

Stone In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its Chemical compound, chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks ...

, which came from the Tanneries quarry in

Griffintown Griffintown is a historic neighbourhood of Montreal, Quebec, southwest of downtown. The area existed as a functional neighbourhood from the 1820s until the 1960s, and was mainly populated by Irish immigrants and their descendants. Mostly depopulat ...

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

in the historic district of

Old Montreal Old Montreal (French: ''Vieux-Montréal'') is a historic neighbourhood within the municipality of Montreal in the province of Quebec, Canada. Home to the Old Port of Montreal, the neighbourhood is bordered on the west by McGill Street, on th ...

, in

. The church is located at 110 Notre-Dame Street West, at the corner of Saint Sulpice Street. It is located next to the Saint-Sulpice Seminary and faces the

Place d'Armes Place may refer to: Geography * Place (United States Census Bureau), defined as any concentration of population ** Census-designated place, a populated area lacking its own municipal government * "Place", a type of street or road name ** Often ...

square. The interior of the church is amongst the most dramatic in the world and regarded as a masterpiece of Gothic Revival architecture. The vaults are coloured deep blue and decorated with golden stars, and the rest of the

sanctuary A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred place, such as a shrine. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This secondary use can be categorized into human sanctuary, a sa ...

is decorated in blues, azures, reds, purples, silver, and gold. It is filled with hundreds of intricate wooden carvings and several religious statues. Unusual for a church, the stained glass windows along the walls of the sanctuary do not depict biblical scenes, but rather scenes from the religious history of Montreal. It also has a

Casavant Frères Casavant Frères is a Canadian organ building company in Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec, which has been building pipe organs since 1879. As of 2014, the company has produced more than 3,900 organs. Company history Brothers Joseph-Claver (1855–1 ...

pipe organ, dated 1891, which comprises four keyboards, 92 stops using electromagnetic action and an adjustable combination system, 7000 individual pipes and a pedal board. Approximately 11 million people visit Notre-Dame Basilica every year, making it one of the most visited monuments in North America.

History

In 1657, the

Sulpicians The Society of Priests of Saint-Sulpice (french: Compagnie des Prêtres de Saint-Sulpice), abbreviated PSS also known as the Sulpicians is a society of apostolic life of Pontifical Right for men, named after the Church of Saint-Sulpice, Paris, ...

arrived in ''Ville-Marie'', now known as Montreal; six years later, the seigneury of the island was vested in them. They ruled until 1840. The

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one o ...

they founded was dedicated to the Holy Name of

, and the parish church of Notre-Dame was built on the site in 1672. François Baillairgé, an architect, designed the interior decoration and choir 1785–95; facade and vault decoration, 1818. The church served as the first cathedral of the Diocese of Montreal from 1821 to 1822. Place d Armes Montreal 1828

By 1824 the congregation had completely outgrown the church, and James O'Donnell, an Irish-American Anglican from

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

, was commissioned to design the new building, with a goal of accommodating a congregation of up to 10,000. O'Donnell was a proponent of the Gothic Revival architectural movement, and designed the church as such. He intended for a terrace to be built on the exterior of the church, but this was never completed due to a lack of funding. He is the only person buried in the church's crypt. O'Donnell converted to Roman Catholicism on his deathbed and was thus buried in the crypt. The primary construction took place between 1824 and 1829. The cornerstone was laid at Place d'Armes on September 1, 1824. The sanctuary was finished in 1830, and the first tower in 1841, the second in 1843. O'Donnell designed the towers to be traditionally Gothic, and intended for them to be seen from any point in the city. Following O'Donnell's death, John Ostell, an English-born architect, finished the towers according to O'Donnell's original plans. Upon completion, the church was the largest in North America, and remained so for over fifty years. Samuel Russell Warren constructed a new organ in 1858. The facade of the church was completed in 1865, and included three statues by French sculptor Henri Bouriché: Saint-Joseph, the Virgin Mary, and Saint Jean-Baptiste. Notre-Dame Basilica Interior, Montreal, Canada - Diliff

Notre-Dame Basilica Interior, Montreal, Canada - Diliff

The interior took much longer, and Victor Bourgeau, who also worked on Montreal's

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, worked on it from 1872 to 1879. Stonemason

John Redpath John Redpath (1796 – March 5, 1869) was a Scots-Quebecer businessman and philanthropist who helped pioneer the industrial movement that made Montreal, Quebec the largest and most prosperous city in Canada. Early years In 1796, John Redpa ...

was a major participant in the construction of the Basilica. The sanctuary originally hosted a large canopy, but because it caused a lighting effect that would blind the congregation, the interior designs were reworked by Bourgeau and Victor Rousselot, the current priest. They were inspired by the Saint-Chappelle in Paris, with gold leaf motifs paired with brightly painted columns. Because of the splendour and grand scale of the church, a more intimate chapel, Chapelle du Sacré-Cœur (Chapel of the Sacred Heart), was built behind it, along with some offices and a sacristy. It was completed in 1888. In 1886,

began constructing a new 32-foot pipe organ at the church, completing it in 1891. It was notably the first organ with adjustable-combination pedals to be operated by electricity. Arson destroyed the Sacré-Cœur Chapel on December 8, 1978. It was rebuilt with the first two levels reproduced from old drawings and photographs, with modern vaulting and reredos and an immense bronze altarpiece by Quebec sculptor

Charles Daudelin Charles Daudelin, (October 1, 1920 – April 2, 2001) was a French Canadian pioneer in modern sculpture and painting. He worked in a wide variety of media, including painting, metal and ceramic sculpture, jewelry, and marionettes which he m ...

. Notre-Dame Church was raised to the status of a minor basilica by

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

on April 21, 1982. The Notre-Dame Roman Catholic Church was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1989. On May 31, 2000, the provincial state funeral for former

Montreal Canadiens The Montreal CanadiensEven in English, the French spelling is always used instead of ''Canadians''. The French spelling of ''Montréal'' is also sometimes used in the English media. (french: link=no, Les Canadiens de Montréal), officially ...

superstar Maurice "Rocket" Richard was held in front of thousands, both inside and outside the Basilica. On October 3, 2000,

Justin Trudeau Justin Pierre James Trudeau ( , ; born December 25, 1971) is a Canadian politician who is the 23rd and current prime minister of Canada. He has served as the prime minister of Canada since 2015 and as the leader of the Liberal Party since 2 ...

gave his eulogy just steps from the High Altar during the state funeral of Pierre Trudeau, his father and Canada's 15th prime minister. It was also the setting of

Celine Dion Céline Marie Claudette Dion ( ; born 30 March 1968) is a Canadian singer. Noted for her powerful and technically skilled vocals, Dion is the best-selling Canadian recording artist, and the best-selling French-language artist of all time. Her ...

's December 17, 1994, wedding to

René Angélil René Angélil (; January 16, 1942 – January 14, 2016) was a Canadian musical producer, talent manager and singer. He was the manager and husband of singer Celine Dion. Early life Angélil was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, to a father of ...

and hosted the funeral service for Angélil on January 22, 2016. In the summer of 2014, a French collector named Pierre-Jean Chalencon displayed a variety of artifacts that belonged to Napoleon Bonaparte. These items included clothing, weapons, and furniture, and were on display in the crypt on the basilica. In April 2019, following the Notre-Dame de Paris fire, Montreal's Notre-Dame announced that it would accept donations to aid in the Paris cathedral's reconstruction.

Bells

Both towers have bells, the West Tower (La Persévérance), has a bourdon bell nicknamed Jean-Baptiste, cast in John Dod Ward’s Eagle Foundry in 1848. Jean-Baptiste weighs 10,900 kg and tolled only on special occasions such as funerals, great church festivals and even Christmas Eve. The East Tower (La Temperance), houses a ten-bell carillon from the same foundry in May 24, 1842.

Public access

The basilica offers musical programming of choral and organ performances. It is a tradition among many Montrealers to attend the annual performance of Handel's ''

Messiah In Abrahamic religions, a messiah or messias (; , ; , ; ) is a saviour or liberator of a group of people. The concepts of '' mashiach'', messianism, and of a Messianic Age originated in Judaism, and in the Hebrew Bible, in which a ''mashiach ...

'' every

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year ...

. More than 11 million people visit Notre-Dame every year, only one million fewer than Notre-Dame de Paris.

Organists

* Jean Girard (1725–1765) *Guillaume Mechtler (1792–1832) *

Jean-Chrysostome Brauneis II Jean-Chrysostome Brauneis II, sometimes referred to as John-Chrysostome Brauneis II, (26 January 1814, Quebec City - 11 August 1871, Montreal) was a Canadian composer, organist, and music educator. A multifaceted musician, Brauneis instructed studen ...

(1833–1844) *Leonard Eglauch (1845) *

Jean-Baptiste Labelle Jean-Baptiste Labelle (September 1825 – 9 September 1898) was a Canadian composer, organist, pianist, and conducting, conductor. He is best known for composing the music to the song ''Ô Canada! mon pays, mes amours'' (words 1834, music befor ...

(1849–1891) *Alcibiade Béique (1891–1896) *Joseph-Daniel Dussault (1896–1921, with the exception of eight months in 1916) *August Liessens (1916) *

Benoît Poirier Benoît Fidèle Poirier (17 October 1882 – 7 October 1965) was a Canadian organist,Brian Christopher Thompson. Anthems and Minstrel Shows: The Life and Times of Calixa Lavallée, 1842-1891'. MQUP; May 2015. . p. 19–. composer, and mus ...

(1921–1954) *Pierre Grandmaison (1973–present)

References

Sources

*Rémillard, François (1992). ''Old Montreal – A Walking Tour'', Ministère des Affaires culturelles du Québec. *Livesey, Herbert Bailey (2003). ''Frommer's 2004 Montreal & Quebec City'', Frommer's, 104. .

External links

*
Basilique Notre-Dame de MontréalVisite Interactive de la Basilique
{{Authority control Notre-Dame de Montreal Gothic Revival architecture in Montreal Gothic Revival church buildings in Canada National Historic Sites in Quebec Old Montreal Religious buildings and structures in Canada destroyed by arson Roman Catholic churches completed in 1888 N Roman Catholic churches on the National Historic Sites of Canada register 19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Canada