Mary, Queen of the World Cathedral or in full Mary, Queen of the World and St. James the Great Cathedral is a

minor basilica Basilicas are Catholic church buildings that have a designation, conferring special privileges, given by the Pope. Basilicas are distinguished for ceremonial purposes from other churches. The building need not be a basilica in the architectura ...

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

, Quebec, Canada, and the seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Montreal. It is the third largest church in Quebec after Saint Joseph's Oratory (also in Montreal) and the Basilica of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré east of Quebec City. The building is 101 m (333 ft) in length, 46 m (150 ft) in width, and a maximum height of 77 m (252 ft) at the cupola, the diameter of which is 23 m (75 ft). The church is located at 1085 Cathedral Street at the corner of René Lévesque Boulevard and Metcalfe Street, near the Bonaventure metro station and

Central Station Central stations or central railway stations emerged in the second half of the nineteenth century as railway stations that had initially been built on the edge of city centres were enveloped by urban expansion and became an integral part of the ...

in downtown Montreal. It and the connected Archdiocese main buildings form the eastern side of Place du Canada, and occupies a dominant presence on Dorchester Square.

History

Benediction of the first stone at Mary Queen of the World Cathedral

The construction of the cathedral was ordered by Mgr. Ignace Bourget, second bishop of Montreal, to replace the former Saint-Jacques Cathedral which had burned in 1852. His choice to create a scale model of

Saint Peter's Basilica The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican (), or simply St. Peter's Basilica (; ), is a church of the Italian Renaissance architecture, Italian High Renaissance located in Vatican City, an independent microstate enclaved within the cit ...

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

was in response to a rivalry with the

Sulpician The Society of Priests of Saint-Sulpice (; 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, where it was founded. The members of the Society add the ...

order who had been the feudal seigneurs of Montreal, and with the

Anglican Church Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

, both of which favoured the

Neo-Gothic Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half of the 19th century ...

style instead. The site also sparked controversy due to its location in the western part of downtown, in a then predominantly English neighbourhood far from the homes of the French-Canadian church-goers. The first architect, Victor Bourgeau, refused the project after studying St. Peter's, saying that it could not be reproduced on a smaller scale. At the time, the Holy See and the Papal States were threatened by the nationalist troops of Victor Emmanuel II, king of Piedmont, who was attempting to assert control over all Italy. The undeterred bishop Bourget reacted to these events by sending a total of 507 Canadian

Zouave The Zouaves () were a class of light infantry regiments of the French Army and other units modelled on it, which served between 1830 and 1962, and served in French North Africa. The zouaves were among the most decorated units of the French Army ...

s to defend the Papal territories in Italy, whose names are engraved in gold letters on the marble slabs in the cathedral. Their motto is: "Love God and go your way." A painting depicting Colonel Athanase de Charette, commander of the Papal Zouaves, was made in 1885 by Lionel Royer. Fr. Joseph Michaud, the chaplain of the Papal Zouave volunteers of Montreal, was sent to Rome to secretly produce a scale model to work from. Work began in 1875 and the new church was consecrated in 1894 as Saint James Cathedral, after Saint James the Great, the patron of the parish the church served. At the time it was the largest church in Quebec. It was made a

in 1919 by

Pope Benedict XV Pope Benedict XV (; ; born Giacomo Paolo Giovanni Battista della Chiesa, ; 21 November 1854 – 22 January 1922) was head of the Catholic Church from 1914 until his death in January 1922. His pontificate was largely overshadowed by World War I a ...

. It was rededicated in 1955 to Mary, Queen of the World, by

Pope Pius XII Pope Pius XII (; born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli; 2 March 18769 October 1958) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death on 9 October 1958. He is the most recent p ...

at the request of cardinal Paul-Émile Léger. (The pope had proclaimed this title for Mary in his 1954 encyclical '' Ad caeli reginam''.) Between 1955 and 1960, several restoration works were executed. On March 28, 2000, the cathedral was designated a

National Historic Site of Canada National Historic Sites of 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 of national historic significance. Parks C ...

. , the cathedral's esplanade and

narthex The narthex is an architectural element typical of Early Christian art and architecture, early Christian and Byzantine architecture, Byzantine basilicas and Church architecture, churches consisting of the entrance or Vestibule (architecture), ve ...

have undergone significant reconstruction. The exterior statue of Bishop Ignace Bourget was cleaned and restored in 2005.

Design

Chapels

Baptistery

A small chapel is dedicated to

baptism Baptism (from ) is a Christians, Christian sacrament of initiation almost invariably with the use of water. It may be performed by aspersion, sprinkling or affusion, pouring water on the head, or by immersion baptism, immersing in water eit ...

ceremonies. The marble baptismal font is mounted on a

stucco Stucco or render is a construction material made of aggregates, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as a decorative coating for walls and ceilings, exterior walls, and as a sculptural and ...

crucifix A crucifix (from the Latin meaning '(one) fixed to a cross') is a cross with an image of Jesus on it, as distinct from a bare cross. The representation of Jesus himself on the cross is referred to in English as the (Latin for 'body'). The cru ...

sculpted by Louis-Philippe Hébert.

Bishops' mortuary chapel

The burial chapel, completed in 1933, is located on the east wall of the building, east of the nave, halfway between the main entrance and the altar in the centre. The tomb of Mgr. Bourget, an art work which was created in Rome, is located in the centre. The remains of the bishop that lay in a crypt under one of the pillars in the cathedral were transferred to his tomb on April 27, 1933. The

titular bishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox an ...

s are buried on the west side and the

auxiliary bishop An auxiliary bishop is a bishop assigned to assist the diocesan bishop in meeting the pastoral and administrative needs of the diocese. Auxiliary bishops can also be titular bishops of sees that no longer exist as territorial jurisdictions. ...

s on the east-hand side. The walls and floors are made of marble imported from Italy and feature several mosaics. The bronze plaque above the altar depicts St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. Since the cathedral was running out of space for burying auxiliary bishops, a second chapel was built next to the original one in 2005. Here an additional 15 vaults have been prepared.

Chapel of the Assumption

This chapel, also known as the Marriage Chapel, is located on the west side of the nave (across from the Bishop's Chapel). This work of art features a wood-carved altarpiece, decorated with gold leaf and framing a painting depicting the Assumption of the Virgin Mary. It was made around 1635 at the Benedictine Abbey in Bellelay,

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

by a Spanish monk. When the monks were forced to leave during the religious retaliation, the occupying French troops sold all the precious furniture in the Abbey. At the beginning of the 20th century, the Austrian architect-conservator Rodolphe Messmer discovered the altarpiece in the church of Suarce,

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and acquired it. In 1994, Bruno Messmer donated it to the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Montreal. In 1957,

Cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal most commonly refers to * Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of three species in the family Cardinalidae ***Northern cardinal, ''Cardinalis cardinalis'', the common cardinal of ...

Paul-Émile Léger put the chapel at the disposal of the

Order of Malta The Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM), officially the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta, and commonly known as the Order of Malta or the Knights of Malta, is a Catholic Church, Cathol ...

. The

stained-glass Stained glass refers to coloured glass as a material or art and architectural works created from it. Although it is traditionally made in flat panels and used as windows, the creations of modern stained glass artists also include three-dimensio ...

windows are dedicated to this Order.

Ciborium

Covering the altar, which is located under the dome, is a neo-baroque ciborium or baldaquin, with twisting columns. It was created in Rome in 1900 by Joseph-Arthur Vincent and is a reproduction of the famous 'baldacchino' in St. Peter's Basilica, created by

Gian Lorenzo Bernini Gian Lorenzo (or Gianlorenzo) Bernini (, ; ; Italian Giovanni Lorenzo; 7 December 1598 – 28 November 1680) was an Italians, Italian sculptor and Italian architect, architect. While a major figure in the world of architecture, he was more prom ...

. It is fully hand-made and made with red copper and gold leaf. The angels, garlands and papal insignia were sculpted between 1910 and 1911 by Olindo Gratton. This work of art was a donation to the cathedral by the Sulpicians.

Great Organ

Built by ''

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� ...

'', the organ was inaugurated on September 22, 1893. At that time, it consisted of 56 stops on three manuals and a pedal board. In 1951 the organ required maintenance, after which it was decided to rebuild the entire organ. Again, ''Casavant Frères'' was chosen for the job, and they added 20 stops and a manual. In 1995–1996, the instrument was restored by ''Guilbault-Thérien'' from

Saint-Hyacinthe Saint-Hyacinthe ( , ) 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 Montérégie regi ...

. A few more additions were made, so that now the organ counts a total of 93 stops, four manuals and one pedal board.

Paintings

The aisles of the

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

and the arches in the

transept A transept (with two semitransepts) is a transverse part of any building, which lies across the main body of the building. In cruciform ("cross-shaped") cruciform plan, churches, in particular within the Romanesque architecture, Romanesque a ...

contain painting depicting historical events in the early days of

(called Ville-Marie at the time). It contains nine paintings and still three empty spaces. The paintings are: # The aforementioned painting of colonel Athanase de Charette, commander of the Papal Zouaves of Montreal. Work by Lionel Ryder. # Marguerite d'Youville singing "

Te Deum The ( or , ; from its incipit, ) is a Latin Christian hymn traditionally ascribed to a date before AD 500, but perhaps with antecedents that place it much earlier. It is central to the Ambrosian hymnal, which spread throughout the Latin ...

" to children during the fire that destroyed her hospital on May 18, 1765. Work by Georges Delfosse. # Marguerite Bourgeoys teaching her

Amerindian In the Americas, Indigenous peoples comprise the two continents' pre-Columbian inhabitants, as well as the ethnic groups that identify with them in the 15th century, as well as the ethnic groups that identify with the pre-Columbian population of ...

pupils in 1694 at the foot of one of the historic towers on ground belonging to the Sulpicians. Work by Georges Delfosse. # The martyrdom of

Jean de Brébeuf Jean de Brébeuf () (25 March 1593 16 March 1649) was a French Jesuit missionary who travelled to New France (Canada) in 1625. There he worked primarily with the Huron for the rest of his life, except for a few years in France from 1629 to 1 ...

and Gabriel Lalemant in the land of the Hurons. The

Iroquois The Iroquois ( ), also known as the Five Nations, and later as the Six Nations from 1722 onwards; alternatively referred to by the Endonym and exonym, endonym Haudenosaunee ( ; ) are an Iroquoian languages, Iroquoian-speaking Confederation#Ind ...

tortured the Jesuit missionaries, of whom de Brébeuf can be seen in the centre with his hands tied to a stake. Work by Georges Delfosse. # Father Barthélemy Vimont saying the first

Mass Mass is an Intrinsic and extrinsic properties, intrinsic property of a physical body, body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the physical quantity, quantity of matter in a body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physi ...

in Montreal on May 18, 1642.

Paul de Chomedey, Sieur de Maisonneuve Paul de Chomedey de Maisonneuve (15 February 1612 – 9 September 1676) was a French military officer and the founder of Ville-Marie, now the city of Montreal. Early life Maisonneuve was baptised on 15 February 1612 at Neuville-sur-Vannes ...

and

Jeanne Mance Jeanne Mance (; November 12, 1606 – June 18, 1673) was a French nurse and settler of New France. She arrived in New France two years after the Ursuline nuns came to Quebec. Among the founders of Montreal in 1642, she established its first hos ...

, the co-founders of Montreal, can be seen attending the Mass. This work by Ernest Laurent was a gift from the French government to Paul Bruchési. # The consecration of the Associates of Montreal's project. On February 3, 1641, noble man and women, and priests, who dreamed of founding the city of Ville-Marie in

New France New France (, ) was the territory colonized by Kingdom of France, France in North America, beginning with the exploration of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Kingdom of Great Br ...

, attend a Mass celebrated by

Jean-Jacques Olier Jean-Jacques Olier, S.S. (20 September 1608 – 2 April 1657) was a French Catholic priest and the founder of the Sulpicians. He also helped to establish the Société Notre-Dame de Montréal, which organized the settlement of a new town ca ...

in the Notre-Dame of Paris to pray for the protection of Our Lady for what many considered to be a "foolish undertaking." Work by Georges Delfosse. # The first Mass celebrated at Rivière-des-Prairies by Father Denis Jamet on June 24, 1615. Joseph Le Caron holds the edge of Jamay's chasuble.

Samuel de Champlain Samuel de Champlain (; 13 August 1574#Fichier]For a detailed analysis of his baptismal record, see #Ritch, RitchThe baptism act does not contain information about the age of Samuel, neither his birth date nor his place of birth. – 25 December ...

, founder of

Quebec City Quebec City is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Census Metropolitan Area (including surrounding communities) had a populati ...

, is in the centre. Work by Georges Delfosse. # The martyrdom of Nicolas Viel (seen in the boat) and his disciple Ahuntsic (seen already fallen in the water) by three

Amerindians In the Americas, Indigenous peoples comprise the two continents' pre-Columbian inhabitants, as well as the ethnic groups that identify with them in the 15th century, as well as the ethnic groups that identify with the pre-Columbian population of ...

on the rapids at the

Sault-au-Récollet Sault-au-Récollet (, '' Recollet Rapids'') is a neighbourhood in Montreal. It is located in the eastern edge of the borough of Ahuntsic-Cartierville, bordering the Rivière des Prairies. Autoroute 19 connects Sault-au-Récollet to Laval. The n ...

. Work by Georges Delfosse. #

, co-founder of Montreal, and the nursing sisters of Religious Hospitallers of St. Joseph tend to a sick child Montreal's first hospital, Hôtel-Dieu de Montréal. Work by Georges Delfosse.

Statues

In the

apse In architecture, an apse (: apses; from Latin , 'arch, vault'; from Ancient Greek , , 'arch'; sometimes written apsis; : apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical Vault (architecture), vault or semi-dome, also known as an ' ...

is a statue of Mary, Queen of the World, patron of the cathedral, by Sylvia Daoust. In imitation of the statues of the 12 apostles on the façade of St. Peter's, the cathedral is topped by statues of the patron saints of 13 parishes of Montreal that donated toward the cathedral, including St. John the Baptist and St. Patrick. The statues were sculpted by Olindo Gratton between 1892 and 1898 and include: *

Saint Anthony of Padua Anthony of Padua, OFM, (; ; ) or Anthony of Lisbon (; ; ; born Fernando Martins de Bulhões; 15 August 1195 – 13 June 1231) was a Portuguese Catholic priest and member of the Order of Friars Minor. Anthony was born and raised by a wealth ...

, patron of the Saint-Anthony-of-Padua parish (at 1950 Saint-Antoine Street West); * Saint Vincent de Paul, patron of the Saint-Vincent-de-Paul parish in Laval; * Saint Hyacinth; *

Saint Thomas Aquinas Thomas Aquinas ( ; ; – 7 March 1274) was an Italian Dominican friar and priest, the foremost Scholastic thinker, as well as one of the most influential philosophers and theologians in the Western tradition. A Doctor of the Church, he wa ...

; *

Saint Paul Paul, also named Saul of Tarsus, commonly known as Paul the Apostle and Saint Paul, was a Christian apostle ( AD) who spread the teachings of Jesus in the first-century world. For his contributions towards the New Testament, he is generally ...

; * Saint John; * Saint James the Greater, patron of this cathedral and its predecessor that was destroyed by fire, the Saint-Jacques Cathedral; *

Saint Joseph According to the canonical Gospels, Joseph (; ) was a 1st-century Jewish man of Nazareth who was married to Mary, the mother of Jesus, and was the legal father of Jesus. Joseph is venerated as Saint Joseph in the Catholic Church, Eastern O ...

, patron of the Saint-Joseph parish in Rivière-des-Prairies; *

Saint John the Baptist John the Baptist ( – ) was a Jewish preacher active in the area of the Jordan River in the early first century AD. He is also known as Saint John the Forerunner in Eastern Orthodoxy and Oriental Orthodoxy, John the Immerser in some Baptist ...

, patron of the parish of the Saint-Jean-Baptiste Church; *

Saint Patrick Saint Patrick (; or ; ) was a fifth-century Romano-British culture, Romano-British Christian missionary and Archbishop of Armagh, bishop in Gaelic Ireland, Ireland. Known as the "Apostle of Ireland", he is the primary patron saint of Irelan ...

, patron of the parish of the St. Patrick's Church; * Saint Ignatius of Antioch; * Saint Charles Borromeo, patron of the parish of the Saint-Charles Church in

Pointe Saint-Charles Pointe-Saint-Charles (; also known in English as Point Saint Charles, and locally as The Point, or "PSC") is a neighbourhood in the Montreal borough, borough of Le Sud-Ouest in the city of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Historically a working-class are ...

; * Saint Francis of Assisi. Next to the church, there's also a monument for Ignace Bourget.

Texts

Several texts in golden letters decorate the inside of the cathedral. Since the building was originally dedicated to Saint James the Greater (and it still is), it explains why most of the Latin texts refer to his life. Texts in the nave include: Marie-Reine-du-Monde Cathedral Montreal 07

Marie-Reine-du-Monde Cathedral Montreal 07

* On the side of the

cathedra A ''cathedra'' is the throne of a bishop in the early Christian basilica. When used with this meaning, it may also be called the bishop's throne. With time, the related term ''cathedral'' became synonymous with the "seat", or principa ...

(east side): "''He amesis one of the three Apostles whom the Savior loves the most. In Judea and Samaria he converts many to the Christian faith.''" (Latin: "''Is unus fuit ex tribus Apostolis, quos Salvator maxime dilexit. In Judæa et Samaria, plurimos ad Christianam fidem perduxit.''") * On the side of the

tabernacle According to the Hebrew Bible, the tabernacle (), also known as the Tent of the Congregation (, also Tent of Meeting), was the portable earthly dwelling of God used by the Israelites from the Exodus until the conquest of Canaan. Moses was instru ...

(west side): "''He also converts some people in Spain, in Jerusalem he is condemned to death. He is the first of the Apostles that bears witness to Jesus with his blood.''" (Latin: "''In Hispania aliquos convertit, Jerosolymae capite damnatus est. Primus apostolorum profuso sanguine testimonium Jesu dedit.''") The texts featured in the

s are based on Matthew 20:22–23 and the brothers James and John asking Jesus to sit beside him, one on his left and one on his right, in his Kingdom. * On the side of the

(east side): "''And Jesus, answering, said: You know not what you ask. Can you drink the chalice that I shall drink? They said to Him: We can. And he told them:''" (Latin: "''Respondens autem Iesus dixit nescitis quid petatis potestis bibere calicem quem ego bibiturus? Sum dicunt: Ei possumus. Ait illis:''") * On the side of the

(west side): "''My chalice indeed you shall drink, but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant, hese placesbelong to those for whom they have been prepared by my Father.''" (Latin: "''Calicem quidem meum bibetis sedere autem ad dexteram meam et sinistram non est meum dare vobis sed quibus paratum est a Patre meo.''") Two other texts, both from Matthew 16:17–19, speak of the vocation of Saint Peter, head of the Apostles. These texts can also be found in the nave inside

St. Peter's Basilica The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican (), or simply St. Peter's Basilica (; ), is a church of the Italian High Renaissance located in Vatican City, an independent microstate enclaved within the city of Rome, Italy. It was initiall ...

Vatican City Vatican City, officially the Vatican City State (; ), is a Landlocked country, landlocked sovereign state and city-state; it is enclaved within Rome, the capital city of Italy and Bishop of Rome, seat of the Catholic Church. It became inde ...

Basilique-cathedrale Marie-Reine-du-Monde 25

* Inside the

cupola In architecture, a cupola () is a relatively small, usually dome-like structure on top of a building often crowning a larger roof or dome. Cupolas often serve as a roof lantern to admit light and air or as a lookout. The word derives, via Ital ...

: "''You are Peter and upon this rock I will build my Church. And the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven.'' (Latin: "''Tu es Petrus, et super hanc petram aedificabo Ecclesiam meam, et portae inferi non praevalebunt adversus eam. Et tibi dabo claves Regni coelorum''") * In the

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the Choir (architecture), choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may termi ...

and

: "''And whatsoever you shall bind upon earth, it shall be bound also in Heaven: And whatsoever you shall loose on earth, it shall be loosed also in Heaven. Feed my sheep.''" (Latin: "''Quodcumque ligaveris super terram, erit ligatum etin coelis: et quodcumque solveris super terram, erit solutum et in coelis.''") * At the base of the cupola: This text is fragmented into four physical sections. It is based on Revelation 4:8 from the Apocalypse and dedicated to the glory of God: "''Holy, Holy, Holy, the Lord, who is, who was, and who is to come.''" (Latin: "''Sanctus sanctus sanctus Dominus qui erat qui est qui venturus est.''")

References

External links

*
Catholic Church in Montreal — Our Churches (information on the cathedral)

Basilica-Cathedral of Marie-Reine-du-Monde on Images Montreal

360 panorama of the cathedral Mary, Queen of the World
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mary, Queen Of The World Cathedral Basilica churches in Montreal Roman Catholic churches in Montreal Roman Catholic cathedrals in Quebec Renaissance Revival architecture in Canada Roman Catholic churches completed in 1894 19th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Canada National Historic Sites in Quebec Downtown Montreal Roman Catholic churches on the National Historic Sites of Canada register Cathedrals in Montreal Church buildings with domes