Notre-Dame-des-Victoires () is a small

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

stone church on Place Royale in the lower town of Old

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 ...

. Construction was started in 1687 on the site of Champlain's habitation and was completed in 1723. The church is one of the oldest in North America.

History

Notre-Dame-des-Victoires was built atop the ruins of Champlain's first outpost."Église ''Notre-Dame-des-Victoires'', Québec City Tourism
/ref> Architect

Hilaire Bernard de La Rivière Hilaire Bernard de La Rivière ( c. 1640 – 1 December 1729) was a multi-faceted builder as well as a seigneurial attorney and notary in New France New France (, ) was the territory colonized by Kingdom of France, France in North Ameri ...

was the builder. Originally dedicated to ''l'Enfant Jésus'', it received the name ''Notre-Dame-de-la-Victoire'' following the Battle of Quebec of 1690, in which an English expedition commanded by

William Phips Sir William Phips (or Phipps; February 2, 1651 – February 18, 1695) was the first royally appointed governor of the Province of Massachusetts Bay, and the first native-born person from New England to be knighted. Phips was famous in his lifeti ...

was forced to retreat. In 1711, its name was changed again, to ''Notre-Dame-des-Victoires'', after bad weather had sunk a British fleet commanded by

Hovenden Walker Rear-Admiral Sir Hovenden Walker (1656 or 1666 – 1725 or 1728) was a British naval officer noted for, during Queen Anne's War, having led an abortive 1711 expedition against Quebec City, then the capital of New France. Early career Walker ...

. The church was largely destroyed by the British bombardment that preceded the

Battle of the Plains of Abraham The Battle of the Plains of Abraham, also known as the Battle of Quebec (), was a pivotal battle in the Seven Years' War (referred to as the French and Indian War to describe the North American theatre). The battle, which took place on 13 Sept ...

in September 1759. A complete restoration of the church was finished in 1816. Architect

François Baillairgé François Baillairgé (21 January 1759 – 15 September 1830) was an architect who also pursued painting and wood sculpture. Life The son of Jean Baillairgé, François began an apprenticeship in his father's shop at the age of 14. There he st ...

led the restoration work. The church, which was listed as a historic monument in 1929, remains a popular tourist attraction within the city, as well as a place of worship. It has undergone extensive restoration in recent decades, to restore its colonial French character. It 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 ...

in 1988 and plaqued in 1992. In 2002, the church served as a filming location for ''

Catch Me If You Can ''Catch Me If You Can'' is a 2002 American crime comedy-drama film directed and produced by Steven Spielberg and starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hanks with Christopher Walken, Martin Sheen, Nathalie Baye, Amy Adams, and James Brolin in ...

''.

Interior

A model of the ''Brézé'', the ship commanded by the marquis of Tracy, can be seen inside the church.

Gallery

Image:Après guerre.jpg, Notre-Dame-des-Victoires, 1759 File:Québec - Notre-Dame des Victoires.jpg, Front entrance File:Nave of Notre-Dame-des-Victoires Church, Quebec.JPG, Interior File:Place Royale at night, Vieux-Québec, Quebec ville, Canada.jpg, Exterior

References

{{Authority control Roman Catholic churches completed in 1723 Roman Catholic churches in Quebec City 1720s in Canada 1723 in New France 18th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Canada Heritage buildings of Quebec Roman Catholic churches on the National Historic Sites of Canada register Old Quebec 1723 establishments in New France