St Patrick's Basilica is a

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, Canada. Located at 281 Nepean Street (at the corner of Nepean and Kent) in Downtown Ottawa, it is the oldest church in the city that serves the English-speaking community.Parish website https://basilica.ca The Basilica is one of the regular buildings featured in the Doors Open Ottawa architectural heritage day.

History

The parish was founded in 1855. Originally, it was intended to serve not only the English-speaking Catholics of Ottawa, but also those of the City of Hull (now absorbed into

Gatineau Gatineau ( ; ) is a city in southwestern Quebec, Canada. It is located on the northern bank of the Ottawa River, directly across from Ottawa, Ontario. Gatineau is the largest city in the Outaouais administrative region of Quebec and is also p ...

) across the

Ottawa River The Ottawa River (, ) is a river in the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. It is named after the Algonquin word "to trade", as it was the major trade route of Eastern Canada at the time. For most of its length, it defines the border betw ...

in Quebec as well. These were mostly of Irish descent; thus the parish was dedicated to St. Patrick, the

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

of Ireland. Design for the present church building started in 1869 under the direction of architect Augustus Laver. Laver's firm, Fuller and Laver, also designed the East and West blocks of Ottawa's Parliament Buildings. In 1872, the cornerstone was blessed by Bishop Guigues (the first Bishop of Ottawa), and was laid by John A. Macdonald (the first Prime Minister of Canada). King McCord Arnoldi (architect) was responsible from 1874 to 1875 for the completion of the original design prepared in 1869 by Augustus Laver. In 1875, the building, not quite complete, was blessed by Bishop Guigues' successor, Bishop Duhamel. In 1898, Louis Zephirin Gauthier designed major alterations and a new altar for St. Patrick's, Kent Street at Nepean Street. A memorial plaque was unveiled on June 11, 1916 and is dedicated to St. Patrick's Basilica in appreciation for the privilege of worshipping in this church by the commanding officer (from 19 Jun 1916 to 13 Sep 1916) Lieutenant Colonel D.R. Street, officers N.C.O.s. and Men of the (Ottawa) 77th Overseas Battalion Canadian Expeditionary Force (C.E.F.). A World War I memorial painting, which depicts angels meeting a dying soldier on the battlefield and Jesus Christ on the cross, was erected by the parishioners and is dedicated to the soldiers of the St. Patrick's Basilica parish who fell during The Great War. At the bottom of the painting's wooden frame is the list of those soldiers. The Holy Name Society and Tabernacle Society erected a pair of stained glass windows depicting

Military saint The military saints, warrior saints and soldier saints are patron saints, martyrs and other saints associated with the military. They were originally composed of the early Christians who were soldiers in the Roman army during the persecution of ...

s, which are dedicated to the Parish members who returned from World War II and those who made the supreme sacrifice. Memorial scrolls are dedicated to the members of the St. Patrick's Basilica Parish and Our lady of Perpetual Help Parish who volunteered for active service with Canada's fighting forces during World War II. The Church was elevated to

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

status on St. Patrick's Day, 1995.

Architecture

The building is made of local stoneOttawaPlus http://www.ottawaplus.ca/ottawa/venues/saint-patricks-basilica-centretown?set_language=en in the

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, 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 ...

style and features a carved and stencilled ceiling, marble

altars An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, churches, and other places of worship. They are used particularly in Christian ...

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, and oak pews dating to 1954. The base of the current Altar of Sacrifice was originally the site of the raised marble

pulpit A pulpit is a raised stand for preachers in a Christian church. The origin of the word is the Latin ''pulpitum'' (platform or staging). The traditional pulpit is raised well above the surrounding floor for audibility and visibility, accesse ...

. This latter was originally installed in 1930 and relocated slightly in an interior renovation of 2003. The Altar of Reservation was built in 1902. To the right of the altar is a beautiful replica of Murillo's Assumption of the Virgin Mary, hand painted by

Québec Quebec is Canada's largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, New Brunswick to the southeast and a coastal border ...

nuns in 1929. The ceiling, most of the murals, and some of the stained glass windows are the work of

Guido Nincheri Guido Nincheri (1885 – 1 March 1973) was a Canadian painter and designer working mainly in stained glass and fresco. Biography Guido Nincheri was born in Prato, Italy, in 1885. He studied art in Florence and immigrated to Montreal in November 1 ...

from the 1920s and 1930s. The

Stations of the Cross The Stations of the Cross or the Way of the Cross, also known as the Via Dolorosa, Way of Sorrows or the , are a series of fourteen images depicting Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ on the day of Crucifixion of Jesus, his crucifixion and acc ...

are bas-reliefs from 1876. The church seats about 1,000. At the main entrance to the church are the

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

memorials listing the names of parishioners who died in those wars. In 1998 the basement of the church was excavated to form a basement (called the Scavi) containing a kitchen, meeting rooms, the Book Shop, and a

Lourdes Grotto A Lourdes grotto is a replica of the grotto where the Lourdes apparitions occurred in 1858, in the town of Lourdes in France, now part of the sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes. Some Lourdes grottos are almost identical reproductions of the scene o ...

. The large area around the Lourdes Grotto is about two-thirds the size of the main church, and is used for

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 ...

on occasions when the main church is unavailable.

Restoration

In 2009, the Basilica won the North American Copper in Architecture Awards (NACIA) in the Historical Restoration division. Engineering consultant John G. Cooke of John G. Cooke & Associates collaborated with building contracting firm Lari Construction to repair, replace and repoint stones, install anchors, and install a new copper roof. Heather & Little furnished the structure with a new copper steeple, copper cornice and dentil bands, belfry louvers, ornaments, and the stunning 20-oz copper ceiling of the spire. Work was done following the Canadian Federal Government publication ''Standards and Guidelines for the Conservation of Historic Places in Canada''.

Parish life

St. Patrick's Basilica has a number of social and devotional groups for parishioners: *

Knights of Columbus The Knights of Columbus (K of C) is a global Catholic Church, Catholic Fraternal and service organizations, fraternal service order founded by Michael J. McGivney, Blessed Michael J. McGivney. Membership is limited to practicing Catholic men. ...

Legion of Mary The Legion of Mary (, post-nominal letters, postnominal abbreviation L.O.M.) is an international association of members of the Catholic Church who serve on a Voluntary association, voluntary basis. It was founded in Dublin, as a Roman Catholic ...

* Christian Meditation Group * Traditional Franciscan

Third Order The term third order signifies, in general, lay members of Christian religious orders, who do not necessarily live in a religious community such as a monastery or a nunnery, and yet can claim to wear the religious habit and participate in the goo ...

* Women of Grace *

Anti-abortion Anti-abortion movements, also self-styled as pro-life movements, are involved in the abortion debate advocating against the practice of abortion and its Abortion by country, legality. Many anti-abortion movements began as countermovements in r ...

Group Regular devotional events include: * Parish Missions * Monthly all-night Vigils of Eucharistic Adoration The Basilica offers masses, confessions, daily holy hours and Novena throughout the week. Daily Masses before work (7:00 a.m., 8:00 a.m.), during lunch (12:15 p.m.), and after the workday (4:30 p.m.), with confessions before each service; Catholics citywide make use of the confessionals at Saint Patrick's. Masses for Sunday obligation are: * Saturdays: 4:30pm (Low Mass) * Sundays: 8:00am (Low Mass), 9:30am, 11:00am, 12:15pm, 9:00pm Educational activities include a formal R.C.I.A. program and a Continuing Adult Faith Formation program which has featured a variety of guest speakers. There is also a Book and Gift Shop in the Scavi. Social events include pancake breakfasts by the Knights of Columbus and a St. Patrick's day dinner, Coffee and Tea Sunday, Spaghetti dinners and St. Andrew's day dinner.

Music

Choirs

The basilica has five choirs under the direction of organist and choir director Francesca Bailey, A.R.C.T. The Adoremus Choir is an

SATB In music, SATB is a scoring of compositions for choirs or consorts of instruments consisting of four voice types: soprano, alto, tenor and bass. Choral music Four-part harmony using soprano, alto, tenor and bass is a common scoring in classic ...

choir focusing on the sacred classics in English and

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

at the 12:15 p.m.

on Sundays. The Saint Patrick's Singers are a group of volunteer soloist singers who provide their professional services on alternating weeks with the Basilica Choir, the oldest one at the St. Patrick's, who sing predominantly English

unison Unison (stylised as UNISON) is a Great Britain, British trade union. Along with Unite the Union, Unite, Unison is one of the two largest trade unions in the United Kingdom, with over 1.2 million members who work predominantly in public servic ...

music at the 11:00 a.m. Sunday Mass. A Youth Choir and a Children's Choir sing at the 9:30 a.m. Sunday Mass.

Organ

The first

pipe organ The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurised air (called ''wind'') through the organ pipes selected from a Musical keyboard, keyboard. Because each pipe produces a single tone and pitch, the pipes are provide ...

of 1887 was built by S.R. Warren & Son. It was a two manual (Great and Swell) with pedal. About 30% of the present organ is from the original Warren. Casavant rebuilt and enlarged the Warren in 1898 to a three manual and pedal. Finally, Casavant rebuilt most of the mechanical parts of the organ again in 1930, adding chimes and a tremulant. The electric wiring was installed at that time as well, replacing an earlier water-powered motor.

Pastors and rectors

St. Patrick's has had thirteen pastors and, since its elevation to Basilica status, five Rectors. * Father Aeneas McDonnell Dawson (Pastor 1855–61) * Father James McGrath, OMI (Pastor 1861–66) * Father John Joseph Collins (Pastor 1866–77) * Father John Lalor O'Connor (Pastor 1877–81) * Father Matthew J. Whelan (Pastor 1881–1922) * Monsignor George Edward Fitzgerald (Pastor 1922–39) * Monsignor George David Prudhomme (Pastor 1939–51) * Monsignor J. Leo LeSage (Pastor 1951–61) * Bishop Joseph Raymond Windle (Pastor 1961–69) * Bishop John M. Beahen (Pastor 1969–77) * Monsignor Francis French (Pastor 1977–93) * Monsignor David J. P. Corkery (Pastor 1993–95, First Rector 1995–98 ) * Monsignor Robert Martineau (Rector 1999–2009) * Father Richard Siok (Rector 2009–2013, 2015–2016) * Father Bosco Wong (Rector 2013–2015) * Monsignor Kevin Beach (Rector 2016–2022) * Father Stephen Amesse (Rector 2022–present)

References

Bibliography

* * *

Genealogy links

Marriages, Baptisms, and Burials from St. Patrick's Basilica 1867–1881

External links

Parish website
{{Basilicas in Canada Roman Catholic churches in Ottawa Roman Catholic churches in Ontario Basilica churches in Canada Patrick's Irish-Canadian culture in Ontario Gothic Revival church buildings in Canada