The Great Canadian churches thread

Martin Mtl · #1 Posted **Mar 25, 2016, 7:10 PM**

Just in time for Easter...

As the title says, this thread is dedicated to the churches of Canada. Show us the most beautiful exemples of your city.

Église Notre-Dame-des-Sept-Douleurs (Verdun, Montréal)
Build in 1910/14.

https://mesquartiers.wordpress.com/2...se-a-montreal/

https://mesquartiers.wordpress.com/2...se-a-montreal/

Église Saint-Irénée (Saint-Henri/Petite-Bourgogne, Montréal)
Year build: 1912

https://mesquartiers.wordpress.com/2...se-a-montreal/

https://mesquartiers.wordpress.com/2...se-a-montreal/

Mary, Queen of the World Cathedral
Year build: 1890/94

http://www.montreal-centre.com/mtl-7.html

http://www.musiqueorguequebec.ca/org...c/mtlmrm1.html

http://diocesemontreal.org/leglise-a...athedrale.html

Basilique Saint-Patrick (Montréal)
Build in 1847.

http://www.memorablemontreal.com/pri...nu=achitecture

https://mesquartiers.wordpress.com/2...se-a-montreal/

https://mesquartiers.wordpress.com/2...se-a-montreal/

Église du Gesù (Quartier des Spectacles, Montréal)
Build in 1865

http://www.patrimoine-culturel.gouv....n#.VvVtJMeTyGc

https://mesquartiers.wordpress.com/2...se-a-montreal/

https://mesquartiers.wordpress.com/2...se-a-montreal/

Chapelle Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours (Vieux-Montréal, Montréal)
Build in 1773

http://patrimoine.ville.montreal.qc....p?id_archi=537

https://mesquartiers.wordpress.com/2...se-a-montreal/

https://mesquartiers.wordpress.com/2...se-a-montreal/

Chapelle Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes (Quartier Latin, Montréal)
Build in 1881

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attracti...al_Quebec.html

https://mesquartiers.wordpress.com/2...se-a-montreal/

http://www.musiqueorguequebec.ca/org...lourdesm1.html

Église Saint-Pierre-Apôtre (Gay Village, Montréal)
Build in 1853

https://mesquartiers.wordpress.com/2...se-a-montreal/

http://mapio.net/o/3925465/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/alexcl...303493/sizes/l

https://mesquartiers.wordpress.com/2...se-a-montreal/

https://mesquartiers.wordpress.com/2...se-a-montreal/

Église Sacré-Coeur-de-Jésus (Gay Village, Montréal)
Build in 1887

http://www.originis.ca/paroisse_mont..._de_jesus.html

https://mesquartiers.wordpress.com/2...se-a-montreal/

https://mesquartiers.wordpress.com/2...se-a-montreal/

Église Nativité-de-la-Sainte-Vierge (Hochelaga, Montréal)
Build in 1906 (spire) / 1921 - Height of spire: 80 meters

https://mesquartiers.wordpress.com/2...se-a-montreal/

https://mesquartiers.wordpress.com/2...se-a-montreal/

Église Très-Saint-Nom-de-Jésus (Maisonneuve, Montréal)
Build in 1906.

http://montrealjemesouviens.blogspot...-de-jesus.html

https://mesquartiers.wordpress.com/2...se-a-montreal/

http://www.ledevoir.com/societe/actu...iciles-a-faire

http://www.ledevoir.com/societe/actu...iciles-a-faire

Église Saint-Pierre-Claver (Plateau Mont-Royal)
Build in 1917

http://www.stpierre.paroissemontreal.com

https://mesquartiers.wordpress.com/2...se-a-montreal/

Chapelle Sanctuaire du Saint-Sacrement (Plateau Mont-Royal, Montréal)
Build in 1894

http://www.imtl.org/montreal/buildin...-Sacrement.php

https://mesquartiers.wordpress.com/2...se-a-montreal/

http://convozine.com/ericsoucy/36726

http://convozine.com/ericsoucy/36726

Église Saint-Jean-Baptiste (Plateau Mont-Royal, Montréal)
Build in 1914

http://pipedreams.publicradio.org/ga...casavant.shtml

http://www.quebecspot.com/2014/12/le...iste-12122014/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/djof/711778695/sizes/l

https://mesquartiers.wordpress.com/2...se-a-montreal/

Église Saint-Enfant-Jésus du Mile-End (Mile-End, Montréal)
Build in 1858

http://les-escapades-de-doudette.ove...-dans-la-ville

https://mesquartiers.wordpress.com/2...se-a-montreal/

http://www.patrimoine-culturel.gouv....n#.VvWA2ceTyGc

Église Saint-Viateur d’Outremont (Outremont, Montréal)
Build in 1911

http://imtl.org/edifices/eglise-ST-viateur.php

https://mesquartiers.wordpress.com/2...se-a-montreal/

http://www.tripomatic.com/Canada/Que...remont-Church/

Église Saint Michael’s and Saint Anthony’s Catholic Community (Mile-End, Montréal)
Build in 1915

https://mesquartiers.wordpress.com/2...se-a-montreal/

https://mesquartiers.wordpress.com/2...se-a-montreal/

Église Saint-Édouard (Petite-Patrie, Montréal)
Build in 1901/1909 - Spire height 60 meters

https://mesquartiers.wordpress.com/2...se-a-montreal/

interieurs-deglise-a-montreal/"]https://mesquartiers.wordpress.com/2016/03/15/top-20-des-plus-beaux-interieurs-deglise-a-montreal/[/URL]

Église Très-Saint-Rédempteur (Hochelaga, Montréal)
Build in 1929

https://mesquartiers.wordpress.com/2...se-a-montreal/

http://www.musiqueorguequebec.ca/org...empteurm1.html

Église Saint-Charles (Pointe St-Charles, Montréal)
Build in 1899

https://mesquartiers.wordpress.com/2...se-a-montreal/

http://urbania.ca/1125/leglise-saint-charles/

http://www.memorablemontreal.com/pri...nu=achitecture

http://www.memorablemontreal.com/pri...nu=achitecture

Église Saint-Paul (Ville-Émard, Montréal)
Build in 1911

http://imtl.org/edifices/eglise_saint_paul.php

Église Saint-Denis (Le Plateau, Montréal)
Build in 1913

https://mesquartiers.wordpress.com/2...se-a-montreal/

https://mesquartiers.wordpress.com/2...se-a-montreal/

Église Visitation-de-la-Bienheureuse-Vierge-Marie (Ahuntsic, Montréal)
Build in 1749 (spires completed between 1850 and 1870)

https://mesquartiers.wordpress.com/2...se-a-montreal/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/382361...725468/sizes/l

https://www.flickr.com/photos/382361...725360/sizes/l

https://www.flickr.com/photos/382361...725006/sizes/l

https://www.flickr.com/photos/382361...724916/sizes/l

https://www.flickr.com/photos/382361...724728/sizes/l

https://www.flickr.com/photos/382361...724626/sizes/l

SignalHillHiker · #2 Posted **Mar 25, 2016, 7:27 PM**

Gorgeous, Martin.

I happened to take a few of the churches this afternoon.

St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Church (centre); Wesley Methodist Church (left):

March 25, 2016 by R C, on Flickr

Same, reversed:

St. Patrick's Church by R C, on Flickr

Cochrane Street United Church:

March 25, 2016 by R C, on Flickr

The Chapel (red roof, off-centre):

March 25, 2016 by R C, on Flickr

The Roman Catholic Basilica of St. John the Baptist (top); The Anglican Cathedral of St. John the Baptist (centre):

March 25, 2016 by R C, on Flickr

Anglican Cathedral of St. John the Baptist:

Interior Anglican Cathedral St John's NFLD by millersphoto, on Flickr

Just the Basilica:

Interior of Basilica Cathedral of St. John The Baptist (St. John's, Newfoundland. 2012) by Gustavo Thomas, on Flickr

My family.

Gower Street United Church (left); The Chapel (centre), Anglican Cathedral of St. John the Baptist (right):

March 25, 2016 by R C, on Flickr

Gower Street United:

Gower Street United Church by Destro Tull, on Flickr

esquire · #3 Posted **Mar 25, 2016, 7:31 PM**

What an unbelievable collection in Montreal.

Darkoshvilli · #4 Posted **Mar 25, 2016, 9:11 PM**

Lets not forget the biggest of them all

http://www.dreamstime.com/royalty-fr...-image28834967

Rico Rommheim · #5 Posted **Mar 25, 2016, 10:08 PM**

^An insane building. The height of a 40 storey residential tower. The interior, which wasn't finished until the 60's has this funky modernist / art deco feel.

That church really ought to be a lanmark known across the country, our CN tower, but instead it is hidden on the northern slope of the hill, on the blue line where non-locals seldom venture.

rousseau · #6 Posted **Mar 26, 2016, 12:25 AM**

I'll never forget accidentally discovering it several year ago. My wife and I were driving around one evening in Westmount, lost but enjoying being lost, when we pulled up to this spot:

https://www.google.ca/maps/@45.49118...7i13312!8i6656

Not knowing where we were, it seemed like some kind of lookout, so we got out to have a look. We turned the corner and still didn't know what it was we'd encountered, but a door was open, so we went in. And while that was quite something, it was only when we went out the front doors that we understood the magnitude of what we'd stumbled across.

Serendipity. I've always sworn by it.

O-tacular · #7 Posted **Mar 26, 2016, 6:53 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by rousseau

I'll never forget accidentally discovering it several year ago. My wife and I were driving around one evening in Westmount, lost but enjoying being lost, when we pulled up to this spot:

https://www.google.ca/maps/@45.49118...7i13312!8i6656

Not knowing where we were, it seemed like some kind of lookout, so we got out to have a look. We turned the corner and still didn't know what it was we'd encountered, but a door was open, so we went in. And while that was quite something, it was only when we went out the front doors that we understood the magnitude of what we'd stumbled across.

Serendipity. I've always sworn by it.

I knew where that street view was before even seeing the building as I walked down that street back in October. Instead of getting lost in Westmount driving we got lost in the cemetery driving back on Halloween. That was fun...

RueBulmer · #8 Posted **Mar 26, 2016, 2:15 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rico Rommheim

^An insane building. The height of a 40 storey residential tower. The interior, which wasn't finished until the 60's has this funky modernist / art deco feel.

That church really ought to be a lanmark known across the country, our CN tower, but instead it is hidden on the northern slope of the hill, on the blue line where non-locals seldom venture.

And not exactly a short walk from the Metro.

Back when I was a kid in the 70s one of the local urban development stories was how the construction of the nearby Rockhill apartment towers might have violated a bylaw that prohibited obscuring the Oratory, and there was a call to have them demolished. Never happened, of course.

As a Catholic kid who was having misgivings about organized religion the Oratory gave me the creeps. I haven't been inside it since childhood but I remember a wall of crutches that were no longer needed, a testament to the miracles of brother Andre.

rousseau · #9 Posted **Mar 26, 2016, 2:26 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by RueBulmer

As a Catholic kid who was having misgivings about organized religion the Oratory gave me the creeps.

I think it's easier to wander in and appreciate the architecture when you're not Catholic, as you're at a remove. I enjoy browsing around big old churches and cathedrals in South America and Europe, and the masses themselves seem so impersonal and institutional that they don't bother me if I happen upon a service in progress (respectively looking on from the back).

It's those smaller, more intimate proceedings in the Protestant tradition that give me the willies...

RueBulmer · #10 Posted **Mar 26, 2016, 2:40 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by rousseau

I think it's easier to wander in and appreciate the architecture when you're not Catholic, as you're at a remove. I enjoy browsing around big old churches and cathedrals in South America and Europe, and the masses themselves seem so impersonal and institutional that they don't bother me if I happen upon a service in progress (respectively looking on from the back).

It's those smaller, more intimate proceedings in the Protestant tradition that give me the willies...

And when you're older. I lived near the Oratory for several years in my 20s, I could have walked in then or now and maybe I wouldn't see it the same way.

As for those smaller congregations... both my nephew and niece have married into them. I found myself longing for the larger, more anonymous venues.

lio45 · #11 Posted **Mar 26, 2016, 1:56 AM**

What would qualify as "my" local church (a stone's throw from our Lévis duplex) is this one, definitely nothing too special for the Quebec City area considering there are 1600s churches out there.

It's the St-Joseph church. This current building is from 1830. Interesting historical tidbit, the previous version of the St-Joseph church on the same site is where Gen. Wolfe's body was stored in 1759 before it could be brought back to England for burial. The English were based on the south shore for the battle and the St-Joseph church was some kind of field hospital/HQ for them.

someone123 · #12 Posted **Mar 26, 2016, 1:57 AM**

There isn't going to be a whole lot of competition with Montreal in this department.

It would be possible to do a fairly big series for Halifax too. There are a lot of landmark churches. The best-known ones in the city are St. Paul's, because of its age (1750, oldest Anglican church in Canada), and St. Mary's Basilica, because they're prominently located. St. George's is just as significant, but less well-known. It's on Brunswick Street in the North End. Construction started in 1800, when Prince Edward was stationed in Halifax. He was involved in the construction of a number of "round" buildings in the city, like the town clock and the Prince of Wales (Martello) tower. The Martello tower design was used throughout North America in the early 1800's.

Source

lio45 · #13 Posted **Mar 26, 2016, 2:06 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by someone123

There isn't going to be a whole lot of competition with Montreal in this department.

The OP is actually only a tiny sample that's missing untold numbers of nice churches.

Just off the top of my head, here are at least three "prominent" downtown ones that he's missed: St. James', Notre-Dame, Christ Church.

Martin Mtl · #14 Posted **Mar 26, 2016, 5:34 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by lio45

The OP is actually only a tiny sample that's missing untold numbers of nice churches.

Just off the top of my head, here are at least three "prominent" downtown ones that he's missed: St. James', Notre-Dame, Christ Church.

I didn't miss as much as I kept some for another part. There are just too many remarkable exemples for just one post

But since you brought Notre-Dame Basilica...

Notre-Dame Basicilia (Old Montreal)
Build 1829.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/jazmin...81601/sizes/h/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/ericfl...81113/sizes/h/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/rasmus...132847/sizes/l

https://www.flickr.com/photos/565947...20823/sizes/h/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/qihong...84382/sizes/h/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/krisph...616981/sizes/l

https://www.flickr.com/photos/avdezi...27740/sizes/h/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/avdezi...n/photostream/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/avdezi...69001/sizes/h/

https://www.flickr.com/photos/avdezi...977283/sizes/l

https://www.flickr.com/photos/daveya...334314/sizes/l

VIce · #15 Posted **Mar 26, 2016, 4:10 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Martin Mtl

I didn't miss as much as I kept some for another part. There are just too many remarkable exemples for just one post

But since you brought Notre-Dame Basilica...

Notre-Dame Basicilia (Old Montreal)
Build 1829.

From last time I was there:

lio45 · #16 Posted **Mar 26, 2016, 3:20 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by someone123

The best-known ones in the city are St. Paul's, because of its age (1750, oldest Anglican church in Canada)

Right. I had in the back of my mind the feeling that the "oldest Anglican church" was in Quebec City (see below) but I was mistaken. It's the first Anglican cathedral ever built outside the British Isles. So oldest cathedral, not oldest church.

The Anglican "Diocese of Quebec" was formed in 1793 and it covered all of Canada (Lower Canada and Upper Canada) which excluded Halifax at the time.

As you rightly point out, it's interesting to realize that since the creation of Halifax predates the British invasion of Canada, Halifax is nowadays likely to own pretty much all the claims to "oldest British whatever" within the current borders of Canada. St. Paul's church, for example. As a history buff, I never tire of hearing you bring up info about Halifax. The city's best spokesman on here lives in Vancouver

(Anglican) Cathedral of the Holy Trinity:

MonctonRad · #17 Posted **Mar 26, 2016, 3:29 PM**

St Dunstan's Basilica in Charlottetown PEI. A pretty grand church for a small city, thanks to a largish Irish and highland Scots population base.

All photos my own. It's hard to get a good perspective shot in the summertime due to all the mature trees on Great George Street.

Here's one from the interweb taken in the wintertime:

Interior shot:

Trevor3 · #18 Posted **Mar 26, 2016, 3:55 PM**

Our Lady of Mercy - Port au Port West, NL
It took 11 years to build and was completed in 1914 using voluntary labour from the congregation. It was the largest wooden structure in Newfoundland at the time and measure 116 feet to the top of the steeple. All the interior fixtures were made by local craftsmen and artisans while the statues were made of carrara marble and imported from Italy. Today, it's still the largest wooden church in the province and is undergoing a multi-year restoration.

Here you can see it rising above the trees and the rest of the community

100_3797

Scaffolding going up around the columns

100_3719

Interior

Inside Our Lady of Mercy Church by Eunice Gibb, on Flickr

SignalHillHiker · #19 Posted **Mar 26, 2016, 3:50 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by lio45

As you rightly point out, it's interesting to realize that since the creation of Halifax predates the British invasion of Canada, Halifax is nowadays likely to own pretty much all the claims to "oldest British whatever" within the current borders of Canada. St. Paul's church, for example. As a history buff, I never tire of hearing you bring up info about Halifax. The city's best spokesman on here lives in Vancouver

Ours was founded in 1699.

Quote:

Founded in 1699 as a parish church, and consecrated as a Cathedral in 1850, this is the oldest Anglican establishment in Canada.

http://www.stjohnsanglicancathedral.org/history.html

It's just that the new Cathedral building is younger.

lio45 · #20 Posted **Mar 26, 2016, 3:53 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by SignalHillHiker

It's just that the new Cathedral building is younger.

And more importantly for my point, the place only became a cathedral in 1850.