A
popular site for tourists and Montreal
citizens alike, Notre Dame du Bonsecours
is a place for everyone to shop, stroll,
and chat, or even to offer prayers to
Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours for the safe
return of loved ones off at sea. The chapel,
which was constructed in the 1650s, is
one of the oldest buildings in Canada
and remains a working place of worship.
Known to many as “Our Lady of The
Harbour”, the church adds a very
European feel to what has become a very
multicultural city. Work on the Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours
Chapel reportedly began at the prompting
of Marguerite Bourgeoys, founder of the
Congrégation de Notre-Dame religious
order.
Originally constructed almost entirely
of wood, the church has been rebuilt in
stone and frequently altered as the decades
passed; its present façade dates
from the late 19th century. The ceiling,
decorated by painter Édouard Meloche
between 1886 and 1891, illustrates the
life of the Virgin Mary.
Attached
to the chapel is the Marguerite-Bourgeoys
Museum, which has in its possession a
number of important archaeological discoveries.
These include evidence that the site served
as a settlement for some of Canada’s
aboriginals, as well as the foundations
of the first chapel; a wooden palisade
that surrounded the city before the stone
fortifications were put in place surrounded
this first chapel. A lookout, accessible
from inside, offers incomparable views
of Old Montréal.
Montreal
Bonsecours Travel Links |
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