Notre-Dame Basilica (Montreal)

Not to be confused with Notre-Dame Church (Montreal).

Notre-Dame Basilica
Basilique Notre-Dame de Montréal (French)
The main frontage on Place d'Armes
Notre-Dame Basilica is located in Montreal
Notre-Dame Basilica
Notre-Dame Basilica
45°30′16″N 73°33′22″W / 45.50444°N 73.55611°W / 45.50444; -73.55611
Location110 Notre-Dame Street West
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
H2Y 1T2
DenominationRoman Catholic
Websitebasiliquenotredame.ca
History
StatusMinor basilica
DedicationMary
DedicatedJuly 1, 1829
Architecture
Architect(s)James O'Donnell (exterior)
Victor Bourgeau (interior)
StyleGothic Revival
Groundbreaking1823
Completed1865 (facade)
Construction cost£47,446 (1832)
Specifications
Length79 metres (259 ft)
Width46 metres (151 ft)
Height60 metres (200 ft)
MaterialsStone, which came from the Tanneries quarry in Griffintown
Administration
ArchdioceseMontreal
Official nameNotre-Dame Roman Catholic Church / Basilica National Historic Site of Canada[1]
Designated1989[2]

The Basílica of Our Lady of Montreal, also known as Notre-Dame Basilica of Montreal (French: Basilique Notre-Dame de Montréal, lit. 'Basilica of Our Lady of Montreal'), is a minor basilica of the Catholic Church in the historic Old Montreal district of Montreal in Quebec, Canada. It is located at 110 Notre-Dame Street West, on the corner of Saint Sulpice Street. It is situated next to the Saint-Sulpice Seminary and faces the Place d'Armes square.

Pope John Paul II raised the shrine to the status of Minor Basilica via his Pontifical decree Qui Semper on 15 February 1982. The decree was signed and notarized by Cardinal Agostino Casaroli.

The interior of the church is amongst the most dramatic in the world and is regarded as a masterpiece of Gothic Revival architecture.[3] The vaults are coloured deep blue and decorated with golden stars, and the rest of the sanctuary is decorated in blues, azures, reds, purples, silver, and gold. It is filled with hundreds of intricate wooden carvings and several religious statues. Unusual for a church, the stained glass windows along the walls of the sanctuary do not depict biblical scenes, but rather scenes from the religious history of Montreal. It also has a Casavant Frères pipe organ, dated 1891, which comprises four keyboards, 99 stops using electromagnetic action and an adjustable combination system, 7000 individual pipes, and a pedal board.[4][5]

Approximately 11 million people visit Notre-Dame Basilica every year, making it one of the most visited monuments in North America.[6] In 2023, Notre-Dame was named the 6th most beautiful building in the world by Angi, a home service publication which analyzes TripAdvisor reviews. The publication ranked Notre-Dame de Paris second and Barcelona's Sagrada Família first.[7]

History

In 1657, the Roman Catholic Sulpicians arrived in Ville-Marie, now known as Montreal. Six years later, the seigneury of the island was vested in them, and they ruled until 1840. The parish they founded was dedicated to the Holy Name of Mary, and the parish church of Notre-Dame was built on the site in 1672. François Baillairgé, an architect, designed the interior decoration and choir 1785–95; facade and vault decoration, 1818.[8] The church served as the first cathedral of the Diocese of Montreal from 1821 to 1822.[9]

The Notre-Dame Church, with its replacement being built behind it, 1828.

By 1824, the congregation had completely outgrown the church. James O'Donnell, an Irish-American Anglican from New York City, was commissioned to design a new building, with the goal of accommodating a congregation of up to 10,000.[10] O'Donnell was a proponent of Gothic Revival architecture, and he designed the church in that style. He intended for a terrace to be built on the exterior of the church, but this was never completed due to a lack of funding.[11] He is the only person buried in the church's crypt. O'Donnell converted to Roman Catholicism on his deathbed and was thus buried in the crypt.[12]

The primary construction took place between 1824 and 1829. The cornerstone was laid at Place d'Armes on September 1, 1824. The sanctuary was finished in 1830, the first tower in 1841, and the second tower in 1843. O'Donnell designed the towers to be traditionally Gothic, and he intended for them to be seen from any point in the city. Following O'Donnell's death, John Ostell, an English-born architect, finished the towers according to O'Donnell's original plans.[2] Upon completion, the church was the largest in North America, and it remained so for over fifty years.[13] Samuel Russell Warren constructed a new organ in 1858. The facade of the church was completed in 1865 and included three statues by French sculptor Henri Bouriché, which were of Saint Joseph, the Virgin Mary, and Saint Jean-Baptiste.[2]

The interior of the basilica, looking towards the main doors, with the 1891 Casavant organ above. The sanctuary was completed in 1830.

The interior took much longer, and Victor Bourgeau, who also worked on Montreal's Mary, Queen of the World Cathedral, worked on it from 1872 to 1879. Stonemason John Redpath was a major participant in the construction of the church. The sanctuary originally hosted a large canopy, but because it caused a lighting effect that would blind the congregation, the interior designs were reworked by Bourgeau and Victor Rousselot, the priest at that time. They were inspired by the Sainte-Chapelle in Paris, with gold leaf motifs paired with brightly painted columns.[14]

Because of the splendour and grand scale of the church, a more intimate chapel, named Chapelle du Sacré-Cœur (Chapel of the Sacred Heart), was built behind it, along with some offices and a sacristy. It was completed in 1888. Casavant Frères began constructing a new 32-foot pipe organ at the church in 1886, which was completed in 1891. It was notably the first organ with adjustable-combination pedals to be operated by electricity.

Arson destroyed the Chapelle du Sacré-Cœur on December 7, 1978. It was rebuilt with the first two levels reproduced from old drawings and photographs, with modern vaulting and reredos, and an immense bronze altarpiece by Quebec sculptor Charles Daudelin.

Notre-Dame Church was raised to the status of a minor basilica by Pope John Paul II in 1982. It was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1989.[1][2]

A different perspective of the interior, showing the sanctuary and high altar.

On May 31, 2000, the provincial state funeral for former Montreal Canadiens superstar Maurice "Rocket" Richard was held in front of thousands, both inside and outside the Basilica. On October 3, 2000, future prime minister Justin Trudeau gave his eulogy just steps from the High Altar during the state funeral of Pierre Trudeau, his father and Canada's 15th prime minister.[15]

Notre-Dame Basilica was the setting for the wedding of Celine Dion and René Angélil on December 17, 1994.[16] It also hosted the funeral service for Angélil on January 22, 2016.[17]

In the summer of 2014, a French collector named Pierre-Jean Chalencon displayed a variety of artifacts that belonged to Napoleon Bonaparte. These items included clothing, weapons, and furniture, and were on display in the crypt on the basilica.[18]

In April 2019, following the Notre-Dame de Paris fire, Montreal's Notre-Dame announced that it would accept donations to aid in the Paris cathedral's reconstruction.[19]

On March 23, 2024, the state funeral of Brian Mulroney, Canada's 18th prime minister, was held at the Basilica.[20]

Restoration

The basilica undergoing restoration in 2026

An investigation in 2017 found much of the upper stonework to be deteriorating.[21] Restoration work on the cathedral began in 2020.[22] The project was estimated to cost $50 million and take over a decade.[23][24] As of 2026, the first two phases of the project are complete out of a total of six phases.[25]

Bells

Both towers have bells, the West Tower (La Persévérance), has a bourdon bell nicknamed Jean-Baptiste, cast in John Dod Ward’s Eagle Foundry in 1848. Jean-Baptiste weighs 10,900 kg and tolls only on special occasions such as funerals, great church festivals and Christmas Eve. The East Tower (La Temperance), houses a ten-bell carillon from the same foundry in May 24, 1842.

Public access

The basilica offers musical programming of choral and organ performances.[26] It is a tradition among many Montrealers to attend the annual performance of Handel's Messiah every Christmas.

More than 11 million people visit Notre-Dame every year, only one million fewer than Notre-Dame de Paris.[6]

Organists

The pipe organ for the basilica

See also

References

Notes

  1. ^ a b "Notre-Dame Roman Catholic Church / Basilica National Historic Site of Canada". Directory of Federal Heritage Designations. Parks Canada. Retrieved October 26, 2025.
  2. ^ a b c d Notre-Dame Roman Catholic Church / Basilica. Canadian Register of Historic Places. Retrieved October 16, 2020.
  3. ^ Shingler, Benjamin (April 16, 2019). "Are Montreal's historic churches safe from fire?". CBC News. Retrieved October 16, 2020.
  4. ^ "The Basilica of Notre-Dame de Montréal". Quebec Religious Heritage Foundation. Archived from the original on February 9, 2004. Retrieved October 16, 2020.
  5. ^ "Interior Design". Basilique Notre-Dame de Montréal.
  6. ^ a b Curtis, Christopher (April 16, 2019). "Notre-Dame de Paris fire: How safe are Montreal's heritage churches?". Montreal Gazette. Retrieved October 16, 2020.
  7. ^ "Le plus beau bâtiment du monde est en Catalogne".
  8. ^ "Baillairge, Thomas". Biographical Dictionary of Architects in Canada 1800–1950. Archived from the original on April 25, 2012. Retrieved October 16, 2020.
  9. ^ "Historie". Cathédrale Marie-Reine-du-Monde. Archived from the original on January 25, 2016. Retrieved October 16, 2020.
  10. ^ Sabourin, Diane (March 8, 2017). "Notre-Dame Basilica of Montréal". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved October 16, 2020.
  11. ^ Toker, Franklin (1991). The Church of Notre-Dame in Montreal: An Architectural History (2nd ed.). Montreal: McGill-Queen's University Press. pp. 37–39. ISBN 978-0-7735-0848-4.
  12. ^ "The Old Seminary and Notre-Dame Basilica". Old Montreal. Retrieved March 21, 2008.
  13. ^ Pound, Richard W. (2005). Fitzhenry and Whiteside Book of Canadian Facts and Dates. Fitzhenry and Whiteside. p. 812. ISBN 978-1-5504-1171-3.
  14. ^ "The origins of the decor". Basilique Notre-Dame de Montréal. Retrieved December 3, 2019.
  15. ^ "Justin Trudeau's eulogy". CBC News. October 3, 2000. Retrieved August 28, 2008.
  16. ^ Yagoda, Maria (January 15, 2016). "Looking Back at Céline Dion and René Angélil's Romantic 1994 Wedding". People. Retrieved October 16, 2020.
  17. ^ "René Angélil remembered at national funeral in Montreal". CBC News. January 22, 2016.
  18. ^ Banerjee, Sidhartha (May 1, 2014). "Precious Napoleon artifacts on display at Montreal's Notre Dame Basilica". The Canadian Press.
  19. ^ "Montreal's Notre-Dame fundraises for Paris Notre-Dame restoration". Yahoo! News. Agence France-Presse. April 17, 2019. Retrieved October 16, 2020.
  20. ^ "'We'll meet again': Scenes from Brian Mulroney's state funeral | CBC News". Archived from the original on March 23, 2024. Retrieved May 30, 2025.
  21. ^ "$50-million Notre-Dame Basilica makeover is 'like a giant puzzle'". Notre-Dame Basilica of Montréal. Retrieved January 23, 2026.
  22. ^ "The Restoration Project". Notre-Dame Basilica of Montréal. Retrieved January 23, 2026.
  23. ^ "Aug 2020: Montreal's Notre-Dame seeks urgent funding". Winnipeg Free Press. August 14, 2020. Retrieved January 23, 2026.
  24. ^ Dubreuil, Laurence Brisson (October 19, 2024). "Notre-Dame Basilica undergoes $50 million restoration". CTVNews. Retrieved January 23, 2026.
  25. ^ "Exterior Restoration". Fondation - English. Retrieved January 23, 2026.
  26. ^ "Montreal's Notre Dame Basilica hosting a Mozart concert this November". Daily Hive. October 17, 2017.

Bibliography

  • Rémillard, François (1992). Old Montreal – A Walking Tour, Ministère des Affaires culturelles du Québec.
  • Livesey, Herbert Bailey (2003). Frommer's 2004 Montreal & Quebec City, Frommer's, 104. ISBN 0-7645-4124-2.
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