Notre Dame Cathedral (Notre Dame de Montreal) in Canada – photo, description, map
The Canadian Cathedral of Notre Dame of Montreal is located in the Quebec region in the historic part of Montreal. This one of the most beautiful cathedrals in the world has another name – Basilica Notre Dame de Montreal.
Story
It is worth noting that on the site of the current grandiose church building in the distant 1672, a small church was built with funds raised by the Catholic community. She was consecrated and named in honor of the Mother of God. For a long time, parishioners from all over the city gathered here for worship, since this Roman Catholic church was the only one in Montreal.
Over time, the city began to grow at an accelerated pace, and soon it was difficult for all the parishioners to fit in the old cramped church. In 1824, it was decided to build a larger cathedral that could accommodate everyone who wanted to listen to a church mass.
Cathedral architect
The famous architect of America, James O. Donnel, took up the construction and design of the new basilica. Being an Irishman by birth and a Protestant by faith, he was so fascinated by the results of the construction of the basilica that, dying, he converted to the Catholic faith only to be buried in the crypt of the erected church.
Building
Several decades were worked on the creation of a grandiose temple building, and only in 1872 the main construction work was completed. It took almost seven more years to finish the building and to create a unique painting inside the Cathedral, and in the next nine years it was decided to build a church chapel as well. The final completion of the construction and the grand opening of the basilica for worship took place in 1888. It took half a century to build a grandiose structure, and the result exceeded expectations.
In a huge Catholic church, 9,000 people can listen to mass at the same time. Everyone who first finds themselves within the walls of the Notre Dame Cathedral in Canada literally takes their breath away from the magnificence seen. Being the main decoration of Montreal, the Notre Dame de Montreal Basilica is included in the honorary list of the National Treasure of Canada.
Architecture
The outlines of Notre Dame de Montreal are in many ways similar to the legendary Notre Dame de Paris. However, the Montreal Cathedral is by no means a copy of the eponymous basilica in Paris. On the contrary, the original architectural ideas of the Canadian temple can be seen as an addition to the image of the famous Parisian church building. The facade of the Cathedral is decorated with three figures, each of which is the personification of Canada, the province of Quebec and the city of Montreal.
The unique attraction of Notre Dame de Montreal can be considered the bell “Saint Jean Baptiste” delivered from Britain, which is famous not only for its huge size and weight of more than 10 tons, but also for the loudness of its sound. The bell ringing of “Saint Jean Baptiste” is heard at a distance of as much as 25 km. No wonder he owns the title of the loudest bell in North America. Every Sunday, a loud bell ringing is heard, calling the parishioners of Montreal to Mass.
Interior
The vaults of the cathedral have a unique blue color. Glittering gold stars give a special charm to the vaults. The main part of the interior of the church was designed by Canadian artist Victor Burgo. The real decoration of the altar is carved wooden sculptures of the prophets, for the manufacture of which rare woods were used. During prayer, parishioners light candles in front of the altar on semicircular stands. A huge number of burning candles in a huge cathedral create a spiritualized solemn atmosphere.
Near the main altar is the Chapel of the Sacred Heart, most of which was destroyed by a fire in 1982. After the fire, the altar was replaced with a bronze one. An unforgettable charm is given to the Cathedral by stained-glass windows made especially for decorating the windows of the Basilica in the French city of Limoges.
Here, skilled craftsmen tirelessly created magnificent mosaics, with the help of which images of episodes of the religious history of Montreal were obtained. These images are fundamentally different from the traditional biblical scenes from the Holy Scriptures that decorate other similar Catholic churches.
Notre Dame Cathedral today
The famous cathedral organ was made by the well-known Canadian firm Kasavan. From time to time, organ music concerts are held within the walls of the Cathedral, a symphony orchestra plays and a church choir performs. Sometimes a fantastic musical light show is staged here, emphasizing the splendor and solemnity of this unique church.
Celebrities often visit the Cathedral. The wedding ceremony of Celine Dion and her husband took place here, and Blessed John Paul II visited the Cathedral.
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