St. Patrick's Basilica, Montreal

Saint- Patrick de Montréal is a Roman Catholic basilica in the Canadian city of Montreal. It is located at the intersection of Boulevard René Lévesque and Rue - Saint -Alexandre. The building in neo-Gothic style was built between 1843-1847 as the main church of the inhabitants of Irish origin. Since 1990 it is a National Historic Site.

History

The English-speaking Catholics (mainly Irish ) met in Montreal from 1817 in the chapel of Notre- Dame-de -Bon- Secours. 1825 moved into the growing community, the monastery church of the Franciscan Récollets. But even this soon proved to be too small, since the number of Irish immigrants increased greatly. 1841 received the Irish permission to start their own church. These acquired at what was then the outskirts a lot. In September 1843, the foundation stone was laid. Finally, named after the Irish patron saint Patrick Church on March 17, 1847, opened on St. Patrick 's Day. Responsible for the construction were two French-Canadian architect, Pierre- Louis Morin and Felix Martin. At the request of Archbishop Paul Grégoire, Pope John Paul II, the Church on March 17, 1989 in the state of a minor basilica.

Building

The neo-Gothic church building is made of gray limestone. It is 71 meters long and 32 meters wide, the church tower reaches a height of 69 meters. The interior, designed by Victor Bourgeau, is richly decorated with motifs that combine the French fleur-de- lys with the Irish shamrock. Each of the 25 meter high pillar is carved from the trunk of a white pine and covered with marble. The three altars were added in 1861. Other decorations include four rose windows and 150 oil paintings with figures of saints.

A chandelier illuminates the sanctuary; it was installed in 1896 and weighs 815 kg. The pews of red oak is from the year 1894. # 240 The seat was reserved for the politician Thomas D' Arcy McGee, one of the Fathers of Confederation. After his assassination in 1868 his funeral was held here. The oldest of ten bells was cast in 1774 and originally hung in the church of Notre- Dame de Montréal.

Organ

The organ dates back to an instrument that had been built in 1852 by the organ builder Samuel Russell Warren, and was reorganized in 1895 by Casavant Frères Ltée organ builders. In 1972 the organ was rebuilt by the organ builder Orgues Providence, reusing the existing pipe material. The instrument has 33 registers on three manual and pedal works today.