Co-Cathedral of Saint-Antoine-de-Padoue

Co-cathédrale Saint-Antoine-de-Padoue
Coordinates: 45°32′25″N 73°30′29″W / 45.540289°N 73.507931°W / 45.540289; -73.507931
Location Longueuil, Quebec
Country Canada
Denomination Roman Catholic
History
Founded 1698
Dedication St. Anthony of Padua
Consecrated 27 January 1887
Architecture
Status Co-cathedral
Functional status Active
Architect(s) Albert Ménard (1847-1909), Henri-Maurice Perrault (1857-1909)
Style Gothic Revival
Groundbreaking 1884
Completed 1911
Construction cost $98,895
Specifications
Length 74 metres (243 ft)
Width 41 metres (135 ft)
Height 81 metres (266 ft)
Materials Stone
Administration
Parish Saint-Antoine-de-Padoue
Archdiocese Montreal
Diocese Saint-Jean-Longueuil
Clergy
Archbishop Jean-Claude Turcotte
Bishop(s) Lionel Gendron, Louis Dicaire
Priest(s) Yves Le Pain
Assistant priest

Rosaire Lavoie c.s.v., Marcel Bergeron r.s.v., Jean-Robert Michel

Type Historic monument
Designated 1984

The Co-Cathedral of Saint-Antoine-de-Padoue (French: Co-cathédrale Saint-Antoine-de-Padoue) is a co-cathedral in Longueuil, Quebec, Canada, on Montreal's south shore. It is located on the corner of Rue Saint-Charles and Chemin Chambly in the Borough of Le Vieux-Longueuil. It is dedicated to St. Anthony of Padua. The cathedral houses the remains of the Blessed Marie-Rose Durocher, the foundress of the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary.

Its episcopal region is Longueuil-Nord. Lionel Gendron, the bishop, has a cathedra sculpted in walnut. Before the reign of Bernard Hubert, it was simply a parish church.

The cathedral was classified as historical monument by the Government of Quebec in 1984.[1]

History

The site contains the archaeological remains of Fort Longueuil, a fort constructed between 1685 and 1690 as the fortified residence of Charles le Moyne de Longueuil, the only Canadian-born person to be raised to the rank of Baron by the French King. The fort was demolished in 1810 and the cathedral contains stone building materials and elements salvaged from the fort. The site of the fort was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1923.[2]

The cathedral was constructed from 1884-1887, and was completed in 1911. It is the third church in the history of Longueuil, the first being completed in 1811.

Saint-Antoine-de-Padoue was designated as a co-cathedral in 1982 when the Roman Catholic Diocese of Saint-Jean-de-Québec was renamed the Roman Catholic Diocese of Saint-Jean-Longueuil. The Cathedral of Saint-Jean-l'Évangéliste has been the primary cathedral of the diocese since its establishment in 1933.

The Parish of Saint-Antoine-de-Padoue was founded in 1698, and is one of the oldest in Canada.

Architecture

The Byzantine dome.

The cathedral was constructed in the Gothic revival style of architecture, while the dome is an example of Byzantine Revival architecture.

The architects Henri-Maurice Perrault and Albert Mesnard wanted the cathedral to be of great volume. The same architects built the church's altar, combining fine stones with the hardest stone. The Québécois sculptor, Louis-Philippe Hébert, contributed to the cathedral's facade, by creating three sculptures out of wood, covered in metal. The church was constructed at a cost of $98,895 by Eugène Fournier dit Préfontaine, an entrepreneur, farmer and carpenter.

The cathedral is very large, measuring 74 metres (243 ft) long, 41 metres (135 ft) wide and 81 metres (266 ft) high. Louis Jobin renovated the church in 1930. The roof, which had been covered in steel, was restored in 1999 using 60,000 pounds (27,000 kg) of copper.

Activities

The interior of the cathedral.

Mass is ordinarily celebrated twice Monday to Friday, once Saturday, and four times Sunday. The Confessionals are normally ready fifteen minutes before mass. Around one third of the cathedral is full for weekend services, while it is less than one sixth full during the week. There are approximately 9,400 Roman Catholics in the parish.

A funeral was held for Jean-Pierre Côté, the 23rd Lieutenant Governor of Quebec, on July 17, 2002.

It was in this church, in 2005, that the faithful of the diocese paid tribute to Pope John Paul II, following his death. They also wished a happy pontificate to his successor, Pope Benedict XVI, during a special vigil attended by the bishop as well as a local congregation of Filipino Religious Sisters.

The churchwardens regularly organize fundraising campaigns to proceed with renovations to the cathedral as well as for the parish's rectory.

Part of the cathedral's crypt holds the graves of the Le Moyne and Grant families, affiliated with the title of Baron de Longueuil.

Priests

Inside the cathedral, there is a plaque listing all the priests in the parish's history.

Name Years Name Years
Pierre Millette 1698-1701 L. Moïse Brassard 1840 -1855
Pierre de Francheville 1701-1713 Georges-Amable Thibault 1855-1883
Fr. Nic. Ber. Constantin 1713-1715 Maximilien Tassé 1883-1901
Claude Dauzaf 1715-1717 J.-Georges Payette 1901-1938
François Céré 1717-1720 Mgr. Albéric Picotte 1938-1943
Joseph Isambart 1720-1763 Mgr. Romain Boulé 1943-1962
Claude-Charles Carpentier 1763-1777 J. Alcide Careau 1963-1974
Charles-Basile Campeau 1777-1782 Jean-Louis Yelle 1974-1983
J.-Étienne Desmeules 1783-1789 Jean-Hugues Trudeau 1983-1995
Mgr. Pierre Denaut 1789-1806 Raymond Poisson 1995-2007
Augustin Chaboillez 1806-1834 Yves Le Pain 2007-
Antoine Manseau 1834-1840

References

  1. ↑ Légaré, Denyse; Rachel Tunnicliffe. "The Co-Cathedral of Saint-Antoine-de-Padoue de Longueuil The search for an expressive solidness" (PDF). Conseil du patrimoine religieux du Québec. Retrieved 9 January 2011.
  2. ↑ Fort Longueuil National Historic Site of Canada. Canadian Register of Historic Places. Retrieved 7 April 2012.

External links

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