NOTRE DAME PARISH CHURCH
We may now trace the history of the present Notre Dame parish church. By 1757 the parish church begun in 1672 being already too small, it was determined to buy land to build one 300 feet in length, and by 1823 land was bought for this purpose and the church commenced this year. This included the land on Place d’Armes on which there was the public library in Montreal. This eventually was not built on for the war ending in the cession took place. The Place d’Armes property bought, according to the description made in 1824 by Roy Portelance, Toussaint Peltier, père, and Charles Coté, père, was “L’Emplacement, situé sur la place d’armes contenait 180 pds de front sur 94 pds de profondeur, tenant pardevant a la place d’armes derrière à la ruelle des fortifications, d’un coté au Sieur Dillon et de l’autre coté au Docteur Leodel; sur lequel etaint construits une maison en pierre à deux etages converte en ferblanc de 60 pds de front sur 62 pds de profondeur, et autres bâtiments en bois.”
The Place d’Armes commenced in the middle of Great St. James Street and occupied the position now filled by the Bank of Montreal and the Royal Trust Building. It was thought then—in 1757—proper to build here and to transfer the Place d’Armes to some other position, the ground in front of the Jesuit residence being thought suitable. Subscriptions began in 1823 for the new church by a minute of the church warden on July 20th. The building committee appointed was M. le Curé; Le Saulnier, president; M.M. Louis Guy, J.P. Leprohon, F.A. Larocque, N.B. Doucet, T. Bouthillier and A. Laframboise, to whom later were added M. Olivier Berthelet in place of M. Doucet, and the following new church wardens, viz., M.M.C.S. Delorme, Pierre Pomminville, Pascal Comte, Jules Quesnel, Joseph Chevalier and Pascal Persillier-LaChapelle. Messrs. Francis Desrivieres and P. de Rocheblave (Marguilliers) were named treasurers in February, 1824.
The land bought for the new church included the houses and grounds of Messrs. Gerrard, Starnes, the estate, Perrault and Fisher, situated on St. Joseph Street (St. Sulpice), and also that proposed to be ceded to the Fabrique by the Gentlemen of the Seminary. The value of the land was estimated at £24,000. On October 5th the blessing of the cross marking the site was conducted by Mgr. B.C. Panet, coadjutor bishop of Quebec. In September, 1824, the first stone was blessed by M. Roux, superior of the seminary. The following minute tells of the blessing of the new church. “1829, June 7. Pentecost Day, at seven o’clock in the morning. The new parish church has been blessed according to the usage and custom of Holy Church under the invocation of the Holy Name of Mary by Messire Jean Henry Auguste Roux, superior of the seminary, curé of the parish and vicar general of the diocese, in presence of the undersigned priests and of several church wardens and other parishioners:
“Roux, Vic. Gen., Malard, ptre., Sattin, ptre., Sauvage, ptre., Richard, ptre., F. ant. LaRocque, T. Bouthillier, P. de Rocheblave, P. Jos. Lacroix, Joseph Masson, O. Berthelet, Alexis Laframboise, Jules Quesnel, F. Souligny, Pierre Baudry, N.B. Doucet.”
BONSECOURS CHURCH
BONSECOURS CHURCH AT AN EARLY PERIOD