MGR. IGNACE BOURGET
Second bishop of Montreal, 1799-1885
MGR. JEAN-JACQUES LARTIQUE
First bishop of Montreal, 1777-1840
In addition there are missions to Chinese (numbering 200), Lithuanians (1,000), Poles (1,500), Ruthenians (5,000), Syrians (3 rites), Pure Syrians, Syro-Maronites and Syro-Melchites (1,000).
It would require a volume to give the history of all these parishes or of their many beautiful churches, but we may choose the following for historical reasons, viz.: the present Cathedral of St. James, the seat of the Archbishop of Montreal; the Church of St. James, the second parish and the site of the first Cathedral; the Chapel of Our Lady of Lourdes, as a type of several of the non-parish chapels in the city; the Gésu and St. Peter’s, as an example of public churches conducted by religious priests; and, as the English-speaking Catholic community is an entity of its own, St. Patrick’s church and others will be treated as affording an opportunity of reviewing the religious history of the Irish in the city.
ST. JAMES CATHEDRAL
The Cathedral, one of the largest temples on the continent, is admirably situated on Dominion Square, and its location adds to the majestic loftiness of its monumental cupola. It is one third the size and an adapted replica of St. Peter’s, Rome. When Mgr. Lartigue became Bishop of Telmesse (1821) with jurisdiction over the Church in Montreal, his residence was at the Seminary of St. Sulpice, and Notre Dame was to all intents and purposes the cathedral church of Montreal. He realized the disadvantages of the situation and took up his quarters at the Hôtel Dieu. Its modest chapel became the temporary Cathedral. In 1825, the people petitioned the Bishop to sanction the erection of a Cathedral and a residence in keeping with his exalted dignity. Their request was granted and a site chosen at the corner of St. Catherine and St. Denis streets, where St. James church stands today. The new Cathedral was dedicated by Bishop Lartigue, in 1825. His house was a very plain building. An episcopal residence soon replaced it, and was considered one of the finest structures in Montreal. Unfortunately, in 1852, the fire which consumed a great part of the City reduced the Cathedral and the residence to ashes. Mgr. Bourget, his successor, lived at St. Joseph’s Home, and the humble chapel of the Providence Asylum became the fourth Cathedral. The present site was then chosen. A modest brick chapel was erected by the side of the episcopal residence which for over forty years has been the home of the Bishops of Montreal and of their assistants in the administration of diocesan affairs.