Mary, Queen of the World Cathedral
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The Cathedral-Basilica of Mary, Queen of the World (French: Cathédrale Marie-Reine-du-Monde) in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, is the seat of the Roman Catholic archdiocese of Montreal. It is the third largest church in Quebec after St. Joseph's Oratory (also in Montreal) and the Basilica of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré east of Quebec City. The church is located at 1065 Cathedral Street () at the corner of René Lévesque Boulevard (Bonaventure metro station) in downtown Montreal.
History
The construction of the cathedral was ordered by Mgr. Ignace Bourget, second bishop of Montreal, to replace the former Saint-Jacques Cathedral which had burned in 1852. His choice to create a scale model of Saint Peter's Basilica in Rome was in response to a rivalry with the Sulpician order who had been the feudal seigneurs of Montreal, and with the Anglican Church, both of which favoured the Neo-Gothic style instead. The site also sparked controversy due to its location in the western part of downtown, in a then predominantly English neighbourhood far from the homes of the French-Canadian church-goers.The first architect, Victor Bourgeau, refused the project after studying St. Peter's, claiming that it could not be reproduced on a smaller scale. The undeterred bishop sent Fr. Joseph Michaud, the chaplain of the Papal Zouave volunteers of Montreal, to produce a scale model to work from. At the time, the Holy See was threatened by the nationalist troops of Victor Emmanuel II, king of Piedmont, who was attempting to assert control over all Italy including papal territories, and the priest's mission in Rome was secret.
Work began in 1875 and the new church was consecrated in 1894 as Saint-Jacques Cathedral, after Saint James the Great, the patron of the parish the church served. At the time it was the largest church in Quebec. It was made a minor basilica in 1919 by Pope Benedict XV. It was rededicated in 1955 to Mary, Queen of the World, by Pope Pius XII at the request of cardinal Paul-Émile Léger. (The pope had proclaimed this title for Mary in his 1954 encyclical Ad caeli reginam.)
Instead of the statues of the twelve apostles on the façade of St. Peter's, the front of the church is topped by statues of the patron saints of thirteen parishes of Montreal who donated them, including St. John the Baptist and St. Patrick. The interior, which is also copied from St. Peter's, includes a baldachin which is a scale model of Bernini's.
In the last few years, the cathedral's esplanade and narthex have undergone significant reconstruction. The exterior statue of Bishop Ignace Bourget was cleaned and restored in 2005.
On May 14, 2006, the cathedral was named a National Historic Site of Canada. [link]
March 2000 Protest
On March 7, 2000, about 20 bitter feminists from the International Women's Day demonstration entered the Cathedral shouting anti-Catholic slogans, littering the nave with condoms, sanitary napkins, bras and panties, spray-painted profanities on the altar, turned over flowerpots, and ripped song books. According to the group's spokespersons, they were protesting the "oppression of women" by the Church, and making a statement in favour of free speech and abortion. Before the protesters could violate the tabernacle, they were stopped by laypeople already present at the church. Despite the objectively criminal acts, no criminal charges were filed, though many have suggested charges under Canada's Hate Crime legislation were more than warranted. This incident was reported by Mark Steyn in the National Post, as well as the Sarnia Observer, Guelph Mercury, and Montreal Gazette.See also
- List of cathedrals in Canada
- List of basilicas in Canada
- Montreal's other basilicas:
- *Notre-Dame de Montréal Basilica
- *Saint Joseph's Oratory
- *Saint Patrick's Basilica
External links
- [Marie-Reine-du-Monde (official site, in French)]
- [Basilica-Cathedral of Marie-Reine-du-Monde (Religious Heritage of Quebec)]
- [Basilica-Cathedral of Marie-Reine-du-Monde on Images Montreal]
| Montreal landmarks | |
|---|---|
| Buildings | Biodome | Biosphère | Centre Bell | Canadian Centre for Architecture | Montreal Casino | Complexe Desjardins | Montreal Forum | Grande Bibliothèque du Québec | Habitat '67 | Mary, Queen of the World Cathedral | McCord Museum | Montreal Science Centre | Notre-Dame de Montréal Basilica | Olympic Stadium | Palais des congrès de Montréal | Place des Arts | Place Ville-Marie | Redpath Museum | Saint Joseph's Oratory | Tour de la Bourse | Underground City | World Trade Centre Montreal |
| Neighbourhoods | Chinatown | Old Montreal | Old Port | Quartier international de Montréal |
| Nature and Parks | Jardin botanique de Montréal | Mount Royal |
| Islands | Île Bizard | Island of Montreal | Île Notre-Dame | Nuns' Island | Saint Helen's Island |
| Transportation | Montréal-Mirabel International Airport | Montreal Metro | Montréal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport | Windsor Station | Central Station |
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