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The parish
The first Notre-Dame was built on the site in 1672
The Sulpicians arrived in Ville-Marie in 1657 and founded a parish dedicated to the Holy Name of Mary. The parish church of Notre-Dame was built on the site in 1672. By 1824 the congregation had completely outgrown it.
The architect
An Anglican from New York designed it and lies in the crypt
James O'Donnell, an Irish-American Anglican from New York City, designed the new church in the Gothic Revival style, for a congregation of up to 10,000. He is the only person buried in the crypt, after converting to Roman Catholicism on his deathbed.
The towers
On completion it was the largest church in North America
The primary construction took place between 1824 and 1829. The first tower was finished in 1841 and the second in 1843. John Ostell completed the towers to O'Donnell's plans, and the church stayed the largest in North America for over fifty years.
The interior
The vaults are deep blue and the windows show Montreal's own history
Victor Bourgeau worked on the interior from 1872 to 1879, inspired by the Sainte-Chapelle in Paris. The vaults are deep blue with golden stars. The stained glass shows scenes from the religious history of Montreal, not biblical scenes.
1978
Arson destroyed the Chapel of the Sacred Heart in 1978
Arson destroyed the Chapelle du Sacré-Cœur on 7 December 1978. It was rebuilt with the first two levels reproduced from old drawings and photographs, and an immense bronze altarpiece by the Quebec sculptor Charles Daudelin.
Day 1, midday
It comes after Old Montreal. Then Old Port of Montreal.
More stories from this trip idea
The words are a retelling of the Wikipedia article Notre-Dame Basilica (Montreal), and are shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. They are checked against those articles, and a fact that is not in them is left out.