Denomination: CATHOLIC |
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Denomination: CATHOLIC |
Photo: Notre-Dame-de-Québec |
s far as we know, the Notre-Dame-de-Quebec Basilica is an almost exact replacement of the
church that was destroyed by fire in 1922. To understand this building and to grasp the
reasons for its "restoration" after the fire, it is necessary to be aware of the broad lines
of its evolution.
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fter the capture of Quebec by the Kirke brothers in 1629, Champlain doubled his efforts in
France to recover the lost territory. He made a vow that he would build a church in Quebec
if Canada were returned to France. Returning in 1633, Champlain kept his promise and began
at once to construct a chapel dedicated to Notre-Dame-de-la-Recouvrance. This was the first
building to occupy the site of the present-day cathedral. At the same place, in 1636,
Montmagny constructed the chapel of Champlain to honour the memory of the founder of Quebec.
This first church was reduced to ashes on June 15, 1640, along with the residence of the
Jesuits which was next to it.
n 1647, construction of a new church was undertaken. The work would last over several years,
however, as documents record that in 1650, Father Poncet celebrated mass in a building that
had yet to be completed. The church was made of stone in the form of a latin cross, 80 by 38
feet in measurement, and ended with a semi-circular apse which faced east. Two side chapels cut
off the main nave at the entrance of the choir in a similar fashion as a transept would cut
across a nave. The elevation of the building consisted of only one floor with heavy walls
pierced with windows and a roof supported by pinions. Above the crossing was a steeple nestled
in the scaffolding and supported by it. These several facts and the extracts of maps and plans
of the city of Quebec of the period permit us to reconstruct this first church which was placed
under the appellation of Notre-Dame-de-la-Paix.
ecoming a parish church in 1664 under the appellation of Notre-Dame-de-l'Immaculée-Conception,
it was chosen to be the cathedral of Quebec by Mgr Laval (who has just been named first
bishop of the septentrional in America). When the small church received this title, the
prelate took steps to rebuild it. He obtained funds from the King in 1683 and contracted
the services of architect Claude Baillif who proposed an elaborate project. For lack of
means, the bishop carried it out only partially; he reduced the width of the projecting
façade and managed to build only one of the two towers. As for the church itself, the old
building was finally connected to the new fa&ccedi;ade in 1697 by lengthening the walls some thirty feet.
n 1743, repair of this building was undertaken according to the plans of Gaspard
Chaussegros de Léry, engineer to the King. The choir was lengthened, the walls of the nave
were pierced to give access to new side aisles and a new façade was set up in front of the
unfinished one by Claude Baillif. Heightwise, the building was notable because the walls of
the nave were elevated to allow the installation of a row of tall windows. The plans of the
King's engineer existed in two versions, however, the simpler of the two was the one carried
out. The more decorative version was to have been executed later, but the Conquest put an end to this great project.
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n 1759, the cathedral was destroyed by the English attack. Only the walls remained standing.
The problems related to its rebuilding were complex; it was necessary to first assert the
authority of the bishop within the Protestant political regime before restoring its cathedral.
In 1766, Mgr. Briand approved the first set of restoration plans which resulted in a
reduction to the width of the building designed by Chaussegros de Léry. In the end, under the
supervision of Jean Baillargé, the construction between 1766 and 1771 reverted back to the
plan of 1743. On the whole, the reconstructed building was that of Chaussegros de Léry
except for the bell tower, for which Jean Baillargé composed a new design. Preserved as a
result of a number of restorations later on, this bell tower is that which appears on the
northern side today.
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Photo: Notre-Dame-de-Québec |
he church underwent two important modifications, both in the façade. The first took
place in 1818 with a new design. Essentially made up of three parts, this design was an
attempt to update the building to the style of the day. It demonstrates the influence of
Palladian architecture in Quebec. Despite this, the façade retained a certain "colonial"
aspect to it when the builders adopted the restoration plans of Thomas Baillargé in 1843.
Proposed in three stages, this project was to have added a portal to the façade and a bell
tower on each side. However, the base of the northern tower could not support the weight of
a new structure and work was terminated. It was this church, with its unfinished façade and
Jean Baillargé's bell tower to the south, which was devastated by fire in 1922.
he work of Thomas Baillargé is nonetheless notable. The neoclassical church façade is the most elaborate one known in Quebec.
There is a sense that the architect was concerned with the creation of a monumental structure
which was perfect in its geometry and which reflected the interior space. In this way, Thomas
Baillargé broke with the tradition where ornamentation was understated and where
façades were seldom built with freestones and were generally designed as screens
meant merely to mask a nave that was, if not narrower, at least much lower.
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he building program of Thomas Baillargé was the last one of importance before the
reconstruction of 1922. There was, however, secondary work such as the construction of the
chapel of the Sacred Heart in 1888 after the plans of François-Xavier Berlinguet. In 1890,
architect George-Emile Tanguay decorated the side aisles with a row of freestones.
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Exterior, Funerary chapel Photo: Notre-Dame-de-Québec |
(1)The current state of research prevents us from knowing the precise location of the chapel of Notre-Dame-de-la-Recouvrance nor of the chapel of Champlain which was in close proximity to it.
Bibliography:
Noppen, L. Notre-Dame de Québec, son architecture, son rayonnement (1647-1932).-Québec, Éd. du Pélican, 1974, -283 p.
 Text: Luc Noppen, Les Églises du Québec
(1600-1850), Éditeur officiel du Québec, FIDES, 1977, p.162, 164. English translation: Alice Ming Wai Jim |
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