Our Lady of Montreal

Marian Advocation of Montreal (Quebec)
Recognized by the Church

La advocación de Our Lady of Montreal is closely linked to the history of the Notre Dame Basilica of Montreal, the main historical church in the old town of Quebec, Canada. According to the documentation available, the Catholic community of Ville- Marie (former name of Montreal) erected its first church dedicated to Notre- Dame in 1656like the oldest parish church in the city. This first church was expanded with population growth, until it was decided to raise a new and great temple.

Main data

Origin and history

La advocación de Our Lady of Montreal is closely linked to the history of the Notre Dame Basilica of Montreal, the main historical church in the old town of Quebec, Canada. According to the documentation available, the Catholic community of Ville- Marie (former name of Montreal) erected its first church dedicated to Notre- Dame in 1656like the oldest parish church in the city. This first church was expanded with population growth, until it was decided to raise a new and great temple.

La basílica actual is a major work of neogótico American, designed by Irish architect Thomas Baillairgé and later by James O'Donnell (of Irish origin, Protestant converted to Catholicism before he died). The construction of the new temple began in 1824 and was largely completed towards 1829; the interior was completed in the late 19th century, with a very rich and detailed iconographic and decorative program. In 1989the Basilica of Notre-Dame was declared National historical site of Canada, civil recognition of its religious and cultural importance.

As for the advocation in the strict sense, the local tradition contemplates the Our Lady of Montreal / Notre-Dame de Montréal how historical patron of the city, linked to both the Catholic foundation of the French colony and the continuity of faith in the present multicultural context. There is no specific Marian foundational legend (apparition, original miracle, etc.); devotion is born rather from the consecration of the city and its mother church to the Virgin Mary and the continued presence of the basilica as the center of the liturgical and devotional life of Montreal.

They do not refer the sources to a different advocation with the same name in Montreal (Colombia); rather, the fact sheet here clearly refers to the Canadian basilica. The documentation does not contain an autonomous Marian sanctuary with the title "Nuestra Señora de Montreal" in the Colombian municipality of Montreal (department of Santander / Quebec does not belong to the Colombian political division), so there is no verifiable data for a history of that alleged local advocation.

The image and the sanctuary

La Notre Dame Basilica of Montreal (French: Basilica Notre-Dame de Montréal) es una minor basilica of the Catholic Church, located in the historic district of Old Montreal, at 110 Notre-Dame Street West, corner with Saint-Sulpice. It belongs to the archdiocese of Montreal and is one of the most emblematic temples in Canada, famous for its richly decorated interior and its neo-Gothic architecture. The temple features a monumental stone façade with two towers, inspired by the European neo-Gothic, and an interior that is distinguished by the profusion of carved wood, statuary, golden and intense blue polychrome, which marks the great altarpiece of the presbytery.

The sanctuary is structured in a large central ship with tribune, numerous side chapels and especially the Chapel of the Sacred Heart (Chapelle du Sacré-Cœur), built in the 19th century and rebuilt after a fire in the 20th century. The lighting and the stained glass narrates episodes of the religious history of Montreal and Canada, more than biblical scenes, underlining the link between the City and Notre-Dame. The basilica regularly welcomes the celebration of the Eucharist and other sacraments, with a schedule of masses in French in both the main ship and the Chapel of the Sacred Heart.

La advocación de Our Lady of Montreal is expressed mainly through Marian images of the main altar and the altarpieces. In the presbyterium, a sculptural image of the Virgin Mary in neogotic key, entronised in the central altarpiece as a whole, although the sources of general access do not detail the author or the exact material of the sculpture (probably polychrome wood, like the rest of the set). There is no evidence of the existence of a universally recognized "patronal image" and no specific technical description (material, height, author) is provided in the sources consulted, and such data should therefore be considered. no documentados.

Sponsorship and coronation

La Notre Dame Basilica of Montreal It is, in fact, the main historical temple of the city and one of the most important in the province of Quebec. The advocation of Notre-Dame / Our Lady of Montreal is traditionally associated with spiritual patronage of the city of Montrealgiven the ancient parish and its character as the mother church of the local Catholic community. However, sources of general consultation (including the public documentation of the temple itself) do not mention a recent formal decree to officially proclaim Our Lady of Montreal as a canonical patron of the diocese or of the nation; that fact, therefore, no consta de manera explícita.

As for the canonical coronation, no reliable reference has been found to a specific canonical coronation of a Marian image entitled "Our Lady of Montreal" in this basilica, neither in the general historical documentation, nor in the sources of the archdiocese, nor in the institutional presentation of the basilica. Accordingly, according to the criteria of historical and devotional rigour, it should be stated:

does not contain a documented canonical coronation.

Party and devotion

La liturgia romana celebra el 1 January la solemnidad de Holy Mary, Mother of God, Marian memory that, in the context of this basilica, can also be considered as a date of special relevance to the advocation of Our Lady of Montreal, being the main universal Marian party at the beginning of the year. [Roman liturgical calendar] However, the sources consulted on the basilica do not indicate a local own party specific under the title "Notre-Dame de Montréal," so, beyond the general calendar, no consta an additional particular liturgical date for this advocation.

The basilica is one of the most visited places in Montreal, both by faithful and by tourists. It is described as a "jewel" of Quebec's religious heritage and as a scene for important events in the history of the city. It receives a very significant flow of visitors daily, with organized entry and the possibility of guided tours; the tourist documentation indicates thousands of visitors per year, although without a single consensus figure. Marian devotion is expressed in participation in the Dominican Eucharistthe personal prayer before the altars of the Virgin and the presence of vowels, although many activities of the temple seek to harmonize the liturgical dimension with the cultural and tourist function.

No se documentan mass pilgrimages of a national character similar to those of large Marian shrines of apparitions (such as Lourdes or Fatima). The influx to Notre-Dame de Montreal is rather continuous and daily, largely motivated by the spiritual importance of the church for the Catholics of the city and its historical and artistic relevance. The specific popular traditions (external Marian processions, roseries from neighbouring regions) are not detailed in the sources of general access and should therefore be considered no documentadas for this advocation.

Link to the Rosary

Sources consulted on the Notre Dame Basilica of Montreal no documentan una specific partnership between the advocation of Our Lady of Montreal and some particular brotherhood, crusade or movement around the rezo of the Holy Rosary (for example, no mention is made of an own "Archicofradia del Rosario" or mass official rosary days). Consequently,