|
1085, rue de la Cathédrale
Montréal, Québec
Canada
Telephone: +1 (514) 866-1661
Archdiocese of
Montréal
The Archdiocese of Montréal hosts
4 minor basilicas,
the greatest number among all dioceses in North America. Its cathedral is
often overshadowed by other famous churches in the city such as
Notre-Dame Basilica and
St. Joseph's Oratory, but is in fact a
hidden treasure and an architectural wonder. As a cathedral, it is by definition
the most important church in Montreal.
The interior and exterior of the cathedral
are modeled upon St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, as can be seen in its Italian
neo-renaissance style. The distinguished twisting columns of its canopy
are also similar to the ones of St. Peter's. These symbolize the close ties
that bind's Canada's
Catholic Church in the Holy See.
The present structure is the sixth
cathedral, built from 1870 to 1894. The façade and the the canopy over the
altar were completed in 1900. In 1919,
Pope Benedict
XV conferred the title of
Minor
Basilica on the cathedral, the name of
which was St. James the Greater at the time. After undergoing extensive
renovations between 1955 and 1960,
Pope Pius XII conferred on the cathedral
the new name, Mary, Queen of the World.
 |
The façade of the Cathedral, showing the
thirteen 3-metre-high statues of saints: St. Anthony of Padua, St.
Vincent de Paul, St. Hyacinth, St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Paul, St.
John the Evangelist, St. James the Greater (the middle statue),
St. Joseph, St. John the Baptist, St. Patrick, St. Ignatius of Antioch,
St. Charles Borromeo, and St. Francis of Assisi. |
|
A memorial in front of the
Cathedral
|
 |
 |
The baldachin highlighted by the cupola,
all replicas of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome |
|
