Basilique-Cathedrale Notre-Dame-de-Quebec is located in the heart of old town Quebec City. It has served since the earliest days of New France. It sits over the spot where Samuel de Champlain built a chapel in 1633. Other churches were built in the spot. The church was declared a basilica by Pope Pius IX in 1874. When we visited, it had construction almost blocking access.
|
Baslique-Cathedrale Notre-Dame-de-Quebec |
The interior is quite beautiful.
|
Nave |
|
Sanctuary |
|
Main altar |
As a cathedral, it does have the bishop's chair or
cathedra from which the building gets its name.
|
Bishop's seat |
One side chapel has the odd combination of gift shop and pieta just behind it.
|
No staff at the gift shop |
|
A remarkable pieta |
|
Madonna and child in another section of the church |
The stained glass is gorgeous and evocative. I especially liked this one depicting Christ turning water into wine at the wedding feast of Cana.
|
Wedding at Cana |
|
Holy Family altar |
|
Another side altar |
I found this Eastern-style icon interesting since the text is is French!
|
The Holy Family of Nazareth |
The tomb of
Francois de Laval is in the church, along with a small exhibit covering his history. He was the first bishop of Quebec from 1674 to 1688. His health became too poor to serve as bishop but he still worked in the diocese until his death in 1708. He was buried in the church.
|
His original casket |
|
Life-size figure |
|
Another statue of de Laval |
|
His new tomb |
|
Yet another statue |
The stations of the cross are noteworthy since they are paintings along the aisles of the cathedral.
|
Station XI--Jesus is Nailed to the Cross |
For the 350th anniversary of the church, a
Holy Door was added. Holy Doors are special doors that are only opened for Jubilee Years, typically every 25 years or for special occasions (the last occasion was the Year of Mercy from December 8, 2015, to November 20, 2016). Pilgrims receive special graces for going through the door, though visitors can touch the door when it isn't all snowy outside.
|
Holy Door, hard to reach |
The nearby seminary (founded by Francois de Laval) has a nice mosaic of the "I will make you fishers of men" scene.
|
Fun mosaic |
No comments:
Post a Comment