Église St Michel

This Byzantine-style church dominates the corner of Rue St-Urbain and Rue St-Viateur. Its dome and soaring turret make it one of the more unique examples of church architecture in Montréal. Completed in 1915, St Michel served a mostly Irish community up through the 1960s (when it was known as ‘St Mike’s’ and was the largest English-speaking parish in Montréal). Intriguing elements include the massive dome with a depiction of St Michael vanquishing the seven-headed serpent (representing the seven deadly sins), figures of downward-descending angels (representing the fallen angels cast into hell) painted on the pendentives, and the shamrocks hidden in the design elements. Today, the church serves a largely Polish community, the latest wave of immigrants to the area.