Church sights in Canada
- Sort by:
- Popular
-
Basilique Ste-Anne-de-Beaupré
The village of Ste-Anne-de-Beaupré is known for the Goliath-sized Basilique Ste-Anne-de-Beaupré and its role as a shrine. Churches were built at this location since the mid-1600s but were frequently destroyed by fire. The awe-inspiring basilica of today was constructed after a devastating blaze in 1922 and has been open since 1934.
reviewed
-
A
Cathedral of the Holy Trinity
Built from 1800 to 1804, this cathedral was designed by two officers from the British army’s military engineering corps and modeled on St Martin-in-the-Fields Church in London, England. This elegantly handsome Anglican cathedral was the first ever built outside the British Isles, with oak imported from Windsor Castle’s Royal Forest just to make the pews. Upon its completion, King George III sent the cathedral a treasure trove of objects, including candlesticks, chalices and silver trays. The elaborateness of the gifts heading toward the New World sent London’s chattering classes atwitter. The royal box for the reigning monarch or her representative is located in the upper…
reviewed
-
B
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. To…
reviewed
-
C
Basilique-Cathédrale Notre-Dame-de-Québec
This basilica got its start as a small church in 1647. In the ensuing years, the churches built here suffered everything from frequent fires to battle damage, especially during fighting between British and French armies in 1759. But no matter what, the church was rebuilt and repaired. Each replacement was bigger than the last until it reached the size you see today – a structure completed in 1925. The interior is appropriately grandiose, though most of the basilica’s treasures didn’t survive the 1922 fire that left behind only the walls and foundations. To have a look at the crypt, you’ll have to sign on to a guided tour. Everyone from governors of New France to archbisho…
reviewed
-
D
Église Madonna della Difesa
Our Lady of Protection Church was built in 1919 according to the drawings of Florence-born Guido Nincheri (1885–1973), who spent the next two decades working on the Roman-Byzantine structure. The artist painted the church’s remarkable frescoes, including one of Mussolini on horseback with a bevy of generals in the background. The work honored the formal recognition by Rome of the pope’s sovereignty over Vatican City in 1929 and was unveiled a few years later as Hitler came to power. During WWII, Nincheri and others who had worked on the building were interned by the Canadian authorities. The fresco, still controversial, can be viewed above the high marble altar.
reviewed
-
E
Église St-Roch
There are giants and then there is this, the biggest church in Québec City. Measuring over 80m long, 34m wide and 46m high including the steeples, it was built between 1914 and 1923. When the original architects died, the neo-Gothic, neo-Roman structure was finished off by Louis-Napoléon Audet, the same man who worked on the Ste-Anne-de-Beaupré Basilica. The marble inside the church is from Saskatchewan. See if you can find faint fossil imprints in it. Around late October the St-Roch Church hosts the Festival des Musiques Sacrées de Québec (the Québec City Festival of Sacred Music), a wonderful time to see it at its best.
reviewed
-
F
Église Notre-Dame-des-Victoires
Dating from 1688, Our Lady of Victories Church, a modest house of worship on the square, is the oldest stone church in the USA and Canada. It stands on the spot where Champlain set up his ‘Habitation, ’ a small stockade, 80 years prior to the church’s arrival. Inside are copies of works by Rubens and Van Dyck. Hanging from the ceiling is a replica of a wooden ship, the Brézé, thought to be a good-luck charm for ocean crossings and battles with the Iroquois. The church earned its name after British ships were unable to take Québec City in 1690 and again in 1711.
reviewed
-
G
Église St-Jean-Baptiste
This colossus completely dominates its area on the southwest end of Rue St-Jean. The first church was built in 1842 but was destroyed by fire in 1881. It was completely rebuilt by architect Joseph-Ferdinand Peachy and open again for business by 1884. Peachy drew on well-known French churches for inspiration: Notre-Dame-de-Paris for the pillars, Église St-Sulpice for the vaults and Église de la Trinité for the facade. In summer, the church presents modest but well-researched exhibitions on church or neighborhood history.
reviewed
-
H
Église St-Jean-Baptiste
Dedicated to St John the Baptist, the patron saint of French Canadians, this church was the hub of working-class Catholic families in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Plateau residents weren’t rich but they channeled large sums of money into the colorful interior, especially after two disastrous fires. The altar is white imported marble, the chancel canopy is in pink marble and there are two Casavant organs. The acoustics are splendid and the church plays host to numerous classical concerts throughout the year.
reviewed
-
Notre Dame Cathedral-Basilica
Built in 1841, this shimmering tin-topped house of worshipis the oldest church in all of Ottawa and the seat of the city’s Catholic archbishop. Pick up the small pamphlet at the entrance outlining the church’s many idiosyncratic features, including elaborate wooden carvings and the dazzling indigo ceiling peppered with gleaming stars. The cathedral is situated across from the glass spires of the National Gallery of Canada.
reviewed
Advertisement
-
I
Église St-Viateur
If you are already on Ave Laurier for the shopping and food, poke your head into this church, opened in 1910. The interior is pure Gothic Revival with ornate paintings, stained glass, hand-crafted cabinets and sculptures by renowned Montréal artists; the impressive ceiling vaults depict the life of St Viateur. Funeral services for former prime minister Pierre Trudeau were held here in 2000.
reviewed
-
Her Majesty’s Chapel of the Mohawks
Captain Brant’s tomb is on the grounds of the tiny but exquisite Her Majesty’s Chapel of the Mohawks, best visited on sunny afternoons when light streams through the gorgeous stained-glass windows. On the site of the original village, it’s the oldest Protestant church in Ontario (1785) and the world’s only Royal Indian Chapel. To get here, follow the signs off Colborne St E.
reviewed
-
Church of the Immaculate Conception
This center for worship was built in 1972, and encapsulates both aboriginal traditions and Catholic beliefs. Built in the round, the building represents a tepee, a fire pit and the circle of life. Colorful paintings by local artist Leland Bell beautifully depict the Stations of the Cross, while magnificent carvings represent both Christ and the Great Spirit Kitche Manitou.
reviewed
-
J
Church of the Holy Trinity
On the west side of the Eaton Centre is the oasislike Trinity Sq, named after the welcoming Anglican Church of the Holy Trinity. When it opened in 1847, it was the first church in Toronto not to charge parishioners for pews. Today it’s a cross between a house of worship, a small concert venue and a community drop-in center – everything a downtown church should be!
reviewed
-
K
St Andrew's Presbyterian Church
Built in 1876, rock-solid Romanesque Revival–style St Andrew's encourages stressed-out city workers to come inside and 'find a quiet moment.' It's a peaceful place indeed, its tranquility only shattered when the multipiped Karl Wilhem Organ on the 2nd floor starts pumping. Pick up a self-guided tour pamphlet by the entrance.
reviewed
-
St Francis Xavier Church
At the Kahnawake Indian Reserve, the St Francis Xavier Church was established as a Catholic mission for the Aboriginal people and has a small museum with drawings and religious artifacts. Sunday Mass at 10:30am is in English but the choir sings in Mohawk.
reviewed
-
Church of Our Lady Immaculate
Lording over downtown Guelph is the dominant stone-faced bulk of the Church of Our Lady Immaculate. It’s hard to move around town without catching a glimpse of Our Lady’s twin towers and elegantly proportioned rose window, which have been awing parishioners since 1888.
reviewed
-
L
St Andrew-by-the-Lake Church
Indeed, it is by the lake! This white weatherboard Anglican church (1884), often referred to simply as 'The Island Church, ' holds heart-warming traditional Christmas celebrations each year and harbor boat blessings every June.
reviewed
-
Cathédrale de L’assumption
Church admirers should pay a visit to the colossal Cathédrale de l’Assumption, a soaring neo-Gothic confection with exquisite sculpture and intricate Florentine stained-glass windows.
reviewed
