Nearly 300 years old. That’s the age of the oldest painting in the basilica, acquired in 1730 and depicting Saint Anne and her daughter Mary. But what makes it even more special than its age is that it seems capable of… miracles.
During another spring, when the St. Lawrence River threatened to overflow its banks and flood the church, the famous painting was brought to shore… and the waters magically receded. What’s more, after investigation, Monseigneur Bourget determined that on three occasions, when there was drought in all the neighboring villages, it rained in Varennes. And only in Varennes. Another miracle can be added to the picture.
Every year, on July 26, the painting is brought out of the church to mark the feast of Sainte-Anne.
Thousands of ears have heard its chimes over the centuries. It has seen the invention of penicillin, electricity and the automobile. In Quebec, few things are as old as it, and it can now be found in the choir of the basilica.
We’re talking about a bell, of course, whose origins go as far back as the construction of the Montreal General Hospital in… 1692. That’s just 50 years after the founding of Montreal. And 67 years before the Battle of the Plains of Abraham.
Admiring this precious gift from the Grey Nuns (founded by Marguerite d’Youville), one can’t help but be fascinated by the incredible journey it has taken to get here. Could this bell ever have imagined that it would end up in a place where other bells now ring in its place?
If you look at the dome inside the Basilica of Sainte-Anne, and in particular at the Virgin Mary and the angels painted there, you notice something a little familiar? As if they all looked, well, more like local residents than a painting from the early 20th century? You’re not mistaken.
Indeed, Guido Nincheri, the famous artist behind this work that dominates the church, drew inspiration from his own wife to depict Mary, and from young bachelors from Varennes for the angels surrounding her.
Nincheri, a fresco artist who has produced over 3,000 religious works in Canada, gave a local touch to one of his greatest achievements. And this was long before egoportraits (selfies).
Yes, this is where she rests. Marguerite d’Youville. Foundress of the Grey Nuns. Head of the Montreal General Hospital. First Canadian woman to be canonized. A story intimately linked to history. Born in Varennes, now at her eternal rest in Varennes.
It’s been a long road, shall we say, to the Basilica in 2010. Since her death in 1771, her tomb has been moved (the technical term is translation) no less than six times. A process that, one imagines, must have been rather more complex than ordering from Amazon. Especially when you consider just how precious – and fragile (over 200 years old!) – this “parcel” could be.
Ultimately, it became clear that the tomb of Marguerite d’Youville should end its journey where the saint was baptized. Today, it can be admired in all its impressive immobility at the Basilica of Saint-Anne de Varennes, near the Sanctuaire Sainte-Marguerite-d’Youville.
Marie-Rose Durocher was the first Canadian woman to found a religious congregation of women teachers. Beatified in 1982, a chapel is dedicated to her within the Co-Cathedral.
To commemorate her presence at the Co-Cathedral, a copper monument was installed outside. The copper sculpture depicted Mother Marie-Rose teaching two children. This work of art almost disappeared completely. In May 2011, two attempts were made to remove all the figures from their plinths. They had to make do with the two young children surrounding Mother Marie-Rose, of whom only… the shoes remained!
The remains of the original sculpture of the SNJM founder can now be admired in the co-cathedral museum, sheltered from the elements… and from metal-selling thieves! For the record, the sculpture has been replaced on the outside by a granite monument, whose design is inspired by the original work.
The museum beneath the co-cathedral is brimming with artifacts steeped in history… and stories. Archaeological finds tracing the presence of indigenous peoples back more than 2,500 years. Sacred relics. An ancient bench reserved for the exclusive use of the Barons of Longueuil.
And there’s also a recumbent statue. This life-size statue of St. Aurelia in a recumbent position contains fragments of her own bones, taken from the catacombs of Rome. It was made by two nuns from the SNJM congregation (with undeniable artistic talent), one of whom donated… her own hair (an undeniable devotion).
It dominates the skyline of Old Longueuil. It’s as impressive on the outside as it is on the inside. And it didn’t take a fear of heights to build it. The vast dome that caps the co-cathedral of Saint-Antoine-de-Padoue is a distinctive architectural feature that invites you to admire it up close.
On the inside, it was painted… white… in its early years.
Until it was decided to entrust the artisans of the renowned sacred arts sculptor Louis Jobin with the task of painting frescoes on the ceiling of this neo-Byzantine gem. These Quebec artists, perched at a height of 30 meters, created the works we can admire today. The figures (including, of course, Saint-Antoine) may look tiny from the cow floor, but they’re over three meters tall.
We hope it wasn’t necessary to apply two layers everywhere…
How important a figure is Mother Marie-Rose Durocher in the history of the Co-Cathedral and Longueuil? To the extent that a chapel inside the church is entirely dedicated to her.
It was in the former church, located on the same site, that the foundress of the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary (SNJM) took her vows in 1843. It was also here that her funeral was celebrated six years later. Beatified in 1982, Mother Marie-Rose was given as a witness to all God’s people.
The announcement of the return of her tomb in 2004 led to the conversion of the cathedral’s right transept to accommodate it. Today, the Blessed’s remains lie beneath the altar of the chapel, a solemn place of meditation. Pilgrims pray to her and thank her for her intercession. There’s also a statue by artist Yvette Filion Hébert, information and artifacts, among other memorabilia.
And in the museum, located in the basement of the co-cathedral, a section dedicated to the religious teaching congregation outlines its history.
Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)
Let’s say you’re a very influential person in your hometown, a baron or a direct descendant of its founder. If you offer land to build a new church, what can you expect in return?
In the case of Baroness Marie-Charles-Joseph Le Moyne Grant (a name that would fill two street signs), her request was to add a crypt where she and members of her family could be buried.
Today, this crypt is located in a sepulchral chapel dedicated to the Le Moyne family, beneath the co-cathedral, a place that can be admired through a display case in the museum. There are some 135 sealed enfeus – flat-bottomed niches built into a wall to house a tomb. With, we imagine, slightly shorter names.
