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Mary Queen of the World Cathedral – Downtown Montréal (Part 1)
On the southern edge of downtown Montreal you’ll find one of my favorite of the city’s grand Catholic cathedrals: Mary, Queen of the World.
After the Notre-Dame Basilica in Old Montreal and St-Joseph’s Oratory on Mont-Royal, it’s probably number three in the city among Catholic churches, in terms of grandeur, opulence, and importance.
It was also the first building on the island of Montreal that cost over one million dollars to build.
I have no idea what it’s worth today, but I will keep looking into that.
Since I have quite a few shots I thought that this week we could walk around the outside and next week we’ll have a look at some of the beautiful interior features and details, including some lovely doors 🙂
Modeled after St-Peter’s Basilica in Rome, construction was done in two phases starting in 1874; it officially opened its doors to the city’s Catholic worshipers on Easter Sunday in 1894 under the name St-James Cathedral.
Sitting on the northwest corner is a statue of the man who ordered the construction of the cathedral: Mgr. Ignace Bourget, second bishop of Montreal.
In 1955 at the request of Cardinal Paul-Emile Leger, the building was rededicated by Pope Pius XII as Mary, Queen of the World.
The dome has a maximum height of 75 meters (252 feet) and it measures 23 meters (75 feet) in diameter. The original cast-iron cross that sat atop the dome was 5 meters (17 feet tall) and weighed over 727 kgs (1600 lbs) – it was replaced by a slightly taller aluminium one in 1958.
Sad to say but I hadn’t really noticed this building until I had the good fortune to attend a friend’s wedding there about 20 years ago.
It truly is one of the city’s most majestic buildings and if you think the outside is impressive, just wait until you the inside 🙂
Okay, so here’s a sneak peek at some of what you’ll see next week:
As always I thank you for looking 🙂
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Just beautiful, I was absent last week from Thursday doors and missed this magnificent building, I suspect the inside will be awesome… Thank you for sharing this wonderful cathedral and it’s impressive architecture…
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Bravo!! you do justice to our beautiful churches in Montreal. I walk often in the downtown area coming from 1000 la gauchetière on my way to the Sunlife building to have lunch with my daughter. Truly your photos are magnificient! Bonne et heureuse année!!
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Beautiful building. I love the doors on it.
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Thank you!
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Really beautiful architecture of the Cathedral that you captured, Norm! Seeing the cathedral and its special doors surrounded by the modern, boxy buildings make it stand out even more. The snow makes you feel the coldness where the building resides but the sample interior wood doors brings out the warmth of the building that we await to see. Happy New Year!
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Thank you – glad you liked these. All the best for 2017 and thanks for being a part of our fun little group of door fans 😀
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Had seen your post earlier,and thank you for your comment – wow, and exquisite cathedral!.he snow makes it stand out even more. Love the black screen door – my favorite! Hope you had a merry Christmas, and wishing you a happy New Year. Thank you for hosting every week!
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Thanks for the holiday wishes – all the best for the new year!
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Looking forward to seeing the inside!
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Thanks Donna – it is something to see 🙂
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This was quite a magnificent building and time consuming in its creation. It was well worth the time and incredible amount of money since it still stands proud as the queen of the world, Mary! 🙂
Thank you for sharing, Norm. I liked all the doors for their individual style and grace. The criss cross pattern or grid work looked best on the door with an arched marble or stone door frame! Simply gorgeous.
Hope you have a wonderful celebration and happy new year, Norm, the Mrs. and family! 🙂
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Thanks Robin and all the best to you and yours for 2017 as well 😀
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Oh my it’s gorgeous! I’d love to tour it, and am looking forward to seeing more of the inside.
Do you know what they did with the original cross that sat on top of the dome? Is still on the property on view somewhere? 20 years to build seems like such a long, long time when compared to today and how fast builders are able to erect buildings.
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Thanks Deborah. The inside compares well with some of the cathedrals I’ve seen in Italy, in terms of size and opulence – though not as much artwork.
I don’t know what happened to the original cross but I suspect that after 60+ years of exposure to rain and cold and snow, it was probably wasn’t in very good shape.
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Beautiful architecture!!
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Thanks Andre – it really is a special place 🙂
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Woo, just woo!!
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Thanks – I know what you mean 🙂
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I’m sorry we missed this cathedral while we were visiting Montreal this past summer. Gorgeous structure and magnificent doors!
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Well if you ever make it back let me know in advance and we’ll be happy to show you some of the less well-known but equally impressive spots.
Happy New Year and all the best to you for 2017!
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That would be wonderful! Happy New Year to you also!
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Simply Spectacular!
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It is indeed – thanks Jan 🙂
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Hi norm – enjoyed this majestic walk around this beautiful grand structure –
My fav of today’s post is the second photo – where the diamond shape in the sidewalk invited us into those cool doors.
I also like the tan, arched one with the tan branches lightly hanging down – it had such a mood – with the season and muted tones.
And I went to the online calculator and a million dollars in 1888 (the mid point date of this project and likely when they were paying for the bulk of supplies) and it said today the million dollars would be equal to $24,308,547.46
😉
Whew
Some queen of the world indeed
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Thanks for doing that calculation. I guess the 24 million range sounds about right but I may just try to look up what the city has the building evaluated at as well.
Either way, that makes for an awful lot of dimes and quarters dropped into the collection trays 😉
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Yes / that was a lot of donations – whew – and you know I forgot about market value and all that – so the appreciation will not be exactly the calculation – so. I am extra curious -hm
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Ooh, fancy! It took me some tilting and staring to realize the ‘black’ doors are the same style. I thought the first ‘black door’ was like a tufted version of wood, but then it was so much like the door with the metal grating…I had to scroll back and look again, poor me 😉 Love the gray-green-blue doors, too, and the shine on that interior door — whoa pretty handles! They’re all great doors and I’m excited to see the inside next week!
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Thanks Joey. Of all this city’s big houses of worship, this one is my favorite.
Partly because it doesn’t get as much attention as the other two I mentioned, but mostly because it really is that impressive.
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Everyone loves an underdog 🙂
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That is one majestic and monumental building, right there! I thought, “That reminds me of something,” and then you said it was modeled on St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. Looking forward to next week!
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Thanks Marian – yes the interior is very impressive as well. The effect of looking up at the dome from inside always gets me no matter the church – I guess someone planned it that way 😉
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Very grand. I love it.
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Thanks Sherry! All the best to you for 2017 🙂
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This is glorious!
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Thanks – I thought so too 🙂
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Stunning looking building and doors. :>)
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Thank you – I totally agree 🙂
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gorgeous shots!
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Thank you Chrissy – all the best to you and yours for the New Year and beyond. Keep on kicking poetry butt my friend xo 😀
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Thank you! All the best to you and your family❤️️❤️️🎄
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What a beautiful building!
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I thought so too – thank you!
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Your photos do justice to these beautiful places. And these are places I’d love to see. Best wishes for finding more doors to show us in 2017. Your series is delightful!
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Thanks for the kind words and for your continued support 😀
All the best to you and yours for 2017!
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This is a grand building, would love to see it in person one day. The inside door does remind me of the Basilica… the tall, wood door and it’s marble frame. Very nice photos.
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Thanks – I’ll have to look up some pictures online of the Basilica in Rome to compare.
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Handsome doors on an amazingly beautiful Cathedral. I really do need to head north to your part of the country. 🙂 I love the name and the significance is not lost on me – Mary Queen of the World Cathedral. For Catholics, Mary is the Queen of the World. You certainly had some talented craftsmen who made their families proud as they worked on the construction of this Cathedral long ago. My father-in-law and his family worked on a very small Cathedral in western Kansas. To this day when we pass by, we think of his contribution and the limestone he hauled in a wagon as part of his pledge. Beautiful, Norm. 🙂 Best wishes to you and yours for a healthy and happy 2017. Hope the business venture is going exceedingly well. 🙂
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Thanks Judy. It took a lot of dedicated from very talented people to put together buildings like this – definitely a legacy to be proud of.
And yes you do need to head north 😉
I won’t keep busting your chops about it but do know that you have two enthusiastic local ‘tour guides’ who’ll be happy to show you around when you do. And 2017 would be an ideal time: Canada is celebrating its 150th birthday and Montreal is celebrating 375 – it’s going to be parties and events everywhere.
In the meantime all the best to you as well 🙂
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It’s a masterpiece. It’s unusual from the churches we are used to seeing in that the front part of the building has more of the appearance of a palace rather than a cathedral. The building and its doors are all stately and regal … fitting for a Queen.
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It’s strange how we take these places for granted in our own hometowns. You know before we went to that friend’s wedding, I couldn’t tell you how many times I’ve walked or driven past this place without ever really noticing it. Well at least I’m noticing them now 🙂
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The power of blogging 🙂
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I was going to comment that you could have given us a teaser shot of the inside, but you did. This is a beautiful building Norm. We are both featuring cathedrals today. They are amazing accomplishments. The amount of work, money and the length of time it took to build these majestic houses of worship make them truly unique in my view. Thanks for sharing this one and I’m looking forward to next week.
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I meant to add that I really like the relatively nondescript door that you ended the walk around the outside on. It’s quite beautiful and I love how easily it blends in with the stone arched entrance.
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I thought the same thing as Dan–that last door is quite unassuming compared to the rest of the building, yet has its own beauty. The names of Catholic churches always amuse me, as they’re so interesting and different. This is not a cozy church, but one where you feel the magnificence and awesomeness of God.
janet
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I felt this too!
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Thanks Dan. You know I had to leave a teaser for next week 😉
Yes these places are remarkable; the artistry and craftsmanship, love, dedication, and money that went into them is humbling at times.
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