Thursday Doors – May 31, 2018

Thursday Doors is a weekly feature allowing door lovers to come together to admire and share their favorite door photos from around the world. Feel free to join in on the fun by creating your own Thursday Doors post each week and then sharing it, between Thursday morning and Saturday noon (North American eastern time), by using the blue link-up button below. 

Basilica of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré – Québec City Region (Part 1)

Driving on highway 138 along the shores of the Saint Lawrence River about 30 kms (19 mi) east of Québec City you’ll find the Basilica of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré.

Named for the patron saint of Québec, the building on historic Avenue Royale a.k.a. la Route de la Nouvelle-France sits on the same site as the very first chapel built there by the first French settlers in 1658.

I spent several hours visiting this amazing place, taking so many interesting shots that it will take a few posts to cover the entire thing.

This week I thought we’d cover the exterior doors, and then look at the inside as well as some of the out-buildings another time.

Built in the shape of a cross, the current Romanesque Revival church’s construction started in 1926, with work on the interior done in fits and starts during the great depression, and final completion some time in 1946 after the end World War II.

The Basilica is roughly 100 metres (300 ft) tall, from the floor to the top of the bell towers. About 60 metres (180 ft) at its widest point and close to 100 metres (300 ft) long. With a seating capacity of almost 1600 faithful it is one of the largest religious buildings in Canada.

The Basilica is world renowned by faithful Catholics as a place of miracles. Two of the columns inside the church are adorned with crutches, canes, and prosthetic devices left there and no longer needed by stricken pilgrims cured of their afflictions through visiting and praying here.

Due to this popularity the Basilica receives over 500,000 international pilgrims each year, and well over 2 million tourists and curious gawkers like myself 😉

For fans of art and architecture one of the main attractions of the Basilica are the hand-carved copper main doors.

According to their website the panels in these doors depict many scenes of the life of Jesus.

This exceptional work of art was created by local Québec artist Albert Gilles and were originally hanging on the St. Joseph Church in Quebec City in the 1950’s.

The three double doors alone represent over 12 months of work. After the closing of St. Joseph’s in 2003, Albert Gille’s masterpiece was given a second life when it was transferred to Saint-Anne-de-Beaupré to the benefit of pilgrims and tourists alike.

Next week we’ll take a look at the inside of this wonderful structure but in the meantime let’s finish our tour of the outside.

As always, thanks so much for reading 🙂

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