Churches in Montreal

Last weekend, the family went to Montreal to visit some of Puff's family.  We don't travel much, so the trip was a rare and welcome vacation, even if it was only for a long weekend.

While there I went and visited as many of the old Montreal churches as I could. Some of them were the most beautiful churches I have ever seen in my life.  There was the cathedral, Marie, Reine du Monde

It is actually a one quarter replica of St Peter's in Rome.  If there is any doubt from the above photo, here's a shot of the interior altar.

  
(I found this photo on the web a few days ago.  Sadly, I can't find which site it was.) Sadly, this is about as close as I will ever get to seeing St Peter's.

There was the Oratory, of course.

I attended Mass on Sunday at St Patrick's, built for the famine Irish in  1847.

The inside was very beautiful, but sadly, my camera doesn't take pictures very well inside, even so, this photo of one of the side altars, with the high altar in the background, may give you some idea.

The most beautiful of them all, the Basilique de Notre Dame.

(Another photo from the web.) These churches and many more are so very beautiful.  There is virtually nothing in Toronto that even comes close.  But that is the rub.

I have heard many people say that one of the chief reasons why people have stopped going to church because modern churches are so ugly.  These churches are staggering in their beauty. If beauty were enough to bring people back to the Mass, the these churches would be filled to overflowing, day in and day out. And yet, they are empty.  Many of the churches in Montreal have closed or will be closing soon.  Notre Dame offers concerts and guided tours.  People will pay money to go and see that church, but few will go to a Mass there for free.

Pray for the people and the Church in Montreal.