The Co-Cathedral of Saint-Antoine-de-Padoue () is a

co-cathedral A co-cathedral is a cathedral church which shares the function of being a bishop's seat, or ''cathedra'', with another cathedral, often in another city (usually a former see, anchor city of the metropolitan area or the civil capital). Instances o ...

Longueuil Longueuil () is a city in the province of Quebec, Canada. It is the seat of the Montérégie, Montérégie administrative region and the central city of the urban agglomeration of Longueuil. It sits on the South Shore (Montreal), south shore o ...

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

, Canada, on

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

's south shore. It is located on the corner of Rue Saint-Charles and Chemin Chambly in the Borough of

Le Vieux-Longueuil Le Vieux-Longueuil (, ) is a borough in the city of Longueuil. From 2002 to 2006, Le Vieux-Longueuil borough stood for what used to be the city of Longueuil from 1969 to 2002. The former city of Longueuil was composed of 3 cities merged in the 1 ...

. It is dedicated to St.

Anthony of Padua Anthony of Padua, Order of Friars Minor, OFM, (; ; ) or Anthony of Lisbon (; ; ; born Fernando Martins de Bulhões; 15 August 1195 – 13 June 1231) was a Portuguese people, Portuguese Catholic priest and member of the Order of Friars Minor. ...

. The cathedral houses the remains of the

Blessed Blessed may refer to: * The state of having received a blessing * Blessed, a title assigned by the Roman Catholic Church to someone who has been beatified * Blessed, a saint title assigned by the Eastern Orthodox Church to various saints, typical ...

Marie-Rose Durocher, the foundress of the

Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary The Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary (Soeurs des Saints Noms de Jésus et de Marie) is a teaching religious institute founded at Longueuil, Québec, Canada, in 1843 by Blessed Mother Marie Rose Durocher for the Christian education of ...

. Its episcopal region is Longueuil-Nord.

Lionel Gendron Lionel may refer to: Name * Lionel (given name) Places * Lionel, Lewis, a village in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland * Lionel Town, Jamaica, a settlement Brands and enterprises * Lionel, LLC, an American designer and importer of toy trains and mode ...

, the

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

, has a

cathedra A ''cathedra'' is the throne of a bishop in the early Christian basilica. When used with this meaning, it may also be called the bishop's throne. With time, the related term ''cathedral'' became synonymous with the "seat", or principa ...

sculpted in

walnut A walnut is the edible seed of any tree of the genus '' Juglans'' (family Juglandaceae), particularly the Persian or English walnut, '' Juglans regia''. They are accessory fruit because the outer covering of the fruit is technically an i ...

. Before the reign of

Bernard Hubert Bernard (''Bernhard'') is a French and West Germanic masculine given name. It has West Germanic origin and is also a surname. The name is attested from at least the 9th century. West Germanic ''Bernhard'' is composed from the two elements ''bern ...

, it was simply a parish church. The cathedral was classified as

historical monument A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, historical ...

by the Government of Quebec in 1984.

History

The site contains the archaeological remains of Fort Longueuil, a fort constructed between 1685 and 1690 as the fortified residence of Charles le Moyne de Longueuil, the only Canadian-born person to be raised to the rank of

Baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often Hereditary title, hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than ...

by the

French King France was ruled by monarchs from the establishment of the kingdom of West Francia in 843 until the end of the Second French Empire in 1870, with several interruptions. Classical French historiography usually regards Clovis I, king of the Fra ...

. The fort was demolished in 1810 and the cathedral contains stone building materials and elements salvaged from the fort. The site of the fort was designated a

National Historic Site of Canada National Historic Sites of Canada () are places that have been designated by the federal Minister of the Environment on the advice of the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada (HSMBC), as being of national historic significance. Parks C ...

in 1923. The

Parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

of Saint-Antoine-de-Padoue was founded in 1698, and is one of the oldest in Canada. The present cathedral building was largely built from 1884 to 1887, although it was not completed until 1911. It is the third church in the history of Longueuil, the first being completed in 1811. Saint-Antoine-de-Padoue was designated as a co-cathedral in 1982 when the Roman Catholic Diocese of Saint-Jean-de-Québec was renamed the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Saint-Jean-Longueuil Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of Roman civilization * Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter ...

. The

Cathedral of Saint-Jean-l'Évangéliste The Cathedral of Saint-Jean-l'Évangéliste (St. John the Evangelist) is the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Saint-Jean-Longueuil in Canada. It is located in the city of Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec. History The cathedral was founded as a ...

has been the primary cathedral of the diocese since its establishment in 1933. A funeral was held for

Jean-Pierre Côté Joseph Julien Jean-Pierre Côté (January 9, 1926 – July 10, 2002) was a Canadian parliamentarian and the 23rd Lieutenant Governor of Quebec. Early life Born in Montreal, Quebec, the son of Émile Côté and Cédia Roy, he studied to be ...

, the 23rd

Lieutenant Governor of Quebec The lieutenant governor of Quebec (; , ) is the representative in Quebec of the monarch, who Monarchy in Quebec, operates distinctly within the province but is also shared equally with the Canadian federalism, ten other jurisdictions of Canada. T ...

, on July 17, 2002. In 2005, that the faithful of the diocese paid tribute to

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

, following his death. They also wished a happy pontificate to his successor,

Pope Benedict XVI Pope BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until his resignation on 28 February 2013. Benedict's election as p ...

, during a special

vigil A vigil, from the Latin meaning 'wakefulness' ( Greek: , or ), is a period of purposeful sleeplessness, an occasion for devotional watching, or an observance. The Italian word has become generalized in this sense and means 'eve' (as in "on t ...

attended by the

as well as a local congregation of Filipino

Religious Sisters A religious sister (abbreviated: Sr.) in the Catholic Church is a woman who has taken public vows in a religious institute dedicated to apostolic works, as distinguished from a nun who lives a cloistered monastic life dedicated to prayer and lab ...

Architecture

The cathedral was constructed in the

Gothic revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half ...

style of architecture, while the dome is an example of

Byzantine Revival architecture Neo-Byzantine architecture (also referred to as Byzantine Revival) was a revival movement, most frequently seen in religious, institutional and public buildings. It incorporates elements of the Byzantine style associated with Eastern and Or ...

. The architects Henri-Maurice Perrault and

Albert Mesnard Albert may refer to: Companies * Albert Computers, Inc., a computer manufacturer in the 1980s * Albert Czech Republic, a supermarket chain in the Czech Republic * Albert Heijn, a supermarket chain in the Netherlands * Albert Market, a street mark ...

wanted the cathedral to be of great volume. The same architects built the church's

altar An altar is a table or platform for the presentation of religion, religious offerings, for sacrifices, or for other ritualistic purposes. Altars are found at shrines, temples, Church (building), churches, and other places of worship. They are use ...

, combining fine stones with the hardest stone. The Québécois sculptor,

Louis-Philippe Hébert Louis-Philippe Hébert (; 27 January 1850 – 13 June 1917) was a Canadian sculptor. He is considered one of the best sculptors of his generation. Career Hébert was the son of Théophile Hébert, a farmer, and Julie Bourgeois of Ste-Sophie d ...

, contributed to the cathedral's facade, by creating three sculptures out of wood, covered in metal. The church was constructed at a cost of $98,895 by Eugène Fournier dit Préfontaine, an entrepreneur, farmer and carpenter. The cathedral is very large, measuring long, wide and high.

Louis Jobin Louis may refer to: People * Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name * Louis (surname) * Louis (singer), Serbian singer Other uses * Louis (coin), a French coin * HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy See also * ...

renovated the church in 1930. The roof, which had been covered in steel, was restored in 1999 using of

copper Copper is a chemical element; it has symbol Cu (from Latin ) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pinkish-orang ...

. Further restoration work is planned.

Functions

Mass Mass is an Intrinsic and extrinsic properties, intrinsic property of a physical body, body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the physical quantity, quantity of matter in a body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physi ...

is ordinarily celebrated twice Monday to Friday, once Saturday, and four times Sunday. The

Confessional A confessional is a box, cabinet, booth, or stall where the priest from some Christian denominations sits to hear the confessions of a penitent's sins. It is the traditional venue for the sacrament in the Roman Catholic Church and the Luther ...

s are normally ready fifteen minutes before mass. Around one third of the cathedral is full for weekend services, while it is less than one sixth full during the week. There are approximately 9,400 Roman Catholics in the parish. The

churchwarden A churchwarden is a lay official in a parish or congregation of the Anglican Communion, Lutheran Churches or Catholic Church, usually working as a part-time volunteer. In the Anglican tradition, holders of these positions are ''ex officio'' mem ...

s regularly organize fundraising campaigns to proceed with renovations to the cathedral as well as for the parish's rectory. Part of the cathedral's crypt holds the graves of the Le Moyne and Grant families, affiliated with the title of

Baron de Longueuil Baron de Longueuil () is a title of French nobility that was granted originally by King Louis XIV of France to a Norman military officer, Charles le Moyne de Longueuil. Its continuing recognition since the cession of Canada by France to Britai ...

Priests

Inside the cathedral, there is a plaque listing all the priests in the parish's history.

References

External links

Official website of the parish

Website of Vigilia Saint Antoine

Cocathédrale Saint-Antoine-de-Padoue. La recherche d'une volumétrie expressive par Denyse Légaré (publié sur le site du Conseil du patrimoine religieux du Québec

{{in lang, fr Buildings and structures in Longueuil Saint Antoine Gothic Revival church buildings in Canada Roman Catholic churches completed in 1911 Heritage buildings of Quebec Churches in Montérégie 20th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Canada