The cathedral was classified as historical monument by the Government of Quebec in 1984.[1]
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 by the French King. 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 in 1923.[2]
The Parish 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.
The architects Henri-Maurice Perrault and Albert Mesnard wanted the cathedral to be of great volume. The same architects built the church's altar, combining fine stones with the hardest stone. The Québécois sculptor, Louis-Philippe Hébert, 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 74 metres (243 ft) long, 41 metres (135 ft) wide and 81 metres (266 ft) high. Louis Jobin renovated the church in 1930. The roof, which had been covered in steel, was restored in 1999 using 60,000 pounds (27,000 kg) of copper. Further restoration work is planned.[3][4]
Functions
Mass is ordinarily celebrated twice Monday to Friday, once Saturday, and four times Sunday. The Confessionals 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 churchwardens 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.
Priests
Inside the cathedral, there is a plaque listing all the priests in the parish's history.