St. Patrick's Basilica

Better known as "The Irish Church," the Basilica is a fine evocation of the Gothic style of the 14th and 15th centuries. It is characterized by its huge pine columns, the oak carving in the nave as well as the carved pulpit and choir loft.

The Irish started arriving to Montréal in large numbers around 1817 and, by 1824, the original places of worship, Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours Chapel and later Église des Récollets de Montréal, could no longer accommodate them. They needed their own church. Land was purchased on what was, at the time, the outskirts of Montréal on a slope overlooking the homes of the Irish in Griffintown, Pointe-Saint-Charles and Goose Village near the Victoria Bridge. Construction of St. Patrick's Basilica commenced in 1843 and the first mass was celebrated on March 17, 1847. On March 17, 1989, Pope John Paul II promoted the church to a minor basilica, and it is now a historical monument, recognized by the Québec and Canadian governments.