The saviour is in need of saving. One of Montreal’s last-remaining mid-nineteenth century churches, the Église Saint-Sauveur at the corner of St. Denis and Viger, is threatened by demolition.
Saint-Sauveur was built in 1865, thirteen years after a fire swept through the Faubourg Saint-Laurent, reducing most of it to rubble. What emerged from the ashes of the old suburb was the new bourgeois neighbourhood of Montreal’s francophone elite. New greystone houses and imposing institutional structures rose near Viger Square. In 1895, a branch of Laval University (which would eventually become the Université de Montréal) was built on St. Denis, which cemented the neighbourhood’s role as the centre of francophone intellectual life in Montreal.
In 1922, Saint-Sauveur was sold to a Syrian Catholic congregation. More recently, it was abandoned, left to rot as its stained glass windows, designed by John Patrick O’Shea and Guido Nincheri (the latter responsible for the windows in a number of Montreal’s most iconic churches) were looted. Now the church risks being bulldozed to make way for the construction of the CHUM mega-hospital.
Some might wonder why, in a city with half-empty churches, Saint-Sauveur deserves to be saved. The simple answer is that this church is a testament to a unique period in Montreal’s history: the development of the Latin Quarter in the last half of the nineteenth century.
Much of this neighbourhood’s built heritage has already been destroyed. Viger Square was ransacked by the construction of the Ville Marie Expressway in the late 1960s; road widenings and speculative development also took their toll. Saint-Sauveur functions as a symbol, then: its mere presence is a temporal landmark that gives historical context to the surrounding neighbourhood.
A report commissioned by the CHUM project indicates that, although it would be possible to integrate Saint-Sauveur into the CHUM, such a feat would require at least $14.2 million in restoration and reconstruction costs. That’s a lot of money, but it’s small change compared to the overall cost of the CHUM, which is now pegged at more than $1.5 billion.
I’m sure it’s cliché to say that our heritage is priceless, but it’s true. If we lose the Église Saint-Sauveur, we lose more than just an abandoned church: we lose a tangible connection on our city’s past.
17 comments
As far as I know, the windows weren’t looted but donated to a museum in Ville St-Laurent. I believe a classmate of mine was involved in the project; I will try to get in touch with her to find out where the windows have gone.
I do agree that the church should be preserved, but Montreal architects and developers have a poor history of integrating existing buildings into new structures, especially in cases where the functions of the two buildings are different – take, for instance, the disjointed facade of the Royal George apartments on the side of the library building at Concordia, or the church integrated into UQAM’s campus. If a feasible use for the interior of the building could be found, then every effort should be made for Saint-Sauveur’s preservation; if not, the last thing this city needs is another poorly executed illusion of preservation.
I completely agree that this church needs to be preserved.
At 143 years old I think the cost of preservation in the grand scheme of a 1.5 Billion dollar project is minimal. Even though a lot of the building has been damaged or looted, the old stone structure in the midst of a modern mega hospital would be stunning.
We pride ourselves in being a UNESCO City of Design. Don’t you think we could design a new hospital that doesn’t destroy more of a neighborhood that has already lost so much of it’s architectural heritage.
What can be done do change the plans for the CHUM before it is too late?
Tara, most of the windows were stolen in the summer of 2006. Here’s a Gazette article:
I don’t have much more to say than adding some pictures to this.
http://controleman.wordpress.com/2008/01/04/sauvons-leglise-saint-sauveur/
That is horrible. A friend of mine, of Coptic Christian ancestry, had her funeral at that church. I worked at the CSN labour confederation for many years, when it was at 1001 St-Denis, opposite that beautiful church. It would really be a pity if it couldn’t be recycled. l
you really want to save this Church. then contact montreal priest fr. gruner and ask him about the full Fatima secret it has not been fully made public when it does people will want these churches!!!! there is your answer, if you really want this church preserved! fr. nicolas gruner lives near niagra falls, canada editor of catholic family news
Just visited the site on the weekend, as I am from out of Province. It is a shame that more was not done to preserve the historical aspects and the stained glass windows. I agree with other posters when you are talking a few million in a project that costs over a billion, you can preserve and be innovative. Many other buildings and churches have had their structure incorporated in a larger project, while keeping the architectural and religious aspects intact. However, much needs to be done in the neighbourhood. On that corner I witnessed a pair of very aggressive panhandlers pushing themselves on waiting motorists and pedestrians. Not a good thing.
I’ve been a Delivery Driver in Montreal for two decades. One of the very few buildings in Montreal that continuously impressed me was this church. It has become my favorite church. And I regularly wil go out of my way to get a glipse of it. This past Spring I photograped it’s exrerior. It’s a bloody shame that building wasn’t better protected. But what troubles me is why it left to decay further. Doesn’t the city of montreal feel any disgrace for leaving it in its present condition. And how can the Catholic Church abandon such beautiful archetecture and what it means to a population that is now losing its identity to the masses of immigrants and their own religious beliefs. If the CHUM is ready to invest Billions in a project then it should and could invest thousands into the restoration of its own French Symbolism.
The city of Montreal has been known as the “City of Steeples”. But I fear it will be called the “City of Forgotten Steeples” in the very near future. If i was mayor of this city I would create a Mandate to save our Churches.
If there is a fund to save this church then I would be most interested in knowing.
Salut
Je suis étudiant en conservation du patrimoine et en architecture à l’université de Montréal. Pour mon projet final je cherche a entrer dans l’église. Comme je vois que tu y est arrivé, je me demandais si tu pouvais m’indiquer comment faire.
I knew the owner of this church, and actually LIVED in it full time for about a year and a half. It was the most incredible experience ever. I had access to everything. Although I had to discover people breaking in on a regular basis since no one assumed someone was living there.
this church should be preserved ,,,its up to us to do so,people have to get more involved,its not just a regular old building its a rich historical church ,each time i do pass next to this beautiful church my hart hurt,and i keep thinking about how sad it is that its abandoned
ive always wanted to do something,how can we all help and keep this church ??
L’Église Saint Sauveur should be saved and it is a sacrilege and hypocrisy not to do so with all the money badly used and spend in Montreal. It is part of our culture and history and destroying and not preserving stain glass windows and masterpieces which were done by a Master like Guido Nincheri who is a legend in Canada and in his native country Italy ( knighted by the Pope) is an heresy and a crime… Thank God the de Bothuri collection had works of art by Guido Nincheri, some Tiffany and Canadian Art glass windows and panels which were bought in the sixties and seventies at salvage places among them Tiffany windows from the Palestre Nationale and the Van Horne’s 52 room mansion which was shamelessly torn down by architect Azrieli at Sherbrooke st corner Stanley in the golden square mile under the mayorality of Jean Drapeau to built a modern building today Sofitel Hotel… Holy places should always be respected no matter the rite or religion…churches, temples, synagogues, mosques, since they are sanctuaries for humankind… and Mighty God
Alexandre de Bothuri
Art Historian and Collector
Preservationist
The days of anyone who touches this church will be counted.
Have Eric contact me as I have photographed and interpreted the iconography of the windows just before they were completly vandalized. Secondly: Mr Bothuri I would appreciate if you contact me. I have photographed and catalogued 105 out of 221 churches that were decorated by my grandfather. I have also written extensively on the iconography of the windows and decorations. Roger Nincheri (nincheri@sympatico.ca)
My partner and I made a bid for this church in 1999. We came close to a deal, but it fell apart. We were going to transform it into a place for small, intimate concerts, the acoustics were top notch and the stained glass windows were phenomenal. It would have been quite the venue.
I hope the works of John Patrick O’Shea can be preserved/restored. He was my Great, Great Uncle.
Very proud of his contribution to Montreal, Quebec
Kevin Francis O’Shea,
Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada
Now 2019. The steeple tower and a side of the building has been masterfully incorporated into the Atrium portion and cafeteria of the CHUM complex both providing appropriate function and museum stature eye candy preserving the history. It is stunning. I would say, well done.