Rue de Courcelle, corner Saint-Jacques, Summer 2007
Rue de Courcelle, corner Saint-Jacques, Spring 2008
A statue of Jesus has been removed from the front yard of the abandoned Ste Elizabeth Church in Saint-Henri.
Demolition of the abandoned church as been in the works ever since the Catholic church sold the buildings 3 years ago. Although the 1950s era church is not much to look at, a 2006 report (pdf) by the Conseil du Patrimoine de Montreal was not in favour of demolition, citing architectural and potential archaeological value.
The following spring, the church was mysteriously, and repeatedly, set aflame and the building is no longer in a condition to be re-used or recycled. Kristian blogged on Coolopolis a few weeks ago that the church is slated to be torn down in April 2008 to make way for residential development, including social housing.
Meanwhile, I wonder whether there is a system to recycle all the religious ornaments that are removed from abandoned and converted churches around the city…
2 comments
I used to work as an archivist for the Anglican church, and as far as I know, there isn’t a system for recycling religious ornaments (or dedication plaques, or stained glass, or….). That takes money, you see. And an army of dedicated workers. Contrary to popular public opinion (at least from some of the crazies I’ve encountered), churches are NOT rolling in cash. At least their archives’ certainly are not.
However, this organization is doing a good job of keeping religious heritage alive in Quebec:
http://www.patrimoine-religieux.qc.ca/
I was worried to that that statue wasn’t there suddenly,as I pass by (and visit the church) quite often.
A friend of mine saw it being removed.He told me that it was something to see…hard work of men using a crane etc…but unfirtunately he didn’t remember neither exactly when neither what was the company doing the “removal”…Too bad !
It’s funny I posted about it somewhere with the same title !