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Three historic churches in Upper Town (Haute-Ville) of the UNESCO World Heritage city of Québec caught my eye during my visit.
Cathedral of the Holy Trinity
Along Sainte-Anne Street (Rue Sainte-Anne) is the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity. Built in 1804, it was the first Anglican cathedral constructed outside of the British Isles. I stopped in for a few minutes to take a look.
Ursuline Convent
I then continued on to the Ursuline Convent (Couvent Ursulines). It was founded in 1639 by Mother Marie de l’Incarnation (1599-1672), who is also entombed in a room next to the chapel. The convent is the oldest institution of learning for women in North America. The chapel was originally built in 1723 and replaced in 1902. There’s a museum costing CAD$16 per person (as of February 2024), but I decided to forego that and only visit the chapel.
Notre-Dame de Québec
The third and most impressive of the churches I visited is Notre-Dame de Québec, the seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Québec. It’s located on Place Hôtel de Ville and is the parish church of the oldest parish in North America north of Mexico.
The original church was built in 1647 but was twice destroyed by fire. The current church was completed in 1843 and contains the tomb of François de Laval (1623-1708), the first Bishop of New France, who was canonized as a saint in the Catholic Church on April 3, 2014. The museum and crypt are currently closed to the public (as of February 2024).
Petit Séminaire
Next to the church is the Petit Séminaire, a seminary founded in 1668 by François de Laval. Once educating clergy to prepare them for ministry in parishes as far away as Louisiana, it now functions as a Roman Catholic secondary school. The huge complex is also the location of the Archbishop’s Palace, built in 1847.
