Cathedral of Saint-Jean-l'Évangéliste facts for kids

The Cathedral of Saint-Jean-l'Évangéliste (which means St. John the Evangelist) is a very important church in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec, Canada. It is the main church for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Saint-Jean-Longueuil, which is like a large church district.

History of the Cathedral

Building the First Church

The story of the cathedral began in 1828. At that time, it was built as a simple parish church. A parish church serves the local community. Before this church was built, people in the area had to travel about 50 kilometers (30 miles) to Montreal for church services. They even had to cross the Iroquois River!

After about 30 years, the first church needed a lot of repairs. So, people decided it was time to build a brand new one.

A Bigger and Better Church

In the 1850s, the town of Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu was growing. There was more trade happening on the river. Because of this growth, people wanted a bigger and more impressive church.

Construction on the new church started in 1861 and took five years to finish. The architect who designed it was Victor Bourgeau. The inside of the church was designed by Napoléon Bourassa. The new church was built facing a different street, Rue Longueuil. Later, in 1923, the front of the church and its tall steeple were repaired and updated.

Becoming a Cathedral

In June 1933, the church became even more important. The area around Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu was separated from the larger Archdiocese of Montreal. It became its own new church district, called the Diocese of Saint-Jean-de-Québec.

When this happened, the church was chosen to be the main church, or cathedral, for this new diocese. In 1982, the diocese changed its name to the one it has today. Another church, the Church of Saint-Antoine-de-Padoue, was also named a co-cathedral. This was to help serve the northern part of the diocese.

Today, the Cathedral of Saint-Jean-l'Évangéliste serves the southwest part of the diocese. It now includes areas from five other churches that have closed. These churches closed because they needed too many repairs or had financial problems.

Images for kids

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  A panoramic view of the Félix-Gabriel-Marchand monument, the Deland building with its Champlain mural, and a side view of the Cathedral of Saint-Jean-l'Évangéliste on the right.

See also

In Spanish: Catedral de San Juan Evangelista (Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu) para niños