Montréal's churches are hotspots of music and culture
On his 1881 visit to Montréal, American writer Mark Twain exclaimed, “you couldn’t throw a brick without hitting a church window!” And while at the time of Twain’s visit all those churches were used primarily for worship, in today’s Montréal these patrimonial landmarks, many preserved as national historic sites, have taken on a multipurpose role in the city’s cultural scene. From orchestral performances to rock concerts, artisanal fairs to epic parties, Montréal’s churches are true hotspots of music and culture.
The Notre-Dame Basilica towers over Old Montréal
The city’s most iconic church is Notre-Dame Basilica, one of Montréal’s most iconic and visited National Historic Sites of Canada in the heart of Old Montréal’s stately Place d’Armes. This beautiful two-towered Gothic Revival-style basilica built in the 1820s (replacing the smaller Notre-Dame parish church built there in 1672), was promoted to the rank of Minor Basilica by Pope Paul II in 1982. And while it’s still a working church with daily mass and religions celebrations taking a primary role on its calendar, Notre-Dame Basilica is also home to Moment Factory’s eye-popping immersive AURA Experience and host to concerts throughout the year including renditions of Handel’s epic Messiah and the annual CIOC Grand Organ Festival that shows off the full range of the 7,000 pipe Great Casavant Organs installed in 1891.
The Mariner’s Chapel made famous in song
Referred to in Leonard Cohen’s classic ‘Suzanne’, the Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours Chapel overlooks the Montréal harbour and the Saint Lawrence River. Topped with towering twin angels carrying horns and the statuesque Our Lady of the Harbour statue with arms outstretched towards the water, Montréal’s oldest chapel has welcomed visitors for over 350 years since its construction in 1771. Also home to the Marguerite-Bourgeoys Museum with its unmissable rooftop viewpoint up high with the angels, the Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours Chapel offers a strong dose of Montréal culture and music alongside its historical role. Choral groups like Les Choralies's annual performances, the perfect date night renditions of Candlelight Concerts and the mighty Montréal Bach Festival keep audiences entertained and enthralled by the chapel’s beautiful surroundings and acoustics.
The Saint Joseph’s Oratory on Mount Royal
Perched on the highest point in Montréal, the massive dome of Saint Joseph’s Oratory of Mount Royal, the third largest of its kind, is one of the world’s great modern Catholic churches and an internationally noted historic site. Whether walking up the more than 300 outdoor steps to the church doors or entering via the modern entrance equipped with escalators and lifts, the Oratory beckons visitors ever upwards. Following an epic construction process between 1924 and 1966, the oratory now welcomes two-million annual visitors to mass, its museum of sacred art and is the home of its founder Saint Brother André’s relics including his heart. Classical and contemporary concerts round out the oratory's cultural offerings, including Sunday organ concerts, carillon recitals and special musical events throughout the year.
St. James United Church is ½ church, ½ cabaret
Busy Sainte-Catherine Street not only offers some of Montréal’s best shopping, but is also home to the stately Victorian Neo-gothic-inspired French cathedral St. James United Church, built between the years 1887 and 1889 and designated a Canadian National Historic Monument. The Montreal People's Gospel Choir and Au choeur du centre-ville regularly fill the archways with song, while the church's converted Dawson Room houses the classy cabaret music hall Le Balcon, fusing New York cabaret with Parisian dinner-theatre running the musical gamut from Motown to disco and back. And for services or concerts, large rainbow flags welcome visitors through the high epic doorways.
The Red Roof Church is full of surprises
One of the Quartier des Spectacles’ most iconic buildings, the brightly coloured crimson roof of The Church of St. John the Evangelist (referred to as the Red Roof Church by locals) hosts a wide range of indie music concerts including memorable performances from the likes of Mt. Eerie and Julie Doiron to more experimental artists including Moor Mother and Yves Tumor. The church’s choir is also noted for its focus on 16th and 17th century polyphony and plainsong, appearing at 85 events per year.
The Christ Church Cathedral and Church of St. Andrew and St. Paul in the heart of Downtown Montréal
Nestled between high-rises and shopping malls, the neo-gothic Christ Church Cathedral has stood amid the downtown hustle-bustle since 1859. The official seat of the Anglican Diocese of Montréal, the church also hosts a popular weekly concert series of classical and traditional folk music presented by L’Oasis Musicale. Nearby, the Presbyterian Gothic Revival style Church of St. Andrew and St. Paul presents sacred music on Sundays, as well as Christmas concerts, the church’s celebrated in-house choir, musicians from the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal and the popular long-running CBC Christmas Sing-in.
The Église du Gesù offers some of Montréal’s best live sound
Smack dab in the heart of the action on Place des Festivals on de Bleury Street, Église du Gesù houses a 425-seat amphitheatre that’s noted as one of the city’s most acoustically excellent spaces. Initially built in 1865 and renovated extensively in 1992, both the chapel and amphitheatre act as year-round venues for concerts, comedy shows and theatre presentations in partnership with the Festival International de Jazz de Montréal, Mundial Montréal and MONTRÉAL EN LUMIÈRE. More than just one of Montréal’s oldest baroque churches, Le Gesù hosts an inspiring lineup of international musicians, comedians and performances.
Circus in the cathedral of Cabaret Le Monastère!
For something a little different, some of Montréal’s most awe-inspiring circus talent earns their stripes in the elegant cabaret atmosphere of Cabaret Le Monastère, located in the 19th-century neo-Gothic Espace Jax (formerly St James the Apostle Anglican Church). And until you’ve experienced acrobatics in the soaring archways of a church, you ain’t really seen anything yet!
The pop patramonie of the Plateau’s multi-use churches
Originally constructed in 1872 and rebuilt in 1912 following a fire, the Plateau-Mont-Royal’s Saint-Jean-Baptiste Church is the third largest church in Montréal (after Notre-Dame Basilica and Saint Joseph's Oratory). The church hosts classical, new music, literary events, gospel, pop and rock concerts in three sumptuous event spaces including the main church with its airy space and stained-glass windows, and the Chapelle Saint-Louis for more intimate performances.
On the corner of Saint-Laurent Boulevard and Laurier Avenue, the Église Saint-Enfant-Jésus du Mile-End is one of the city’s most beautiful, playing host to concerts including world music gathering Festival des musiciens du monde in its main hall and artisanal craft fairs and even voguing events in its large basement space. Housed in the adjacent former seminary, the Centre des musiciens du monde offers classes and workshops for those interested in international music and many of their events featuring musicians from every corner of the world are held in the church next door.
The Plateau’s churches are also home base for several of Montréal’s most beloved artisanal markets, featuring locally designed homewares, jewelry, clothing, accessories, art and more including the designer craft fair Puces POP's annual events at Église Saint-Denis (presented by the annual indie music festival Pop Montréal, who also hosts special concerts at several churches each September), right across from Laurier metro.
Classical music in classical Montréal settings
Along with the Bach Festival at Notre-Dame-De-Bon-Secours Chapel, multiple classical music festivals utilize the heavenly acoustics of local church spaces throughout the year. The CIOC Grand Organ Festival features concerts throughout September and October at Saint Joseph's Oratory, the Montreal Grand Seminary, Christ Church Cathedral and several other holy spaces. Every June, the Montreal Chamber Music Festival presents more than 300 concerts by musicians from Canada and abroad at several venues including Bourgie Concert Hall at the Montréal Museum of Fine Arts, formerly the Erskine and American United Church built in 1894, adored with 20 stained-glass windows by Tiffany & Co. Bourgie Hall also hosts numerous concerts and workshops throughout the year, including classical, new music and jazz events. And there’s also the Montréal Baroque Festival, presenting concerts by local and international musicians in the Madonna della Defesa Church in Little Italy, various cafés and outdoors in Philips Square.
Explore more of sacred Montréal
Built in 1933 on the Loyola College campus in the neighbourhood of Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, Concordia University's Loyola Chapel hosts community art and cultural events as well as music concerts from community choir groups including the Lyric Theatre Singers. Further to the south in the neighbourhood of Ville-Émard, Théâtre Paradoxe transformed the Church of Our Lady of Perpetual Help into a multipurpose venue in 2014, retaining the stained glass windows and original woodwork while upgrading to host concerts and theatrical performances of all kinds with a focus on eco-responsibility. And finally, just across the road from the leafy forest paths of Mount Royal Park, the Mount Royal Cemetery founded in 1852 is one of the oldest rural cemeteries in North America—not to mention the site of the first Crematorium in Canada—and also a fitting setting for Repercussion Theatre's annual Shakespeare in the Park performances.
Mark Hamilton
Mark Hamilton is the community director for QueerMTL, an internationally-touring musician with his projects Woodpigeon and Frontperson and a graduate studies student of history researching LGBTQ+ activism in the city. He’s lived in Montréal since 2015, during which time he’s most often spotted atop a BIXI bike usally running a few minutes late.