Archbishop of Quebec

Archdiocese of Québec Archidioecesis Quebecensis Archidiocèse de Québec
Coat of Arms of the Archdiocese of Québec
Location
Country	Canada
Territory	Quebec City
Ecclesiastical province	Quebec
Metropolitan	Quebec City, Quebec
Statistics
Area	35,180 km2 (13,580 sq mi)
Population - Total - Catholics	(as of 2014) 1,226,493 1,062,746 (86.6%)
Parishes	207
Information
Denomination	Roman Catholic
Rite	Roman Rite
Established	12 January 1658; 359 years ago
Cathedral	Notre-Dame de Québec Cathedral
Patron saint	St. Ann
Secular priests	737
Current leadership
Pope	Francis
Archbishop	Gérald Lacroix
Auxiliary Bishops	Louis Corriveau, Marc Pelchat
Emeritus Bishops	Maurice Couture
Website
www.ecdq.org

The Archdiocese of Québec (Latin: Archidioecesis Quebecensis; French: Archidiocèse de Québec) is a Catholic archdiocese in Quebec, Canada. Being the first see in the New World north of Mexico, the Archdiocese of Québec is also the primatial see for Canada. The Archdiocese of Québec is also the ecclesiastical provincial for the dioceses of Chicoutimi, Sainte-Anne-de-la-Pocatière and Trois-Rivières. The archdiocese's cathedral is Notre-Dame de Québec Cathedral in Quebec City.

From the beginning of colonisation of the New World, the Church influenced the politics and policies of New France. Even during the first voyages of Jacques Cartier in the 16th Century, missionary priests would accompany the explorers on their voyages to the New World. After two failed attempts to settle in Acadia, in 1608, Québec City was founded by Samuel de Champlain, giving the Church a solid base in which to spread the faith to the Indigenous populations. In 1615, the Recollet missionaries arrived in Québec, followed by the Jesuit missionaries 10 years later. Their presence would help drive the colonies, giving the colonizers a moral reason for their presence, as well as giving the Church an influential position in domestic and local policy. In 1658, the Church would establish an Apostolic Vicariate by Pope Alexander VII, 124 years since the first voyage of Jacques Cartier in 1534. The vicar apostolic was François de Laval. As The vicar apostolic of Québec, Laval was a central member of the Sovereign Council of New France. Arguably, while he was charged with only the spiritual matters of New France, he had the most influence as he was the highest representative of the Church, as well as having excellent relations with King Louis XIV. In 1663, Laval would establish the Seminary of Québec. In 1674, with the population of New France growing rapidly and the Seminary of Québec enrolling more students, Pope Clement X elevated the Apostolic Vicariate to a diocese, which would depend directly on the Holy See; this provision would later secure its permanence after New France passed into the hands of Great Britain in 1760. At its peak, in 1712, the Diocese of Québec covered the entire American continent to the Gulf of Mexico. Only the British colonies that would later become the United States and the Spanish colony of Florida was not under the authority of the Bishop of Quebec.