Sainte-Jeanne-de-Chantal (Île Perrot)
| Église Sainte-Jeanne-de-Chantal | |
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 Église Sainte-Jeanne-de-Chantal
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| 45°20′58″N 73°54′06″W / 45.3494°N 73.9017°WCoordinates: 45°20′58″N 73°54′06″W / 45.3494°N 73.9017°W | |
| Country | Canada |
| Denomination | Catholic |
| Website | www |
| Specifications | |
| Materials | Concrete |
| Administration | |
| Parish | Sainte-Jeanne-de-Chantal |
| Diocese | Roman Catholic Diocese of Valleyfield |
Sainte-Jeanne-de-Chantal is a Catholic church on the Île Perrot to the west of the island of Montreal in the Canadian province of Quebec. Built in 1773–74, it is one of the oldest surviving rural churches in North America.
The church is located on a promontory of the Île Perrot, on a bluff overlooking the Saint Lawrence River, known as the Cataraqui River by the original inhabitants. It lies in the municipality of Notre-Dame-de-l'Île-Perrot, and faces the town of Beauharnois to the south. The bell tower serves as a navigation aid. It is one of the ten oldest rural religious foundations in North America. The church is dedicated to Saint Jane Frances de Chantal to honor the devotion of the Seigneuresse Jeanne-Françoise Cullerier for that saint.
The Île Perrot was granted to François-Marie Perrot by Jean Talon in 1672. From then until 1721 it was part of the Pointe-Claire parish, but residents often traveled to the nearer parish of Sainte-Anne du Bout (now Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue) for religious services. Either way, they had to go by canoe. A small chapel was built on the island in 1743. This soon proved too small for the growing population, and in 1753 the seigneur Jean-Baptiste Leduc granted the site on which the present church was built. Construction did not start until 1773, and was completed in August 1774. Work continued until 1783. The original church was rectangular, with roughly the same dimensions as the present nave, ending in a semi-circular apse. The exterior walls were built of red ocher sandstone masonry. In 1838 they were covered in cement, which was repaired several times afterwards.
At first the parish was served by a visiting priest, then in 1789 a resident priest came to live permanently on the island. The "syndics", or representatives of the parishioners, gradually acquired furniture, paintings and sacred vessels. The building was enlarged in 1812. The tower was installed in 1842, with the first bell, and in 1848 the church was enlarged on the side of the sacristy. The sacristy was burned down in 1852 and rebuilt in 1853. The bell tower was struck by lightening in 1863, and was not repaired for two years. In 1864 the cedar shingles that covered the church and sacristy roof were replaced with sheet metal.
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Wikipedia