Almost two years to the day after the recognition of its heritage value, the Church of the Très-Saint-Sacrement, in the district of the same name, still does not look like much. One of its bell towers is still wrapped, and its surroundings are fenced for security reasons.
But this does not mean that the file is standing still, assure those who want to save it, now grouped within the new parish of Saint-Pierre-Julien-Eymard. On the contrary.
“It’s progressing, but just not in the public eye,” summarizes Bertrand Gemme, a churchwarden of the parish created tailor-made for the Church of the Très-Saint-Sacrement. “But we are certainly not in neutral!” insists the man who is also president of the neighborhood council.
After commissioning several analyzes and reports, administrators say they are now ready to officially launch a call for tenders for priority works. A “matter of weeks”, they say.
We want to tackle emergency repairs this fall, if not at the beginning of 2025, starting with the impressive church bell towers, partly wrapped with ribbon.
The church bell towers are at the top of the list of emergency works that will have to take place in the coming years. (Yan Doublet/Archives Le Soleil)
The work should be largely financed by the four million offered by Quebec when the church was classified. “But you watch the news like me,” slips churchwarden Pierre Blais, who fears that inflation will increase the bill.
The basement will soon reopen
Even if the nave of Très-Saint-Sacrement will not reopen its doors in the medium term, a significant part of the church could be given back to the community in the coming months.
The church basement is almost ready to welcome the public and community organizations, as it has for decades.
Administrators are considering reopening in the fall, “around” the months of September and October.
The interior of the Church of the Most Holy Sacrament, currently inaccessible to the public. (Yan Doublet/Archives Le Soleil)
In addition to allowing the parish to raise a little money, the reopening of the basement will allow the community to reinvest the throne church in the heart of the Saint-Sacrement district, explains churchwarden Pierre Blais.
“The basement has always been used a lot, whether by Saint-Vincent-de-Paul, the soup kitchen, etc.,” he says. It’s a very large space where you can do a lot of things […] And we can think that it will be available in the short term.
“It’s definitely not glamorous, but it’s very important for the neighborhood.”
— Pierre Blais, warden of the Church of the Most Holy Sacrament
However, impatient people who want to see a project take shape in the Church of the Most Holy Sacrament will be disappointed. We are still a long way from being done on this issue, agrees Mr. Blais, who also participates in the church requalification committee and the Saint-Sacrement Community Space group.
The committee recently highlighted the interior of the church by displaying photos on the fences surrounding the building. (Caroline Grégoire/The Sun)
They hope to obtain $100,000 from the Quebec Religious Heritage Council to analyze the different possible users for the future of the church. “This will then allow us to move towards a more complete business plan,” explains Pierre Blais. “You know, Rome wasn’t built in a day!”
In the meantime, they will be able to observe the interior of the neighborhood church on the large banners installed on the fence which blocks the land.
Mainly “poutine” for two years
In interview at Sun, churchwardens Blais and Gemme agreed that since the church was classified in 2022, little has changed on the ground. Most of the steps taken were administrative, with the Ministry of Culture, the City of Quebec and the Diocese of Quebec.
“The work was done from below, so it is not very concrete for the population of the neighborhood,” summarizes Bertrand Gemme. But I guarantee that there is a lot of work that the world does not see,” he attests.
“Since the classification, we have done a lot of internal and bureaucratic poutine.”
— Bertrand Gemme, president of the council of Quartier Saint-Sacrement and churchwarden
The church parking lot is a modest Source of funding to administer and maintain the church. (Caroline Grégoire/The Sun)
In particular, it was necessary to proceed with the proper creation of the parish, the Diocese having decided to isolate the Church of the Most Holy Sacrament in a new entity “in order to free itself from financial risk” while keeping the church and its land within its borders.
Administrators also claim to have had to navigate a host of government processes to obtain certain powers, particularly financial ones.
MM. Gemme and Blais, however, agree: all their partners have demonstrated a real desire to advance the issue of the Church of the Most Holy Sacrament. “Particularly in Quebec City,” they emphasize.
