Chapelle du Séminaire reopens after years of restoration
Cassandra Kerwin, Local Journalism Initiative reporter
cassandra@qctonline.com
As churches close and are torn down throughout the city and province, one has been saved, restored and reopened after being deconsecrated in 1992. After three years of restoration costing $5.2 million, the Centre de Conservation du Québec (CCQ) and the Musée de la Civilisation de Québec (MCQ) reopened the Chapelle du Séminaire de Québec on Dec. 10.
“What a joy it is to be able to return the Chapelle du Séminaire de Québec to the community, which will be able to appreciate all of its artistic beauty and historical significance through a rich pro- gramme of cultural mediation activities,” said Julie Lemieux, the newly appointed director general of the MCQ. “I would like to salute the remark- able professionalism of the conservation and restoration specialists who have pooled their knowledge to ensure that this jewel of religious heritage remains sustainable for cur- rent and future generations.”
The conservation team had quite a task ahead of them when they started in the autumn of 2021. Besides the customary work done on a historic building, they also had to remove the traces of 90 years of daily use of incense, candles and tapers during religious celebrations. This was the CCQ’s largest project since its foundation in 1979. After three years of meticulous and innovative work and $5.2 million, the chapel has regained its original character, colours and shine. The final detail came from Quebec actor Roland Lepage, a major backer of the project, who restored its original name: Chapelle du Séminaire de Québec.
According to the MCQ, the current chapel was opened to worship in 1900, on the ruins of a much older chapel – built in 1753 – that had been destroyed by fire in 1888. Architect Joseph-Ferdinand Peachy (1830- 1903) redesigned it with certain improvements designed to make it more fire-resistant. For example, the trompe-l’oeil motifs of the ceilings, walls and columns were painted on sheet metal rather than wood. Upon closer inspection of the interior, visitors will discover that not everything is an illusion. The high and secondary altars are sculpted from white marble. The limited amount of wood is red cherry. The parquet consists of tiles from England. These details come together nicely to create an eclectic, busy and very colourful Second Empire-inspired decor.
The chapel is steeped in Quebec City’s rich architectural history: stained glass win- dows by Wallace J. Fisher from the Bernard Leonard workshop, gilded busts, a 1930 Casavant Organ and a replica of the 1753 Richard organ from Paris, originally made for the Cathedral-Basilica Notre Dame de Québec (which burnt in 1759 during the Conquest), and an alcove dedicated to Mgr. François de Laval, the founding father of Catholicism in New France, who had a chapel built on or near this site. When the chapel was deconsecrated, his remains were transferred to the adjacent basilica.
Now that the chapel is refurbished and restored, it also has a new vocation. The MCQ and the CCQ have a concert program lined up. On Dec. 21, the Solstice des insoumis will merge Scandinavian and Quebec music celebrating the winter solstice and Christmas under the direction of Gabrielle Bouthillier. Details can be found at mcq.org/decouvrir/activites/le-solstice-des-insoumis.