By Ruby Pratka
Local Journalism Initiative
The fate of the Villa Châteauneuf in Sutton will come before a judge in Cowansville on Jan. 28.
The former convent and religious retreat centre, run for decades by the Catholic Church-affiliated Foyers de la Charité, has sat empty since September 2023, after the church shut down the Foyers de la Charité network. The nonprofit which currently oversees the Villa, Villa Châteauneuf Inc., hopes to rent it out to La Passerelle, a Montérégie-based nonprofit which operates a centre for women dealing with substance abuse. Sutton Mayor Robert Benoit has previously announced the town’s intention to use its right of preemption to take the facility over and use it as a community centre. The diocese of Saint-Hyacinthe has also signalled its intention to get involved in the case, alleging that the nonprofit does not have a legitimate right to control the building.
Lawyer Benoit Chabot of Chabot Delorme represents Villa Châteauneuf. He plans to ask the court to grant a temporary occupancy permit so that La Passerelle can use the 25-acre property while other legal questions surrounding its fate and the diocese’s involvement are resolved. “There are many things that can delay the trial; it can take two years or more [before a final verdict is reached].” He says that if the building stays unoccupied during that time, it’s likely to become uninsurable. “We want the building to be occupied to minimize the prejudice [to the building].” Chabot said he hopes the permit will be granted in the days following the hearing, to allow La Passerelle to move its operations to the villa as soon as possible.
“All the criteria [for the granting of an occupancy permit] are met — the request has been filled out, the payment has been made, the fire safety and security verifications have been made,” he added. “The town’s lawyer said there was no other reason to refuse the permit other than the opposition of the diocese.”
In November, the diocese formally requested to be party to the case, despite an earlier indication from the papal delegate of the Foyers de la Charité that the Catholic Church would not intervene. The diocese also sent a mise en demeure to the town of Sutton, asking it not to grant the occupancy permit. Chabot did not go into detail about the diocese’s concerns about the nonprofit’s legitimacy. “We obviously believe [those concerns] are unfounded,” he said. The BCN was unable to reach a representative of the Diocese of St-Hyacinthe before press time despite repeated attempts.
Villa Châteauneuf vice president Victor Marchand said he hoped the judge would grant the temporary permit quickly, although “it’s his prerogative to take the time he needs.”
“If La Passerelle can’t move in and occupy the building, there are a lot of things at stake – insurability, maintenance, heating. If we don’t get revenue at some point in a relatively short period of time, we won’t be able to maintain it … this will determine for months and possibly years to come what we’ll be able to do with the place,” he said.
The town of Sutton and its lawyer declined to comment on the case. La Passerelle executive director Amélie Lemieux was unavailable for comment.