Notre-Dame-de-Lorette Church - Wendake, Québec - Canadian National Historic Sites on Waymarking.com

The Huron settlement at Jeune-Lorette was established in 1697, marking the final stage of a long, arduous migration of the Huron nation. The existing church was rebuilt in 1865 on the walls of an older church, the second of the mission, which is believed to date to 1730 and which was used as a model for the present structure. The external simplicity of the church of Notre-Dame-de-Lorette and the austerity of its interior design are typical of mission churches. This building contains objects of great artistic value, some dating back to the 17th century.

Notre-Dame-de-Lorette Church National Historic Site of Canada is a small stone church set on a grassed lot in the centre of Old Wendake Historic District, in Quebec. Constructed in 1865, the building features a metal-clad gable roof surmounted by a bell tower on the ruins of an early-18th century church. A lateral wood chapel and a sacristy date from the early 20th century. Many interior furnishings and objects date back to the 17th century. Official recognition refers to the church on its legal lot at the time of designation.

Notre-Dame-de-Lorette Church was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1981 because: the external simplicity of the church of Notre-Dame-de-Lorette and the austerity of its interior design is typical of mission churches; the establishment of this Jesuit mission marked the final step in a long, arduous migration of the Huron Nation.

Under the French Regime of the 17th century, the Huron First Nations people became principal intermediaries in the fur trade and the closest allies of the French. Due to the threat of disease and Iroquois invasions, many Hurons fled to missions such as the one located at Jeune-Lorette. The original stone chapel was constructed at the mission in 1722, but was damaged by fire in 1862. The current church of Notre-Dame-de-Lorette is the product of the 1865 reconstruction, using the site and model of the previous church. The current church has fieldstone walls half a metre thick. The simplicity of its layout, the exterior ornamentation and its interior organization, recall the mission churches, small chapels, and parish churches of the 18th and 19th centuries. The layout of the church is rectangular, and ends with a flat chevet.

The church’s austere main façade features a circular window above the arched main entrance. Rebuilt on the model of the preceding church, which dated from the beginning of the 18th century, it is an exceptional example of traditional religious architecture, in its simplest form. The church interior remains simple following modifications to décor and roofing at the end of the 19th century. The objects within the church mark an era of transition in religious arts, as local artists and artisans started to differentiate their work from European styles.

Source: Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada, Minutes, June 1981; November 1982.

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Classification: National Historic Site Province or Territory: Quebec Location - City name/Town name: Wendake, Québec Link to Parks Canada entry (must be on www.pc.gc.ca): [Web Link] Link to HistoricPlaces.ca: [Web Link]

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Date Logged Log User Rating   05/03/2022 Casper&Aero visited it