Feast of the Canadian Martyrs and the Church of the Gesù, Montreal

Monday, September 26 is the Feast of the Canadian Martyrs. Saints Jean de Brébeuf, Gabriel Lalemant, Charles Garnier, Antoine Daniel, Noël Chabanel, Isaac Jogues, René Goupil, and Jean de Lalande were all members of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) and missionaries to New France in the early to mid-1600s.

Relics of Saints Charles Garnier, Gabriel Lalemant, and Jean de Brebeuf can be found at the Church of the Gesù (L'eglise du Gesù) in Montreal, which I had an opportunity to visit this summer. This impressive church was built as a chapel for the Jesuits and their students at College Sainte-Marie. Both the college and the church were built after the Jesuits returned to Canada in the 1840s. It is modeled after the Jesuit church in Rome of the same name in which St. Ignatius Loyola is buried.

I spent quite a bit of time at Le Gesù taking in the detail of the altar of the Canadian Martyrs located in the the North transept.

ARCAT staff photo taken June 2, 2016.

ARCAT staff photo taken June 2, 2016.

ARCAT staff photo taken June 2, 2016.

The church is notable for the use of the techniques trompe l'oeil and grisaille, which I found lovely. Though the ceiling and walls look as if they have sculpted elements, they are cleverly painted to appear three dimensional.

ARCAT staff photo taken June 2, 2016.

ARCAT staff photo taken June 2, 2016.

ARCAT staff photo taken June 2, 2016.

ARCAT staff photo taken June 2, 2016.

For more information about the Church of the Gesù, check the Archdiocese of Montreal's archives website, Info-Archives as well as the website of the Jesuits in Canada.

You can learn more about the Canadian Martyrs closer to home at Martyrs' Shrine in Midland, Ontario. Canada’s national shrine of the Canadian Jesuit Martyrs is located on a hill beside the historic site of Sainte-Marie-Among-the-Hurons where the Canadian Martyrs worked and where some were martyred. Explore the website of Martyrs' Shrine for detailed stories of each martyr.

Please remember St. Jean de Brébeuf, St. Gabriel Lalemant, St. Charles Garnier, St. Antoine Daniel, St. Noël Chabanel, St. Isaac Jogues, St. René Goupil, and St. Jean de Lalande in your prayers on the feast day of the Canadian Martyrs, Monday, September 26.