Restoring faith

BY BARBARA LAVOIE

The Chronicle

A group of citizens — including a former federal cabinet member — are banding together to help restore a historic Notre Dame de l’lle Perrot church.

“We have a jewel here that is well worth preserving,� said former Liberal MP Marc Lalonde. “Unless we appeal to the citizens at-large to help us preserve these heritage assets, real estate, artworks and archives, they won’t always be around.�

A perfect candidate for making the case of preserving the historic site of Église Ste. Jeanne de Chantal, the 77-year old former federal cabinet minister, corporate lawyer, officer of the Order of Canada and local resident, is one of three co-spokesmen who are launching the first community-wide fundraiser for the Ste. Jeanne de Chantal Foundation.

Speaking with The Chronicle and an informal gathering of foundation members in the parish presbytery, the former MP explained he is a descendent of one of the island’s founding families.

“I’m the eighth generation. The house I live in was built in 1736 and has been passed down from father to son,� he said with pride.

Foundation president Richard Newberry, 68, hopes the initiative will increase awareness among those who are new to Ile Perrot and the surrounding area.

“Our greatest hope is that the local population will be drawn into our request for financial assistance. We want to preserve these assets so they can be passed onto future generations who will benefit from this heritage,� Newberry said.

The intensive campaign set to run throughout the month of October, began last week with the delivery of more than 4,000 letters appealing to local residents for contributions. The foundation hopes to raise at least $100,000.

In a joint venture with the SAQ Selection outlet located on Don Quichotte Boulevard in Ile Perrot, 900 bottles of red (Cabernet Sauvignon) and white (Chardonnay) wine with a special Ste. Jeanne de Chantal label are being sold, while supplies last, at $13.95 per bottle. A portion of each bottle sold goes to the foundation.

Individuals can join the foundation for $25 per year or make a donation of any amount and receive a tax-deductible charitable receipt. Volunteers interested in helping the cause are welcome too.

The monies raised will be used on a variety of projects including: the installation of costly ventilation systems in the church basement and attic; the restoration of several 18 century lithographs depicting the stations of the cross; an information folder; a cultural animation program; and, the completion of a full inventory of the properties.

Steeped in history, the island was granted to François-Marie Perrot in 1672 by Jean Talon.

The heritage site, located on the south shore of Ile Perrot at 1 Church St. in Notre Dame de l’lle Perrot, is visible from the St. Lawrence River and includes more than just the pastoral church that was designated an historic monument in 1961.

The nearby Remembrance Chapel was built in 1953 using stones recovered from an archeological dig of the first church building on Pointe du Moulin in 1740.

Two cemeteries, the oldest behind the church, and the second and still used today, is terraced down toward the river, a style that is unique to Quebec.

Inside the church hangs an original painting of the patron saint Jeanne-Françoise Frémyot, baron of Chantal who was born in Dijon, France in 1572. A widow at the age of 28 with six children, she went on to be named a saint 126 years later in 1767 after founding a thriving religious order that helped the poor.

With water travel being the transportation mode of the day, it was very common to protect sailors and their charges with religious statues.

Of great importance to the foundation is one of six remaining statues

of Our Lady of







the Guard sculpted of paper maché

by the Grey Nuns of Montreal.

This same statue was displayed in the Quebec museum during Pope John Paul’s visit to Canada in 1984. A photo of the pope admiring the statue, with Quebec premier René Lévesque and various religious leaders looking on, is displayed in the church.

Various artifacts reflect the rural aspects of life on Ile Perrot. Two fonts at the front of the church are fashioned from stone in the shape of pumpkins. The original rough-hewn wooden altar rests in front of the more elaborate, yet still crafted from wood, main altar.

Hand-carved wooden

ornamentation such as wheat, corn sheaves and cobs, bird and animals are throughout the church along with a baptismal font crafted from a single block of wood and numerous

intricate wooden candlestick holders.

Local historian Lise Chartier, 61, responsible for the foundation’s communications, described one of next year’s animation plans.

“The statue Notre-Dame de la Garde became the island’s patron saint,� Chartier said. “We are planning to revive the tradition of holding a special day of festivities on the church grounds with a processional parade and possibly a re-enactment of the statue’s arrival by boat.�

Barrister André Aumais, the former mayor of Notre Dame de l’Ile Perrot, and Claude Robillard, president of the Ile Perrot Businessmen’s Association, are also co-spokesmen for this fundraiser.

Established in 2005, the foundation is run by six directors, all local residents, Richard Newberry, Jean-Gilles Blain, Claude Lévesque, Jacqueline Blais, Lise Chartier, Claire Lalonde, wife of the former politician, and parish priest Father Farmer, who advanced the idea of forming the group.

For more information about the parish, visit pages.infinit.net or call Lise Chartier at 514-453-5284.