Key takeaways:
- Catholic archdiocese desires to sell Saint-Jean Street church for $1 if a possible project is offered.
- Constructed in 1881, the Saint-Jean-Baptiste church on Saint-Jean Street in Quebec City shut in 2015.
While churches across Quebec will be receiving parishioners for Easter, an iconic 19th-century church structure on Saint-Jean Street in Quebec City stays shuttered, with its front entrances closed as they have been since November.
Seven years after the final Catholic masses were celebrated at the Saint-Jean-Baptiste church, the Archdiocese of Quebec is still attempting to figure out what to do with the facility.
“Our insurer requested that we put up these gates to stop any casualties,” stated André Bernier, the general director of the Saint-Jean-Baptiste parish.
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Rebuilt in 1881 after a blaze ruined the original church made in 1849, the church is nestled between a school and the neighborhood’s many stores, restaurants, and bars. The small church square is usually home to festivals and occasions in the summer months.
Till last fall, talks were going on with the previous municipal administration about the potential of the city purchasing the church structure. Mayoral candidate Marie-Josée Savard had even made it a campaign pledge. Despite her failure to now-mayor Bruno Marchand, the city is not heading out playing a role in the church’s next vocation.
“The reflection on the church’s future is constant, and the city reaching the facility is part of that reflection. In a word, no decision has been made on the subject,” the city stated.
Source – cbc.ca
