March 25 2020 Nearly Forgotten

EGLISE DE STE MARIE MAGDELEINE





The Church of St. Mary Magdelene was built from 1951 to 1953. The building, clad in bumpy stone, features a Latin cross plan consisteing of  a rectangular nave and transepts, and finished with a choir loft.  It has a two sided roof, and has a large warhead bay and is flanked by a bell tower on the right. It is located close to the site of the Sanctuary of Our Lady of the Cape, in the Cap-de-Madeleine area of the town of Trois-Rivieres, Quesbec, Canada.

The church is the fourth place of worship built in the parish of the same name. The parish began in 1678 and is the oldest parish in the diocese of Trois-Rivieres.  At first a wooden chapel was built in 1659 by Pierre Boucher 1622-1717.  Pierre was born in Mortagne-au-Perche and arrived in New France around 1634. He was my 9th Great Grandfather. The chapel was moved to site of the shrine of Our Lady of the Cape in the 1660's.  In 1717. when the building was considered to be too small it was demolished.  A new stone chapel was erected at the site, and was finished in 1720. A new parish church was built nearby in 1879, but the stone chapel was preserved and converted into a shrine dedicated to the Virgin. A new, larger church was built in 1951 and called Sainte Marie Magdeleine.

When I visited this church in 2018 it had been closed for some time.  Vandals had been at work and its once beautiful interior had been damaged. The stained glass windows were broken. the interior and exterior showed the disregard that was shown to this once cherished house of worship.





I was saddened to see this church desecrated and abandoned. It was a part of my history, my ancestors were baptized, married, and buried in this parish.  I went away with a heavy heart and a few bits of amber glass I had picked up from the ground.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

"My American Hero" an essay by Lena Willit

 My American Hero is Sergeant William Bruck, currently serving in Iraq.  He's not only my Hero, but he is a close cousin too. William is the son of my mom's sister Rose. He is the fifth born of eight children. William was a mischievous child. He might have been a real trouble maker, but everyone still loved him. After High School, he joined National Guard, then switched to Army Reserves while going to college in Wisconsin. While in Wisconsin, he met Natalie, his future wife. After their marriage they moved to Carleton, Michigan and had a baby boy.  His name is Gregory.  Two years later, Zechariah was born. Despite Zechariah being very sick, when he was a few weeks old, William re-enlisted again. Shortly after, the Country was shocked by the events of September 11th. Even though William was a  "weekend warrior" his unit was called up for active duty. He packed his bags, said his good-byes and did his duty. He had a lot of reasons not to go to Iraq...He didn't wan...
Read more

Notes by Aunt Rosemary Wickenheiser Zochowski

Image
 There was no date on this note. It was part of a larger memory, as the entries are numbered.  She wrote a note about her siblings and lessons she learned at home. 24.  Lawrence - always full of business. very intelligent Clara (my mom) - very kind, sensitive helped take care of us kids, helped out at home, etc. Earl - always cheerful and a peace maker Cletus - a big tease Herman - tender and kind Teresa -  played piano by ear, beautiful singing voice Agnes - the pampered one because she was so tiny Rita - the spoiled one who we love Helen - Died when I was 11 years old.I remember when they brought her to our house in a little white coffin. 25.  At home we were taught many lessons - to be honest, kind, forgiving, helpful To be a listener    very hard sometimes To volunteer To go to Church regularly To receive the Sacraments often Not say anything bad about anyone. (I wonder what the rest of the memory said!)
Read more