Community and Identity in Nineteenth Century Montreal: The Founding of Saint Patrick’s Church

A study of the interaction between Montreal’s Irish Catholic community and the Catholic Church in the period between 1817 and 1847. In 1817, Montreal’s Catholic Church, under the direction of the Seminary of Saint Sulpice, granted English-language services to its growing Irish immigrant congregation. From that time on, Irish Montrealers enjoyed services separate from French-Canadian Catholics in the city. The opening of Saint Patrick’s Church in 1847 emphasized this separation. The author studies the thirty-year period between these two events that marked the time when the Irish of Montreal became a community, forging its identity within the Catholic Church. This identity was also developed outside the Catholic Church through social organizations that attracted the ethnic Irish exclusively, such as the Hibernian, Benevolent and Saint Patrick societies, founded during this period. Cultural celebrations, notably those surrounding Saint Patrick's Day, were occasions where the community could share their traditions and celebrate their Irish heritage. These secular activities were not organized by the Roman Catholic Church in Montreal, but the Church was very involved. The Saint Patrick's Society included the clergy within its executive, while the cathedral of Notre Dame hosted the multi-denominational service held in honour of Saint Patrick.

Master's Thesis

University of Ottawa

Ottawa

1999

vii-193p.

en