In The Eye of the Beholder

Earlier this week Hubby and I set off on a mission for used kitchen cabinets, little knowing that the ultimate reward would not be the cabinets, but something else entirely different.

We had made an appointment to view the items at an address in one of the most beautiful and old parts of the city. When I checked the coordinates of the address, I realized that it was a church, or rather its presbytery!
The church itself from the outside was very typical of the ecclesiastical architecture of the early 20th century--in this case, of the year 1901. The exterior was massive, built of stone with a barrel vault structure, and had numerous stained glass windows. But the real surprise lay within... Exquisitely carved Honduran walnut and Carrera marble, inlaid coloured marble scenes, as well as the largest intact fresco in North America, dazzled the eye and amazed beyond belief. Thirty years of labour by many artisans from Florence, Italy were needed to finish the interior restoration which was originally the dream of the local parish priest who, upon visiting Florence, admired the churches there so much that his dream was to recreate a little something of that in his own church.


The caretaker/historian/tour guide was only too happy to give us a private viewing and tell part of the story. It intrigued us so much that we have decided to take the official tour some time in the future.

Take a look at this small glimpse of what we saw...

frescoed ceiling and carved marble (Photo: Thierry Marcoux)

pipe organ and carved railings (Photo: Thierry Marcoux)

pipe organ (Photo: Thierry Marcoux)

streetside view of Eglise St-Leon (Photo:Fondation du patrimoine religieux du Québec - 2003)