St. Patrick's Basilica, 2010

Saint Patrick's Basilica is a Roman Catholic minor basilica on René-Lévesque Boulevard in Downtown Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

The church is known for its historic links to the Irish Canadian community. St. Patrick's celebrated its 150th anniversary in 1997. English-speaking Catholics first assembled in Montreal at the Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours church in Old Montreal, however their numbers were swelled by the massive arrival of Irish immigrants around 1817. Initially they were transferred to the Church of the Recollets (the French Franciscans) in 1825, but by 1841 they numbered 6,500, and could no longer be accommodated.

The site of Saint Patrick's Church was purchased, and construction began in September 1843. What was then the outskirts of the town, on a sloped site overlooking parishioners' homes in Point St. Charles, Goose Village and Griffintown, Saint Patrick's seven cornerstones were laid, making it the oldest English-speaking Roman Catholic Church in Montreal. The first mass was celebrated in the church on St. Patrick's Day, March 17, 1847.

St. Patrick's Basilica, 2010

Ruins of St Bridget's Asylum and Night Refuge built in 1867. Torn down in 1975.