Marguerite-Bourgeoys Museum, 2010
Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours Chapel
The Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours Chapel (chapelle
Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours, "Our Lady of Good Help") is a
church in the district of Old Montreal in Montreal, Quebec.
One of the oldest churches in Montreal, it was built in 1771
over the ruins of an earlier chapel.
St. Marguerite Bourgeoys, the first teacher in the
colony of Ville-Marie and the founder of the Congregation of
Notre Dame, rallied the colonists to build a chapel in 1655.
In 1673, returning from France, Bourgeoys brought a wooden
image of Our Lady of Good Help; the stone church was
completed in 1678. It burned in 1754, the reliquary and
statue being rescued.
After Montreal was conquered by British forces during
the French and Indian War, the church was attended by Irish
and Scottish troops and families, and saw fundraising to
build Saint Patrick's Church, Montreal's first anglophone
Catholic parish.
In the 19th century, the chapel came to be a
pilgrimage site for the sailors who arrived in the Old Port
of Montreal; they would make offerings to the Virgin in
gratitude for her "good help" for safe sea voyages. In 1849,
Mgr. Ignace Bourget, Bishop of Montreal, gave the chapel a
statue of the Virgin as Star of the Sea, which was placed
atop the church overlooking the harbour. Emphasizing the
connection of the chapel and the port, the chapel is often
called the Sailors' Church.
The chapel now also houses the Marguerite Bourgeoys
Museum, dedicated to the life of St. Marguerite Bourgeoys
and to the early history of Montreal and the chapel site.
Below the chapel, the crypt is being excavated as an
archeological site, which visitors can see. First Nations
and French colonial artifacts have been discovered, along
with the foundations of the first chapel and the
fortifications of the colony. The church's prominent spire
can also be climbed, offering views of the Old Port and
Saint Lawrence River. In 2005, Marguerite Bourgeoys's mortal
remains were brought back to the church, where she now lies
in the sanctuary.
The church is located at 400 Saint Paul Street East
at Bonsecours Street, just north of the Bonsecours Market in
the borough of Ville-Marie (Champ-de-Mars metro station).