Saint-André Church

This exquisite church, over 200 years old, still stands strong, reaching proudly skyward. It may have developed a few wrinkles over the years but is still beautifully adorned. The charming Saint-André Church is the oldest in the Lower St. Lawrence region. It is also one of the 30 oldest churches in Quebec. This place of worship wears its age well, with a smooth sheet metal roof and a chancel that shines like new.

Built on a rocky outcrop between 1805 and 1811, this country church with its simple, straightforward silhouette was one of the last in the St. Lawrence Valley to use the Récollet design, popular in New France and recognizable for its rectangular nave with no transept and a narrower chancel. Bénoni Martin from Saint-Louis-de-Kamouraska and François-Xavier Boucher from Rivière-Ouelle carried out the work. They clearly did a good job hammering their nails, as the structure is remarkably solid even today.

The church of fieldstone walls covered with roughcast parging is one of the few of its kind that was never enlarged. However, a few improvements have been made over time. A decade after its opening, the sacristy was extended and connected by a covered passageway. The bell tower was rebuilt in 1865 by local carpenter Joseph Morin. The following year, parishioners added a second one above the chancel. A monumental portico was added to the facade around 1893, based on the Palladian-influenced plans of prominent architect David Ouellet. A statue of St. Andrew, sculpted by the illustrious Louis Jobin, stood here in 1895, welcoming the faithful with his frank and perhaps intimidating gaze. 

The church’s beauty is not limited to the exterior. The interior is just as interesting and well-preserved. Created between 1834 and 1836, it is considered Louis-Xavier Leprohon’s most accomplished work. A former employee of Thomas Baillairgé, Leprohon was inspired by Baillairgé’s aestheticism and restraint. But, he also enjoyed abundant ornamentation, as seen at the Écores workshop, which at the time held a monopoly over the interiors of Montréal churches. The false vault and pulpit, embellished with a variety of patterns, illustrate this dual artistic identity. 

Decorated with works by renowned 19th-century artists, this church can be visited like an art museum. There is a bronzed wood tabernacle attributed to Thomas Baillairgé. This is the most faithful replica of the small antique case in the Notre-Dame de Québec Cathedral-Basilica, made by his father, François, in 1797.

Hung in the chancel in 1821, behind Jesus, Le Martyre de saint André [The Martyrdom of St. Andrew] was painted by Louis-Hubert Triaud, one of the sons of an English-born Frenchman who had just arrived in Quebec. This painting is one of some 200 works by French painters seized during the French Revolution and purchased by two Quebec abbés. By reselling them to parishes, the Desjardins abbé-brothers helped make these extraordinary works accessible. They served as models for Quebec artists of the time and thus contributed to artistic development in the province.

This patron saint, immortalized in a state of grace by Triaud, hangs beside two other paintings by Antoine Plamondon, one of the most important Canadian painters of the 19th century. Sainte Philomena is one of the rare original works by the artist, who typically copied the great European masters. His painting of the martyr wearing a blue coat was the second creation he produced after a competitor accused him of being incapable of anything other than plagiarism. Proudly wanting to show up his critic, Plamondon even invited journalists to come and admire it in his workshop before it was delivered to Saint-André Church.

The small mechanical-action, seven-stop organ built by Louis Mitchell in 1874 is also heritage worthy.

Already two centuries old, Saint-André Church seems prepared to last for at least a few more.