Ignace Bourget
Encyclopedia
Ignace Bourget was a French-Canadian Roman Catholic priest who held the title of Bishop of Montreal
from 1840 to 1876. Born in Lévis, Quebec
in 1799, Bourget entered the clergy
at an early age, undertook several courses of religious study, and in 1837 was named co-adjutor bishop of the newly created bishopric of Montreal. Following the death of Jean-Jacques Lartigue
in 1840, Bourget became Bishop of Montreal.
During the 1840s, Bourget led the expansion of the Roman Catholic Church
in Quebec
. He encouraged the immigration of European missionary
societies, including the Oblates of Mary Immaculate, the Jesuits, the Society of the Sacred Heart
and the Good Shepherd Sisters
. He also established entirely new religious communities including the Sisters of Charity of Saint-Hyacinthe, Sisters of Saint Ann, Sisters of Providence, and the Institute of Misericordia Sisters. He commissioned the construction of St James Cathedral, known today as Mary, Queen of the World Cathedral
, and played a key role in the establishment of the Université Laval
and the Hospice of the Holy Child Jesus.
Bourget was a fierce ultramontanist, supporting the supreme authority of the Pope
in matters both secular and spiritual
. He frequently clashed with the Canadian secular authorities, most notably through his attacks on the anti-clericist
Institut Canadien de Montréal
, his defence of parochial school
ing in New Brunswick, and his refusal to grant a Catholic burial to excommunicant
Joseph Guibord
. In 1876, facing an inquiry by the Vatican
into his increasing involvement in secular politics, Bourget resigned as Bishop of Montreal and retired to Sault-au-Récollet
, where he continued to take an active role in church life until his death in 1885.
on October 30, 1799. He was the eleventh child of thirteen born to Piere Bourget, a farmer, and Therese Paradis. He received elementary schooling at home and at a Point Lévis school, and then went on to study at the Petit Séminaire de Québec
, with only middling academic success, and at the Grand Séminaire de Québec.
In 1812, Bourget was admitted to the Congrégation de la Sainte-Vierge. On August 11, 1818 he was tonsure
d in the cathedral at Quebec City and from September 1818 commenced three years of study at the Séminaire de Nicolet
, where he studied theology
, and also taught first year classes in Latin elements and second year classes in syntax. On January 28, 1821, he was conferred minor orders
by Joseph-Octave Plessis
, Archbishop
of Quebec
, and on May 20 of that year at the parish church of Nicolet he was elevated to the position of subdeacon
. On May 21, 1821, Bourget left Nicolet to assume the post of Secretary to Jean-Jacques Lartigue
, vicar general
of Montreal. On December 22, 1821 he was made a deacon
at the bishop's residence in the Hôtel-Dieu
.
On November 30, 1822, Bourget was ordained to the priesthood by Lartigue and shortly thereafter was given supervision of the construction of Saint-Jacques Cathedral
, the erection of which had only begun that year. The cathedral was completed on September 22, 1825 and consecrated by Archbishop Plessis, and Bourget was named chaplain
. This role gave him responsibility for organising the pastoral ministry of St-Jacques and seeing to the conduct of public worship.
On September 8, 1836, Montreal was made a bishopric
, with Lartigue becoming Bishop of Montreal. This led to clashes with the Society of Saint-Sulpice
, known as the Sulpicians, who exercised dominion over Montreal Island as seigneurs and pastors of the parish of Notre-Dame and who did not recognise Lartigue's episcopal authority over them. This particularly frustrated Lartigue, who followed the doctrine of ultramontanism, which asserted the supreme authority of the Pope
over local temporal and spiritual hierarchies. Bourget shared this viewpoint with Lartigue, which led Lartigue to make a submission to Pope Gregory XVI
appointing Bourget as his successor to the episcopal see. Despite objections from the Sulpicians, who asserted Bourget was too inexperienced and too concerned with the minutiae of process and discipline, the submission was accepted by the Pope, and on March 10, 1837 Bourget was appointed bishop of the titular see
of Telmesse (an honorary rather than substantive position) and coadjutor
to the bishop of Montreal with right of succession. He was consecrated to this position on July 25, 1837 in St-Jacques Cathedral.
The newly created diocese of Montreal consisted of 79 parishes, 34 missions at widely dispersed points, particularly in the Eastern Townships, and four missions to the Indians. It included 186,244 adherents of whom 115,071 were communicants. The town of Montreal itself contained 22,000 Catholics, being approximately two thirds of the town's population. In June/July 1838 and in May–July 1939, Bourget toured the bishopric, visiting around 30 parishes.
1837 and 1838 saw the Lower Canada Rebellion
, in which both Lartigue and Bourget made public statements opposing the rebels, and in particular condemning Louis-Joseph Papineau
, who was a supporter of secular schools in preference to religious schools. Lartigue called on all Catholics to reject the reform movement and support the authorities.
died, and by right of succession on April 23, 1840 Ignace Bourget became Bishop of Montreal, a position which he held until 1876.
As bishop, Bourget continued to tour the outlying parishes, including in late 1840 a visit to the north shore of the Ottawa River
, where Bourget established eight new missions, creating the foundations for what would eventually become the diocese of Bytown. In November 1840, Bourget moved the training of ecclesiastics
from the Grand Séminaire Saint-Jacques to the Petit Séminaire de Montréal, where it would be handled by the Sulpicians. In the same year, he directed four Grey Nuns
in the creation of the Sisters of Charity of Saint-Hyacinthe, an offshoot of the Hôpital Général de Montreal, with the result of a new hospital servicing the Saint-Hyacinthe area. In December 1840 Bourget was instrumental in the establishment of the Mélanges religieux, a religious journal intended to be free of politics.
From May 3 to September 23, 1841, Bourget visited Europe, where he sought new priests to staff the schools, missions and parishes occasioned by Canada's burgeoning population. He also raised the issue of the creation of an ecclesiastical province
to unify the administration of Canada's dioceses. He concluded his visit to Europe by visiting France, where he observed and was impressed by the religious revival taking place in that country. On June 23, 1841 the Paris newspaper L’Univers stated that Bourget had “come to Europe to seek a reinforcement of workers for the gospel", and indeed his visit was interpreted as an open invitation to apostolic missionaries to bring their missions to Montreal.
The invitation was accepted and the next several years saw an influx of religious congregations into Montreal, including missions from the Oblates of Mary Immaculate (arriving December 2, 1841), the Jesuits (arriving May 31, 1842), the Society of the Sacred Heart
(arriving December 26, 1842) and the Good Shepherd Sisters
(arriving June 7, 1844). When other religious communities, such as the Filles de la Charité de Saint-Vincent-de-Paul
, cancelled their plans to send missions to Montreal, Bourget instead organised the foundation of new Montreal-based religious communities, including in 1843 the Sisters of Providence under the leadership of Émilie Gamelin
, and the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary
under Eulalie Durocher
.
On June 12, 1844, the ecclesiastical province
of Quebec was erected by papal bull
, and on November 24, 1844 Bourget presided over the ceremonial conferring of the pallium
on the metropolitan bishop
, Archbishop Joseph Signay
, at the cathedral at Quebec. During 1844 Bourget suggested to Signay that Signay should call a first provincial council to establish the authority of the archbishop and demonstrate that the title was not merely honorific. Signay took the suggestion as an insult, which soured his relationship with Bourget.
Bourget was instrumental in several important developments in the city of Kingston, Ontario
, at that time newly named as capital of the Province of Canada
. He invited the Congregation of Notre-Dame to set up a primary school in Kingston, and in September 1845 arranged for the creation of a hospital staffed by Religious Hospitallers of St Joseph from the Hôtel-Dieu at Montreal which serviced the town and surrounding district.
On May 1, 1845, Bourget directed Rosalie Cadron-Jetté
, a widow of his St-Jacques congregation, in the establishment of the Hospice de Sainte-Pélagie, a Montreal-based institute providing care and crisis accommodation for unwed mothers, and on January 16, 1848 he arranged for Cadron-Jetté and her helpers to take nuns' vows and found the Institute of Misericordia Sisters, a religious community dedicated to "girls and women in a situation of maternity out of wedlock and their children".
On 30 August 1850, Bourget founded the Hospice du Saint-Enfant-Jesus (Hospice of the Holy Child Jesus), an institute for the care of deaf-mutes, which was managed first by Charles-Irénée Lagorce, and later by the Clerics of St Viator. The same year, Bourget was instrumental in the foundation of the Sisters of Saint Ann. In 1853 Bourget founded the Annales de la tempérance, a society dedicated to the goal of temperance.
, who disliked Bourget and was distrustful of Bourget's changes. On September 25, 1846, Bourget wrote to Signay and said, “For a long time I have been thinking that Your Grace should give up the administration of your archdiocese, contenting yourself with retaining the title of metropolitan. I shall use the occasion of my journey to Rome to put before the Holy See the reasons leading me to believe that it might be time for you to relieve yourself of this burden." With this in mind, Bourget travelled to Rome
in late 1846 to petition the Pope for Signay's resignation. He was supported in this cause by Charles-Félix Cazeau
, secretary to Archbishop Signay.
In Rome, Bourget found a Vatican newly rejuvenated, Pope Pius IX having recently succeeded the unpopular Pope Gregory XVI. Bourget was unsuccessful in securing Signay's discharge, but nevertheless enjoyed several other successes, including the establishment of the diocese of Bytown with Bourget's preferred candidate, Joseph-Bruno Guigues
, made bishop. He also secured an additional 20 religious staff for Montreal, including representatives of the Congregation of the Holy Cross, the Clerics of Saint Viator
, the Jesuits, and the Sisters of the Society of the Sacred Heart of Jesus
.
In 1847 a typhus
epidemic occurred in Montreal, and Bourget worked directly with its victims along with many of the staff of his diocese. Although nine priests and 13 religious sisters were killed by the disease while treating it, Bourget was unharmed. At around this time, Bourget was reported as taking no more than five hours' sleep a day, and produced a substantial body of written works including pastoral correspondence and manuscript works. He was also reported to be an enthusiastic conversationalist. His hair had prematurely whitened.
On April 5, 1848, the Institut Canadien de Montréal
founded the Association des établissements canadiens des townships, and Bourget was made chair of the central committee. The vice-chair was Louis-Joseph Papineau
, a noted anti-clericist whom Bourget had publicly condemned during the 1837 rebellions
, and in September 1848 Bourget found himself unable to work productively with the committee and resigned.
Under Bourget, the Roman Catholic Church in Montreal began to place a greater importance on ceremony and ritual. Bourget favoured Roman-style ceremonies over the more sedate masses of the Sulpicians, brought back holy relics from Rome for veneration, and introduced emotional new devotions including the Seven Sorrows of Mary
, the Sacred Heart
, and, on February 21, 1857, the Forty Hours' Devotion
.
On July 8, 1852 the Bishop's residence was destroyed in a spate of severe fires, causing Bourget to move his accommodations to the Hospice Saint-Joseph until August 31, 1855, and thereafter to an episcopal residence at Mont Saint-Joseph. The same fires also destroyed the Saint-Jacques Cathedral
. Bourget planned to commission a scale reproduction of Rome's St Peter's Basilica to serve as a replacement, and engaged first Victor Bourgeau (who claimed such a scale reproduction could not be achieved) and then Joseph Michaud to design the new cathedral. However, work did not eventually commence until 1875. In 1894, subsequent to Bourget's death, the structure was completed and consecrated as St James Cathedral, and in 1955 was rededicated as Mary, Queen of the World Cathedral
.
, a liberal literary association which Bourget saw as anti-clericist and subversive. He used his influence at the provincial council to cause a disciplinary regulation to be drawn up, dated June 4, 1854, declaring that members of "literary institutes [at which] readings are given there which are anti-religious" were not to be admitted to the Roman Catholic sacraments. Despite the regulation, eleven members of the Institut were elected to the Legislative Assembly in late 1854, where they began to campaign for the separation of church and state in education through the institution of nondenominational schools.
In 1858 Bourget commenced a series of pastoral letters attacking liberals, anti-clericists, and the Institut Canadien. The first of these, on March 10, 1858, focused on what he saw as the evils of the French Revolution
and revolutions generally, which he alleged were caused by the circulation of immoral books. The letter was the focus of a meeting by the Institut Canadien on April 13, 1854, where Institut member Hector Fabre
suggested the Institut self-censor its own access to the purportedly immoral books. No resolution was reached.
On April 30, 1858, Bourget wrote a second letter which demanded the removal of "evil books" from the collection of the Institut Canadien, backed by the threat of excommunication
for all those who visited its library or attended its sessions and readings. As a result of this and the April 13 meeting, a significant number of Institut members including Hector Fabre left to form a competing organisation, the Institut Canadien-Français. In a third letter dated May 31, 1858 Bourget directly attacked the remaining leaders of the Institut Canadien, as well as the liberal paper Le Pays, as anti-clericists and revolutionaries, and argued that the mere idea of freedom of religious and political opinion was contrary to church doctrine.
The Institut Canadien unsuccessfully attempt to reconcile with Bourget in 1864, and a petition seeking reconciliation was addressed to Pope Pius IX
by 17 Catholic members of the Institut in 1865, to no effect. Bourget made further unfavourable reports to the Holy Office regarding the Institut in 1866 and 1869, and in July 1869 the Annuaire de l’Institut Canadien pour 1868 was placed on the Index Librorum Prohibitorum
(Vatican list of banned books). The Guibord case
(see below) and the events of 1869 to 1874 marked the final decline of the Institut. Its membership, which in 1858 had numbered 700, was by 1867 reduced to 300 and by 1875 only 165. In 1871 the Institut closed its debating room, and in 1880 it closed its library.
as a whole. Between 1849 and 1870, the Italian peninsula underwent dramatic political changes, culminating in the unification of Italy into one nation. This had severe consequences for the Vatican
and for the Roman Catholic Church
. In 1848 Pope Pius IX
was evacuated from Rome, and on September 20, 1870 the Papal States
were annexed to the Kingdom of Italy
, effectively ending their sovereignty. These upheavals were a source of great concern to many Catholics, and they were of particular importance to Bourget, who as an ultramontane
believed firmly in the supreme authority of the Pope in all matters both temporal and spiritual.
On October 23, 1854, Bourget travelled to Europe, where he remained until July 29, 1856. He visited Rome to represent the ecclesiastical province at the proclamation of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception
on December 8, 1854, and then spent time in Italy and France. While in France he published an unsuccessful book on Roman liturgy entitled Ceremonial des évêques commenté et expliqué par les usages et traditions de la sainte Eglise romaine avec le texte latin, par un évêque suffragant de la province ecclésiastique de Québec, au Canada, anciennement appelé Nouvelle-France, complimentary copies of which he distributed to all the French bishops.
In a series of pastoral letters in 1860, Bourget addressed the ongoing unification of Italy. He argued that the revolution in Italy was attacking the Church "in order next to overthrow unimpeded the rest of the universe", and characterised Canada's liberal books and newspapers as accomplices in this alleged conspiracy. The liberal newspaper Le Pays and its editor Louis-Antoine Dessaulles were often the subjects of Bourget's pastoral letters, particularly seven long letters written by Bourget in February 1862 directly addressed to the newspaper, which the owners of Le Pays refused to publish.
In 1862, Bourget again travelled to Rome, this time with the goal of representing the Province of Quebec at the canonization
of the Japanese martyrs
. While there he was made a Roman count and Assistant at the Papal Throne
.
In 1868 Bourget was instrumental in the recruitment and enlistment of seven detachments of Canadian Papal Zouaves
(volunteer infantry regiments), comprising 507 individuals, who were sent to Rome to assist the papacy in the defence of the Papal States
at a cost to the church of at least $111,630. They there joined troops from France, Belgium, Holland and Ireland, but were ultimately unsuccessful in preventing Rome's annexation by the Kingdom of Italy.
which provided for the establishment of government-operated "common schools" requiring compulsory attendance of students. On May 17, 1871, the bill was passed into law as the Common Schools Act of 1871
. The Common Schools Act replaced the Public Schools Act 1858, and it included provisions forbidding the teaching of catechism
courses, prohibiting teachers from wearing religious garb, and requiring teachers to obtain government certification. The provisions effectively abolished the system of religious schooling which had operated in New Brunswick until that time. The enactment resulted from government doubt as to the quality of the religious education being provided, and concerns about attendance rates among enrolled pupils, which by 1871 were as low as 55%.
John Sweeny
, bishop of Saint John
fought an unsuccessful campaign against the act for several years, both through the auspices of Catholic MPs in the New Brunswick parliament, and via challenge in the courts. However, he was unsuccessful. He also urged Catholics to stop paying the school tax in protest, to which the government responded by imprisoning key priests and seizing property, including Sweeny's carriage.
Finally on May 18, 1873, Sweeny attended the provincial council of the Quebec church, where he invited the bishops of Quebec to intervene in New Brunswick affairs with the goal of supporting the cause of religious schooling. Bourget, who had had a key role in developing Lower Canada's system of religious schooling, accepted the invitation. Not only did the act prevent the teaching of Catholicism, regarded by the Roman Catholic Church as one of its key duties, but it also represented a substantial blow to ultramontanism
, which asserted the supreme authority of the Pope in all matters temporal and spiritual. On May 19, Bourget and Bishop Louis-François Laflèche co-authored and released a statement opposing the Common Schools Act, with the effect that several Conservative MPs of New Brunswick hailing from Quebec threatened to break ranks and support a motion of no-confidence against the government. The New Brunswick government responded by offering to pay the church's costs in the ongoing legal action over the act if the no-confidence motion was not passed - a deal which the church accepted.
The legal challenge made its way to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council
in England, at that time Canada's highest court of appeal, where the Privy Council rejected the church's case, effectively endorsing the government. However, discontent with the Common Schools Act continued to grow, culminating in 1875 when a protest at the town of Caraquet, New Brunswick
devolved into a riot and two people were shot. Following the riots, amendments to the Act were made and the common schools system was eventually abandoned, replaced with a predominantly public schooling system but retaining government-subsidised religious schools.
Although New Brunswick ended up with a primarily secular schooling system, the civil unrest caused by the passage of the Common Schools Act and Bourget's public interference may have deterred the parliament of Quebec from following New Brunswick's lead, as Quebec did not eventually establish a public school system until 1964.
, a Catholic cemetery. Due to Bourget's earlier excommunication of the Institut, reinforced by a letter written by Bourget that year, Brown was told that Guibord could not be buried in the sanctified area of the cemetery reserved for Roman Catholics, although the cemetery curate
offered to bury Guibord without religious rites in the section used for criminals. Brown did not accept this offer, and Guibord's remains were therefore temporarily deposited in the vault of the local Protestant cemetery.
Prominent lawyers Rudolph LaFlamme and Joseph Doutre QC commenced legal proceedings on behalf of Guibord's widow and eventually took the case to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council
in England, which was at that time the court of supreme jurisdiction for Canada. His argument was that under the civil law of Canada the Church had a legal obligation to afford Guibord a Catholic burial.
In 1874 the Privy Council ruled that Guibord should be buried in a Catholic cemetery, and ordered that Bourget and the Roman Catholic Church pay the costs of the legal proceedings. Following the ruling, Bourget went to the Notre Dame des Neiges Cemetery
and deconsecrated the burial plot where the Privy Council had ordered that Guibord could be buried. Upon arrival at the cemetery, the hearse containing Guibord's body was pelted with rocks by an angry mob, many of whom were employees of the parish who had been given a day's holiday by Bourget specifically to allow them to attend. The body was escorted to the grave plot by soldiers, where it was buried despite Bourget's insistence the ground was not sanctified.
by the Séminaire de Québec. At the time, Bourget believed that responsibility for the University was to be shared by all bishops within the episcopal province of Quebec. However, the organisation and management of the University were subsequently taken over by the archbishop and seminary of Quebec, with the result that by 1858 none of the local (Montreal) classical colleges were affiliated with the University.
This led Bourget, from 1862, to plan the founding of a new Catholic university in Montreal. This was in part prompted by increasing numbers of Catholic students enrolling at the (secular) McGill College
and elsewhere to study law and medicine out of lack of a Catholic alternative. In 1865 Bourget petitioned the Vatican for the establishment of a new Catholic university in Montreal but his application was rejected. In 1870 the Université Laval proposed opening a branch in Montreal but Bourget rejected this proposition as it did not accept his authority over it as bishop. In 1876 the Vatican ordered the establishment of a branch of the Université Laval at Montreal, answering only to Quebec (not Bourget), but Bourget resigned as Bishop shortly thereafter and therefore was never required to enact the order.
. Following an application by the Superior General of Saint-Sulpice in Paris, Bourget was asked by the Holy See
to comment on the situation of Notre-Dame parish. Bourget commented that he was happy with the current situation, providing that the parish priest was wholly subordinated to Bourget as bishop, meaning that Bourget would have the power to dismiss them from the position.
The Sulpicians disputed Bourget's proposed hierarchy and both Bourget and the Superior General of Saint-Sulpice were summoned to Rome. The Sulpicians refused to allow Bourget to have authority to dismiss the parish priest and threatened to withdraw their entire religious community of 57 priests from Montreal, which would have created a crippling shortage of clergy in the diocese. Negotiations were held with the result that in 1865 Bourget was given authority to divide the parish of Notre-Dame on the condition that the new parishes would be offered first to the Sulpicians, that the Sulpicians would name their own priests to the parishes but would require them to be invested by the Bishop, and that the new parish priests could be dismissed by either the Bishop or the Superior of the Sulpicians.
Between September 1866 and December 1867, Bourget divided Notre-Dame into ten new canonical parishes. However, in order to invest the parishes with legal existence Bourget required Montreal's civil authorities to incorporate them. The Sulpicians advised the government not to recognise the new parishes, claiming that they were merely succursal chapels of the parish of Notre-Dame. This resulted in a series of protracted legal and political battles between Bourget and the Sulpicians which ended with Bourget's victory in 1873, when all the parishes obtained their civil registration.
From October 27 to 30, 1872, Bourget celebrated the golden anniversary of his ordination, and on May 1, 1873, he ordained Édouard-Charles Fabre
as coadjutor bishop in a ceremony at the church of the Collège Sainte-Marie. Around this time, Bourget was frequently beset by illness, but despite this he continued a series of energetic attacks on liberalism, including liberalism within the Catholic Church. These attacks caused the Archbishop of Quebec and members of his inner circle to question Bourget's judgement and ability to perform as Bishop. The Archbishop of Quebec was also concerned that the church was becoming increasingly involved in secular politics, to its detriment. Ignazio Persico, parish priest of Sillery, proposed that Rome undertake an inquiry into the matter, including Bourget's conduct.
To forestall the inquiry, on April 28, 1876 Bourget resigned as Bishop of Montreal and on May 15 that resignation was accepted by the Pope, to take effect in September. Following his resignation, Bourget was appointed archbishop of the titular see
of Marcianopolis
, and in early 1877 he retired to Sault-au-Récollet
, taking with him his secretary, Joseph-Octave Paré.
Between August 12 and October 30, 1881, Bourget travelled to Rome, pleading unsuccessfully for the establishment of a second Catholic university in Montreal. In 1882, Bourget took part in a fundraising drive to help raise money to pay off the Diocese of Montreal's significant debts, which totalled some $840,000. On October 11, 1882 he announced that a sum of $84,782 had been raised through these efforts. On November 9, 1882, Bourget made his final public appearance at Boucherville, celebrating the diamond anniversary of his ordination as the conclusion of his fundraising tour.
Bourget died on June 8, 1885 at Sault-au-Récollet
. A funeral service was conducted by Father Collin, the Superior of the Sulpicians, at the Church of Notre Dame, and Bourget's body was buried alongside that of his predecessor Jean-Jacques Lartigue
in a vault under the southwest pillar of the dome of the then-unfinished St James Cathedral, later renamed as Mary, Queen of the World Cathedral
. On March 20, 1993, his remains were transferred to the Cathedral's mortuary chapel for bishops and archbishops, of which his mausoleum forms the centre. On June 24, 1903 a statue of Bourget
created by artist Louis-Philippe Hébert was unveiled in the parvis of the St James Cathedral. The statue was funded by approximately $25,000 in donations from Catholic clergy and faithful. In 2005 a cleaning and restoration of the statue was performed.
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Montreal
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Montréal is a Roman Catholic archdiocese that includes part of the Province of Quebec. The Archbishop of Montréal is Metropolitan of a province that includes the suffragan dioceses of Joliette, Saint-Jean-Longueuil, Saint-Jérôme, and Valleyfield...
from 1840 to 1876. Born in Lévis, Quebec
Lévis, Quebec
Lévis is a city in eastern Quebec, Canada. It is located on the south shore of the St. Lawrence River, opposite Quebec City. A ferry links Old Quebec with Old Lévis, and two bridges, the Quebec Bridge and the Pierre Laporte Bridge, connect western Lévis with Quebec City. The Société de transport de...
in 1799, Bourget entered the clergy
Clergy
Clergy is the generic term used to describe the formal religious leadership within a given religion. A clergyman, churchman or cleric is a member of the clergy, especially one who is a priest, preacher, pastor, or other religious professional....
at an early age, undertook several courses of religious study, and in 1837 was named co-adjutor bishop of the newly created bishopric of Montreal. Following the death of Jean-Jacques Lartigue
Jean-Jacques Lartigue
Jean-Jacques Lartigue was a Canadian Roman Catholic who served as the first Bishop of Montreal. He was the only son of a noted Montreal family...
in 1840, Bourget became Bishop of Montreal.
During the 1840s, Bourget led the expansion of the Roman Catholic Church
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
in Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
. He encouraged the immigration of European missionary
Missionary
A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin...
societies, including the Oblates of Mary Immaculate, the Jesuits, the Society of the Sacred Heart
Society of the Sacred Heart
The Society of the Sacred Heart is a Roman Catholic religious congregation established in France by St. Madeleine Sophie Barat in 1800. It has presence in 45 countries. Membership to the Society is restricted to women only. Its members do many works, but focus on education, particularly girls'...
and the Good Shepherd Sisters
Good Shepherd Sisters
The Good Shepherd Sisters is a Roman Catholic order of women religious. In addition to the standard vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience, the Good Shepherd Sisters take the following fourth vow of zeal for souls [to save souls], particularly of women and girls."I bind myself to the labor for...
. He also established entirely new religious communities including the Sisters of Charity of Saint-Hyacinthe, Sisters of Saint Ann, Sisters of Providence, and the Institute of Misericordia Sisters. He commissioned the construction of St James Cathedral, known today as Mary, Queen of the World Cathedral
Mary, Queen of the World Cathedral
The Cathedral-Basilica of Mary, Queen of the World in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, is the seat of the Roman Catholic archdiocese of Montreal. It is the third largest church in Quebec after St. Joseph's Oratory and the Basilica of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré east of Quebec City...
, and played a key role in the establishment of the Université Laval
Université Laval
Laval University is the oldest centre of education in Canada and was the first institution in North America to offer higher education in French...
and the Hospice of the Holy Child Jesus.
Bourget was a fierce ultramontanist, supporting the supreme authority of the Pope
Pope
The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, a position that makes him the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church . In the Catholic Church, the Pope is regarded as the successor of Saint Peter, the Apostle...
in matters both secular and spiritual
Spirituality
Spirituality can refer to an ultimate or an alleged immaterial reality; an inner path enabling a person to discover the essence of his/her being; or the “deepest values and meanings by which people live.” Spiritual practices, including meditation, prayer and contemplation, are intended to develop...
. He frequently clashed with the Canadian secular authorities, most notably through his attacks on the anti-clericist
Anti-clericalism
Anti-clericalism is a historical movement that opposes religious institutional power and influence, real or alleged, in all aspects of public and political life, and the involvement of religion in the everyday life of the citizen...
Institut Canadien de Montréal
Institut canadien de Montréal
The Institut canadien de Montréal was founded on 17 December 1844, by a group of 200 young liberal professionals in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The Institute was a public library and debating room for the literary and scientific society, which would later come into conflict with the Roman Catholic...
, his defence of parochial school
Parochial school
A parochial school is a school that provides religious education in addition to conventional education. In a narrower sense, a parochial school is a Christian grammar school or high school which is part of, and run by, a parish.-United Kingdom:...
ing in New Brunswick, and his refusal to grant a Catholic burial to excommunicant
Excommunication
Excommunication is a religious censure used to deprive, suspend or limit membership in a religious community. The word means putting [someone] out of communion. In some religions, excommunication includes spiritual condemnation of the member or group...
Joseph Guibord
Guibord case
Brown v. Les Curé et Marguilliers de l'oeuvre et de la Fabrique de la Paroisse de Montréal, better known as the Guibord case, was a famous decision in 1874 by the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in an early Canadian legal dispute over the relationship between church and state...
. In 1876, facing an inquiry by the Vatican
Holy See
The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...
into his increasing involvement in secular politics, Bourget resigned as Bishop of Montreal and retired to Sault-au-Récollet
Sault-au-Récollet
Sault-au-Récollet is a neighbourhood in the Ahuntsic-Cartierville borough, in the city of Montreal. It is located at the eastern edge of the borough...
, where he continued to take an active role in church life until his death in 1885.
Early life
Bourget was born in the parish of St Joseph in Lévis, QuebecLévis, Quebec
Lévis is a city in eastern Quebec, Canada. It is located on the south shore of the St. Lawrence River, opposite Quebec City. A ferry links Old Quebec with Old Lévis, and two bridges, the Quebec Bridge and the Pierre Laporte Bridge, connect western Lévis with Quebec City. The Société de transport de...
on October 30, 1799. He was the eleventh child of thirteen born to Piere Bourget, a farmer, and Therese Paradis. He received elementary schooling at home and at a Point Lévis school, and then went on to study at the Petit Séminaire de Québec
Petit Séminaire de Québec
Le Petit Séminaire de Québec is a private French-language Roman Catholic secondary school in the Vieux-Québec area of Quebec City which was originally part of the Séminaire de Québec...
, with only middling academic success, and at the Grand Séminaire de Québec.
In 1812, Bourget was admitted to the Congrégation de la Sainte-Vierge. On August 11, 1818 he was tonsure
Tonsure
Tonsure is the traditional practice of Christian churches of cutting or shaving the hair from the scalp of clerics, monastics, and, in the Eastern Orthodox Church, all baptized members...
d in the cathedral at Quebec City and from September 1818 commenced three years of study at the Séminaire de Nicolet
Nicolet, Quebec
Nicolet, Quebec is the county seat of Nicolet-Yamaska Regional County Municipality, Quebec, Canada. The population as of the Canada 2006 Census was 7,827...
, where he studied theology
Theology
Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...
, and also taught first year classes in Latin elements and second year classes in syntax. On January 28, 1821, he was conferred minor orders
Minor orders
The minor orders are the lowest ranks in the Christian clergy. The most recognized minor orders are porter, lector, exorcist, and acolyte. In the Latin rite Catholic Church, the minor orders were in most cases replaced by "instituted" ministries of lector and acolyte, though communities that use...
by Joseph-Octave Plessis
Joseph-Octave Plessis
Joseph-Octave Plessis was a Canadian Roman Catholic clergyman from Quebec. He was the first archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Quebec after the diocese was elevated to the status of an archdiocese....
, Archbishop
Archbishop
An archbishop is a bishop of higher rank, but not of higher sacramental order above that of the three orders of deacon, priest , and bishop...
of Quebec
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Quebec
The Archdiocese of Québec is the oldest Catholic see in the New World north of Mexico. The archdiocese was founded as the Apostolic Vicariate of New France in 1658 and was elevated to a Diocese in 1674 and an Archdiocese in 1819...
, and on May 20 of that year at the parish church of Nicolet he was elevated to the position of subdeacon
Subdeacon
-Subdeacons in the Orthodox Church:A subdeacon or hypodeacon is the highest of the minor orders of clergy in the Orthodox Church. This order is higher than the reader and lower than the deacon.-Canonical Discipline:...
. On May 21, 1821, Bourget left Nicolet to assume the post of Secretary to Jean-Jacques Lartigue
Jean-Jacques Lartigue
Jean-Jacques Lartigue was a Canadian Roman Catholic who served as the first Bishop of Montreal. He was the only son of a noted Montreal family...
, vicar general
Vicar general
A vicar general is the principal deputy of the bishop of a diocese for the exercise of administrative authority. As vicar of the bishop, the vicar general exercises the bishop's ordinary executive power over the entire diocese and, thus, is the highest official in a diocese or other particular...
of Montreal. On December 22, 1821 he was made a deacon
Deacon
Deacon is a ministry in the Christian Church that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions...
at the bishop's residence in the Hôtel-Dieu
Hôtel-Dieu de Montréal
The Hôtel-Dieu de Montréal is the oldest hospital in Montreal, Quebec. Since 1996 it has been one of the three hospitals making up the Centre hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal ....
.
On November 30, 1822, Bourget was ordained to the priesthood by Lartigue and shortly thereafter was given supervision of the construction of Saint-Jacques Cathedral
Saint-Jacques Cathedral (Montreal)
Saint-Jacques Cathedral was the cathedral of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Montreal from 1825 to 1852, named for St. James the Greater....
, the erection of which had only begun that year. The cathedral was completed on September 22, 1825 and consecrated by Archbishop Plessis, and Bourget was named chaplain
Chaplain
Traditionally, a chaplain is a minister in a specialized setting such as a priest, pastor, rabbi, or imam or lay representative of a religion attached to a secular institution such as a hospital, prison, military unit, police department, university, or private chapel...
. This role gave him responsibility for organising the pastoral ministry of St-Jacques and seeing to the conduct of public worship.
On September 8, 1836, Montreal was made a bishopric
Episcopal See
An episcopal see is, in the original sense, the official seat of a bishop. This seat, which is also referred to as the bishop's cathedra, is placed in the bishop's principal church, which is therefore called the bishop's cathedral...
, with Lartigue becoming Bishop of Montreal. This led to clashes with the Society of Saint-Sulpice
Society of Saint-Sulpice
The Society of Saint-Sulpice is a Catholic Society of Apostolic Life named for Eglise Saint-Sulpice, Paris, in turn named for St. Sulpitius the Pious. Typically, priests become members of the Society of St. Sulpice only after ordination and some years of pastoral work. Uniquely, Sulpicians retain...
, known as the Sulpicians, who exercised dominion over Montreal Island as seigneurs and pastors of the parish of Notre-Dame and who did not recognise Lartigue's episcopal authority over them. This particularly frustrated Lartigue, who followed the doctrine of ultramontanism, which asserted the supreme authority of the Pope
Pope
The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, a position that makes him the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church . In the Catholic Church, the Pope is regarded as the successor of Saint Peter, the Apostle...
over local temporal and spiritual hierarchies. Bourget shared this viewpoint with Lartigue, which led Lartigue to make a submission to Pope Gregory XVI
Pope Gregory XVI
Pope Gregory XVI , born Bartolomeo Alberto Cappellari, named Mauro as a member of the religious order of the Camaldolese, was Pope of the Catholic Church from 1831 to 1846...
appointing Bourget as his successor to the episcopal see. Despite objections from the Sulpicians, who asserted Bourget was too inexperienced and too concerned with the minutiae of process and discipline, the submission was accepted by the Pope, and on March 10, 1837 Bourget was appointed bishop of the titular see
Titular see
A titular see in various churches is an episcopal see of a former diocese that no longer functions, sometimes called a "dead diocese". The ordinary or hierarch of such a see may be styled a "titular bishop", "titular metropolitan", or "titular archbishop"....
of Telmesse (an honorary rather than substantive position) and coadjutor
Coadjutor bishop
A coadjutor bishop is a bishop in the Roman Catholic or Anglican churches who is designated to assist the diocesan bishop in the administration of the diocese, almost as co-bishop of the diocese...
to the bishop of Montreal with right of succession. He was consecrated to this position on July 25, 1837 in St-Jacques Cathedral.
The newly created diocese of Montreal consisted of 79 parishes, 34 missions at widely dispersed points, particularly in the Eastern Townships, and four missions to the Indians. It included 186,244 adherents of whom 115,071 were communicants. The town of Montreal itself contained 22,000 Catholics, being approximately two thirds of the town's population. In June/July 1838 and in May–July 1939, Bourget toured the bishopric, visiting around 30 parishes.
1837 and 1838 saw the Lower Canada Rebellion
Lower Canada Rebellion
The Lower Canada Rebellion , commonly referred to as the Patriots' War by Quebeckers, is the name given to the armed conflict between the rebels of Lower Canada and the British colonial power of that province...
, in which both Lartigue and Bourget made public statements opposing the rebels, and in particular condemning Louis-Joseph Papineau
Louis-Joseph Papineau
Louis-Joseph Papineau , born in Montreal, Quebec, was a politician, lawyer, and the landlord of the seigneurie de la Petite-Nation. He was the leader of the reformist Patriote movement before the Lower Canada Rebellion of 1837–1838. His father was Joseph Papineau, also a famous politician in Quebec...
, who was a supporter of secular schools in preference to religious schools. Lartigue called on all Catholics to reject the reform movement and support the authorities.
Bishop of Montreal, and church expansion
On April 19, 1840, Jean-Jacques LartigueJean-Jacques Lartigue
Jean-Jacques Lartigue was a Canadian Roman Catholic who served as the first Bishop of Montreal. He was the only son of a noted Montreal family...
died, and by right of succession on April 23, 1840 Ignace Bourget became Bishop of Montreal, a position which he held until 1876.
As bishop, Bourget continued to tour the outlying parishes, including in late 1840 a visit to the north shore of the Ottawa River
Ottawa River
The Ottawa River is a river in the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. For most of its length, it now defines the border between these two provinces.-Geography:...
, where Bourget established eight new missions, creating the foundations for what would eventually become the diocese of Bytown. In November 1840, Bourget moved the training of ecclesiastics
Ecclesiology
Today, ecclesiology usually refers to the theological study of the Christian church. However when the word was coined in the late 1830s, it was defined as the science of the building and decoration of churches and it is still, though rarely, used in this sense.In its theological sense, ecclesiology...
from the Grand Séminaire Saint-Jacques to the Petit Séminaire de Montréal, where it would be handled by the Sulpicians. In the same year, he directed four Grey Nuns
Grey Nuns
The Order of Sisters of Charity of Montreal, formerly called The Order of Sisters of Charity of the Hôpital Général of Montreal and more commonly known as the Grey Nuns of Montreal, is a Canadian order of Roman Catholic religious sisters...
in the creation of the Sisters of Charity of Saint-Hyacinthe, an offshoot of the Hôpital Général de Montreal, with the result of a new hospital servicing the Saint-Hyacinthe area. In December 1840 Bourget was instrumental in the establishment of the Mélanges religieux, a religious journal intended to be free of politics.
From May 3 to September 23, 1841, Bourget visited Europe, where he sought new priests to staff the schools, missions and parishes occasioned by Canada's burgeoning population. He also raised the issue of the creation of an ecclesiastical province
Ecclesiastical Province
An ecclesiastical province is a large jurisdiction of religious government, so named by analogy with a secular province, existing in certain hierarchical Christian churches, especially in the Catholic Church and Orthodox Churches and in the Anglican Communion...
to unify the administration of Canada's dioceses. He concluded his visit to Europe by visiting France, where he observed and was impressed by the religious revival taking place in that country. On June 23, 1841 the Paris newspaper L’Univers stated that Bourget had “come to Europe to seek a reinforcement of workers for the gospel", and indeed his visit was interpreted as an open invitation to apostolic missionaries to bring their missions to Montreal.
The invitation was accepted and the next several years saw an influx of religious congregations into Montreal, including missions from the Oblates of Mary Immaculate (arriving December 2, 1841), the Jesuits (arriving May 31, 1842), the Society of the Sacred Heart
Society of the Sacred Heart
The Society of the Sacred Heart is a Roman Catholic religious congregation established in France by St. Madeleine Sophie Barat in 1800. It has presence in 45 countries. Membership to the Society is restricted to women only. Its members do many works, but focus on education, particularly girls'...
(arriving December 26, 1842) and the Good Shepherd Sisters
Good Shepherd Sisters
The Good Shepherd Sisters is a Roman Catholic order of women religious. In addition to the standard vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience, the Good Shepherd Sisters take the following fourth vow of zeal for souls [to save souls], particularly of women and girls."I bind myself to the labor for...
(arriving June 7, 1844). When other religious communities, such as the Filles de la Charité de Saint-Vincent-de-Paul
Society of Saint Vincent de Paul
The St Vincent de Paul Society is an international Roman Catholic voluntary organization dedicated to tackling poverty and disadvantage by providing direct practical assistance to anyone in need. Active in England & Wales since 1844, today it continues to address social and material need in all...
, cancelled their plans to send missions to Montreal, Bourget instead organised the foundation of new Montreal-based religious communities, including in 1843 the Sisters of Providence under the leadership of Émilie Gamelin
Émilie Gamelin
Émilie Gamelin , also known as Marie-Émilie-Eugène Gamelin and Amélie Gamelin, was a Canadian social worker and Roman Catholic nun. She is best known as the founder and first superior of the Sisters of Providence...
, and the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary
Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary
The Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary is a teaching order founded at Longueuil, Québec, Canada in 1843 by Blessed Mother Marie-Rose for the Christian education of young girls.Their motto is: "Jésus et Marie, Ma Force et Ma Gloire" .Since 1843, the...
under Eulalie Durocher
Eulalie Durocher
Eulalie Mélanie Durocher , known in religion as Blessed Marie-Rose Durocher, was a Canadian Roman Catholic nun, best known for founding the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary...
.
On June 12, 1844, the ecclesiastical province
Ecclesiastical Province
An ecclesiastical province is a large jurisdiction of religious government, so named by analogy with a secular province, existing in certain hierarchical Christian churches, especially in the Catholic Church and Orthodox Churches and in the Anglican Communion...
of Quebec was erected by papal bull
Papal bull
A Papal bull is a particular type of letters patent or charter issued by a Pope of the Catholic Church. It is named after the bulla that was appended to the end in order to authenticate it....
, and on November 24, 1844 Bourget presided over the ceremonial conferring of the pallium
Pallium
The pallium is an ecclesiastical vestment in the Roman Catholic Church, originally peculiar to the Pope, but for many centuries bestowed by him on metropolitans and primates as a symbol of the jurisdiction delegated to them by the Holy See. In that context it has always remained unambiguously...
on the metropolitan bishop
Metropolitan bishop
In Christian churches with episcopal polity, the rank of metropolitan bishop, or simply metropolitan, pertains to the diocesan bishop or archbishop of a metropolis; that is, the chief city of a historical Roman province, ecclesiastical province, or regional capital.Before the establishment of...
, Archbishop Joseph Signay
Joseph Signay
Joseph Signay, , was the third archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Quebec.Signay was ordained in 1802 by Bishop Pierre Denaut and began a number of years of parish duties. In 1814, he was appointed parish priest of Quebec by Archbishop Joseph-Octave Plessis...
, at the cathedral at Quebec. During 1844 Bourget suggested to Signay that Signay should call a first provincial council to establish the authority of the archbishop and demonstrate that the title was not merely honorific. Signay took the suggestion as an insult, which soured his relationship with Bourget.
Bourget was instrumental in several important developments in the city of Kingston, Ontario
Kingston, Ontario
Kingston, Ontario is a Canadian city located in Eastern Ontario where the St. Lawrence River flows out of Lake Ontario. Originally a First Nations settlement called "Katarowki," , growing European exploration in the 17th Century made it an important trading post...
, at that time newly named as capital of the Province of Canada
Province of Canada
The Province of Canada, United Province of Canada, or the United Canadas was a British colony in North America from 1841 to 1867. Its formation reflected recommendations made by John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham in the Report on the Affairs of British North America following the Rebellions of...
. He invited the Congregation of Notre-Dame to set up a primary school in Kingston, and in September 1845 arranged for the creation of a hospital staffed by Religious Hospitallers of St Joseph from the Hôtel-Dieu at Montreal which serviced the town and surrounding district.
On May 1, 1845, Bourget directed Rosalie Cadron-Jetté
Marie-Rosalie Cadron-Jetté
Marie-Rosalie Cadron-Jetté , more commonly known as Rosalie Cadron-Jetté , was a Canadian midwife who undertook the charitable care of unwed and struggling Canadian mothers between 1840 and 1864...
, a widow of his St-Jacques congregation, in the establishment of the Hospice de Sainte-Pélagie, a Montreal-based institute providing care and crisis accommodation for unwed mothers, and on January 16, 1848 he arranged for Cadron-Jetté and her helpers to take nuns' vows and found the Institute of Misericordia Sisters, a religious community dedicated to "girls and women in a situation of maternity out of wedlock and their children".
On 30 August 1850, Bourget founded the Hospice du Saint-Enfant-Jesus (Hospice of the Holy Child Jesus), an institute for the care of deaf-mutes, which was managed first by Charles-Irénée Lagorce, and later by the Clerics of St Viator. The same year, Bourget was instrumental in the foundation of the Sisters of Saint Ann. In 1853 Bourget founded the Annales de la tempérance, a society dedicated to the goal of temperance.
Church consolidation
By 1846 Bourget found that many of his plans for expansion and renovation of the Roman Catholic Church in Canada were being frustrated by Archbishop Joseph SignayJoseph Signay
Joseph Signay, , was the third archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Quebec.Signay was ordained in 1802 by Bishop Pierre Denaut and began a number of years of parish duties. In 1814, he was appointed parish priest of Quebec by Archbishop Joseph-Octave Plessis...
, who disliked Bourget and was distrustful of Bourget's changes. On September 25, 1846, Bourget wrote to Signay and said, “For a long time I have been thinking that Your Grace should give up the administration of your archdiocese, contenting yourself with retaining the title of metropolitan. I shall use the occasion of my journey to Rome to put before the Holy See the reasons leading me to believe that it might be time for you to relieve yourself of this burden." With this in mind, Bourget travelled to Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
in late 1846 to petition the Pope for Signay's resignation. He was supported in this cause by Charles-Félix Cazeau
Charles-Félix Cazeau
Charles-Félix Cazeau was a French Canadian priest and administrator of the Archdiocese of Quebec who was prominently involved in the relief of victims from the Great Irish Famine ....
, secretary to Archbishop Signay.
In Rome, Bourget found a Vatican newly rejuvenated, Pope Pius IX having recently succeeded the unpopular Pope Gregory XVI. Bourget was unsuccessful in securing Signay's discharge, but nevertheless enjoyed several other successes, including the establishment of the diocese of Bytown with Bourget's preferred candidate, Joseph-Bruno Guigues
Joseph-Bruno Guigues
Joseph-Bruno Guigues, , was an Oblate priest, a teacher and became the first bishop of the diocese of Bytown serving from...
, made bishop. He also secured an additional 20 religious staff for Montreal, including representatives of the Congregation of the Holy Cross, the Clerics of Saint Viator
Clerics of Saint Viator
The Viatorians, or Clerics of Saint Viator , are a Roman Catholic religious order founded in Lyon, France in 1831 by Father Louis Querbes. Its patron, Saint Viator, had been a 4th century catechist in Lyon...
, the Jesuits, and the Sisters of the Society of the Sacred Heart of Jesus
Society of the Sacred Heart
The Society of the Sacred Heart is a Roman Catholic religious congregation established in France by St. Madeleine Sophie Barat in 1800. It has presence in 45 countries. Membership to the Society is restricted to women only. Its members do many works, but focus on education, particularly girls'...
.
In 1847 a typhus
Typhus
Epidemic typhus is a form of typhus so named because the disease often causes epidemics following wars and natural disasters...
epidemic occurred in Montreal, and Bourget worked directly with its victims along with many of the staff of his diocese. Although nine priests and 13 religious sisters were killed by the disease while treating it, Bourget was unharmed. At around this time, Bourget was reported as taking no more than five hours' sleep a day, and produced a substantial body of written works including pastoral correspondence and manuscript works. He was also reported to be an enthusiastic conversationalist. His hair had prematurely whitened.
On April 5, 1848, the Institut Canadien de Montréal
Institut canadien de Montréal
The Institut canadien de Montréal was founded on 17 December 1844, by a group of 200 young liberal professionals in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The Institute was a public library and debating room for the literary and scientific society, which would later come into conflict with the Roman Catholic...
founded the Association des établissements canadiens des townships, and Bourget was made chair of the central committee. The vice-chair was Louis-Joseph Papineau
Louis-Joseph Papineau
Louis-Joseph Papineau , born in Montreal, Quebec, was a politician, lawyer, and the landlord of the seigneurie de la Petite-Nation. He was the leader of the reformist Patriote movement before the Lower Canada Rebellion of 1837–1838. His father was Joseph Papineau, also a famous politician in Quebec...
, a noted anti-clericist whom Bourget had publicly condemned during the 1837 rebellions
Lower Canada Rebellion
The Lower Canada Rebellion , commonly referred to as the Patriots' War by Quebeckers, is the name given to the armed conflict between the rebels of Lower Canada and the British colonial power of that province...
, and in September 1848 Bourget found himself unable to work productively with the committee and resigned.
Under Bourget, the Roman Catholic Church in Montreal began to place a greater importance on ceremony and ritual. Bourget favoured Roman-style ceremonies over the more sedate masses of the Sulpicians, brought back holy relics from Rome for veneration, and introduced emotional new devotions including the Seven Sorrows of Mary
Our Lady of Sorrows
Our Lady of Sorrows , the Sorrowful Mother or Mother of Sorrows , and Our Lady of the Seven Sorrows or Our Lady of the Seven Dolours are names by which the Blessed Virgin Mary is referred to in relation to sorrows in her life...
, the Sacred Heart
Sacred Heart
The Sacred Heart is one of the most famous religious devotions to Jesus' physical heart as the representation of His divine love for Humanity....
, and, on February 21, 1857, the Forty Hours' Devotion
Forty Hours' Devotion
Forty Hours' Devotion, called Quarant' Ore or written in one word Quarantore, is a Roman Catholic exercise of devotion in which continuous prayer is made for forty hours before the Blessed Sacrament exposed...
.
On July 8, 1852 the Bishop's residence was destroyed in a spate of severe fires, causing Bourget to move his accommodations to the Hospice Saint-Joseph until August 31, 1855, and thereafter to an episcopal residence at Mont Saint-Joseph. The same fires also destroyed the Saint-Jacques Cathedral
Saint-Jacques Cathedral (Montreal)
Saint-Jacques Cathedral was the cathedral of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Montreal from 1825 to 1852, named for St. James the Greater....
. Bourget planned to commission a scale reproduction of Rome's St Peter's Basilica to serve as a replacement, and engaged first Victor Bourgeau (who claimed such a scale reproduction could not be achieved) and then Joseph Michaud to design the new cathedral. However, work did not eventually commence until 1875. In 1894, subsequent to Bourget's death, the structure was completed and consecrated as St James Cathedral, and in 1955 was rededicated as Mary, Queen of the World Cathedral
Mary, Queen of the World Cathedral
The Cathedral-Basilica of Mary, Queen of the World in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, is the seat of the Roman Catholic archdiocese of Montreal. It is the third largest church in Quebec after St. Joseph's Oratory and the Basilica of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré east of Quebec City...
.
Institut Canadien de Montréal
By the time of the second provincial council held in Quebec City in 1854, Bourget had become distrustful of the Institut Canadien de MontréalInstitut canadien de Montréal
The Institut canadien de Montréal was founded on 17 December 1844, by a group of 200 young liberal professionals in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The Institute was a public library and debating room for the literary and scientific society, which would later come into conflict with the Roman Catholic...
, a liberal literary association which Bourget saw as anti-clericist and subversive. He used his influence at the provincial council to cause a disciplinary regulation to be drawn up, dated June 4, 1854, declaring that members of "literary institutes [at which] readings are given there which are anti-religious" were not to be admitted to the Roman Catholic sacraments. Despite the regulation, eleven members of the Institut were elected to the Legislative Assembly in late 1854, where they began to campaign for the separation of church and state in education through the institution of nondenominational schools.
In 1858 Bourget commenced a series of pastoral letters attacking liberals, anti-clericists, and the Institut Canadien. The first of these, on March 10, 1858, focused on what he saw as the evils of the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
and revolutions generally, which he alleged were caused by the circulation of immoral books. The letter was the focus of a meeting by the Institut Canadien on April 13, 1854, where Institut member Hector Fabre
Hector Fabre
Louis-Roch-Hector Fabre was a French Canadian lawyer, journalist, diplomat, and senator.He was appointed to the Canadian Senate on 5 February 1875 on the recommendation of Alexander Mackenzie...
suggested the Institut self-censor its own access to the purportedly immoral books. No resolution was reached.
On April 30, 1858, Bourget wrote a second letter which demanded the removal of "evil books" from the collection of the Institut Canadien, backed by the threat of excommunication
Excommunication
Excommunication is a religious censure used to deprive, suspend or limit membership in a religious community. The word means putting [someone] out of communion. In some religions, excommunication includes spiritual condemnation of the member or group...
for all those who visited its library or attended its sessions and readings. As a result of this and the April 13 meeting, a significant number of Institut members including Hector Fabre left to form a competing organisation, the Institut Canadien-Français. In a third letter dated May 31, 1858 Bourget directly attacked the remaining leaders of the Institut Canadien, as well as the liberal paper Le Pays, as anti-clericists and revolutionaries, and argued that the mere idea of freedom of religious and political opinion was contrary to church doctrine.
The Institut Canadien unsuccessfully attempt to reconcile with Bourget in 1864, and a petition seeking reconciliation was addressed to Pope Pius IX
Pope Pius IX
Blessed Pope Pius IX , born Giovanni Maria Mastai-Ferretti, was the longest-reigning elected Pope in the history of the Catholic Church, serving from 16 June 1846 until his death, a period of nearly 32 years. During his pontificate, he convened the First Vatican Council in 1869, which decreed papal...
by 17 Catholic members of the Institut in 1865, to no effect. Bourget made further unfavourable reports to the Holy Office regarding the Institut in 1866 and 1869, and in July 1869 the Annuaire de l’Institut Canadien pour 1868 was placed on the Index Librorum Prohibitorum
Index Librorum Prohibitorum
The Index Librorum Prohibitorum was a list of publications prohibited by the Catholic Church. A first version was promulgated by Pope Paul IV in 1559, and a revised and somewhat relaxed form was authorized at the Council of Trent...
(Vatican list of banned books). The Guibord case
Guibord case
Brown v. Les Curé et Marguilliers de l'oeuvre et de la Fabrique de la Paroisse de Montréal, better known as the Guibord case, was a famous decision in 1874 by the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in an early Canadian legal dispute over the relationship between church and state...
(see below) and the events of 1869 to 1874 marked the final decline of the Institut. Its membership, which in 1858 had numbered 700, was by 1867 reduced to 300 and by 1875 only 165. In 1871 the Institut closed its debating room, and in 1880 it closed its library.
The fall of the Papal States
Bourget was concerned not only with politics in Montreal, but also with politics in Italy, which directly affected the affairs of the Roman Catholic ChurchRoman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
as a whole. Between 1849 and 1870, the Italian peninsula underwent dramatic political changes, culminating in the unification of Italy into one nation. This had severe consequences for the Vatican
Holy See
The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...
and for the Roman Catholic Church
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
. In 1848 Pope Pius IX
Pope Pius IX
Blessed Pope Pius IX , born Giovanni Maria Mastai-Ferretti, was the longest-reigning elected Pope in the history of the Catholic Church, serving from 16 June 1846 until his death, a period of nearly 32 years. During his pontificate, he convened the First Vatican Council in 1869, which decreed papal...
was evacuated from Rome, and on September 20, 1870 the Papal States
Papal States
The Papal State, State of the Church, or Pontifical States were among the major historical states of Italy from roughly the 6th century until the Italian peninsula was unified in 1861 by the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia .The Papal States comprised territories under...
were annexed to the Kingdom of Italy
Kingdom of Italy (1861–1946)
The Kingdom of Italy was a state forged in 1861 by the unification of Italy under the influence of the Kingdom of Sardinia, which was its legal predecessor state...
, effectively ending their sovereignty. These upheavals were a source of great concern to many Catholics, and they were of particular importance to Bourget, who as an ultramontane
Ultramontanism
Ultramontanism is a religious philosophy within the Roman Catholic community that places strong emphasis on the prerogatives and powers of the Pope...
believed firmly in the supreme authority of the Pope in all matters both temporal and spiritual.
On October 23, 1854, Bourget travelled to Europe, where he remained until July 29, 1856. He visited Rome to represent the ecclesiastical province at the proclamation of the dogma of the Immaculate Conception
Immaculate Conception
The Immaculate Conception of Mary is a dogma of the Roman Catholic Church, according to which the Virgin Mary was conceived without any stain of original sin. It is one of the four dogmata in Roman Catholic Mariology...
on December 8, 1854, and then spent time in Italy and France. While in France he published an unsuccessful book on Roman liturgy entitled Ceremonial des évêques commenté et expliqué par les usages et traditions de la sainte Eglise romaine avec le texte latin, par un évêque suffragant de la province ecclésiastique de Québec, au Canada, anciennement appelé Nouvelle-France, complimentary copies of which he distributed to all the French bishops.
In a series of pastoral letters in 1860, Bourget addressed the ongoing unification of Italy. He argued that the revolution in Italy was attacking the Church "in order next to overthrow unimpeded the rest of the universe", and characterised Canada's liberal books and newspapers as accomplices in this alleged conspiracy. The liberal newspaper Le Pays and its editor Louis-Antoine Dessaulles were often the subjects of Bourget's pastoral letters, particularly seven long letters written by Bourget in February 1862 directly addressed to the newspaper, which the owners of Le Pays refused to publish.
In 1862, Bourget again travelled to Rome, this time with the goal of representing the Province of Quebec at the canonization
Canonization
Canonization is the act by which a Christian church declares a deceased person to be a saint, upon which declaration the person is included in the canon, or list, of recognized saints. Originally, individuals were recognized as saints without any formal process...
of the Japanese martyrs
Martyrs of Japan
The refers to a group of Christians who were executed by crucifixion on February 5, 1597 at Nagasaki. Their martyrdom is especially significant in the history of Roman Catholicism in Japan....
. While there he was made a Roman count and Assistant at the Papal Throne
Assistant at the Pontifical Throne
Assistant at the Pontifical Throne is an ecclesiastical title in the Roman Catholic Church. It signifies a prelate belonging to the papal chapel, who stands near the throne of the Pope at solemn functions....
.
In 1868 Bourget was instrumental in the recruitment and enlistment of seven detachments of Canadian Papal Zouaves
Papal Zouaves
The Papal Zouaves were an infantry force formed in defence of the Papal States.-Origin:The Zouaves evolved out of a unit formed by Christophe Léon Louis Juchault de Lamoricière...
(volunteer infantry regiments), comprising 507 individuals, who were sent to Rome to assist the papacy in the defence of the Papal States
Papal States
The Papal State, State of the Church, or Pontifical States were among the major historical states of Italy from roughly the 6th century until the Italian peninsula was unified in 1861 by the Kingdom of Piedmont-Sardinia .The Papal States comprised territories under...
at a cost to the church of at least $111,630. They there joined troops from France, Belgium, Holland and Ireland, but were ultimately unsuccessful in preventing Rome's annexation by the Kingdom of Italy.
New Brunswick Common Schools Act of 1871
On April 5, 1871, a bill was tabled in the parliament of the Province of New BrunswickNew Brunswick
New Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only province in the federation that is constitutionally bilingual . The provincial capital is Fredericton and Saint John is the most populous city. Greater Moncton is the largest Census Metropolitan Area...
which provided for the establishment of government-operated "common schools" requiring compulsory attendance of students. On May 17, 1871, the bill was passed into law as the Common Schools Act of 1871
Common Schools Act of 1871
The Common Schools Act of 1871 was legislation of the Canadian Province of New Brunswick, passed by the 22nd New Brunswick Legislative Assembly, which replaced the Parish Schools Act of 1858. The legislation aimed to abolish church-run schooling in New Brunswick and replace it with a system of...
. The Common Schools Act replaced the Public Schools Act 1858, and it included provisions forbidding the teaching of catechism
Catechism
A catechism , i.e. to indoctrinate) is a summary or exposition of doctrine, traditionally used in Christian religious teaching from New Testament times to the present...
courses, prohibiting teachers from wearing religious garb, and requiring teachers to obtain government certification. The provisions effectively abolished the system of religious schooling which had operated in New Brunswick until that time. The enactment resulted from government doubt as to the quality of the religious education being provided, and concerns about attendance rates among enrolled pupils, which by 1871 were as low as 55%.
John Sweeny
John Sweeny (bishop)
John Sweeny was a Canadian Roman Catholic priest and Bishop of Saint John in America from 1859 to 1901.Bishop Sweeney was a leading figure in opposition to the Common Schools Act of 1871 enacted by the 22nd New Brunswick Legislative Assembly. He founded the Irish Catholic community of Johnville,...
, bishop of Saint John
Saint John, New Brunswick
City of Saint John , or commonly Saint John, is the largest city in the province of New Brunswick, and the first incorporated city in Canada. The city is situated along the north shore of the Bay of Fundy at the mouth of the Saint John River. In 2006 the city proper had a population of 74,043...
fought an unsuccessful campaign against the act for several years, both through the auspices of Catholic MPs in the New Brunswick parliament, and via challenge in the courts. However, he was unsuccessful. He also urged Catholics to stop paying the school tax in protest, to which the government responded by imprisoning key priests and seizing property, including Sweeny's carriage.
Finally on May 18, 1873, Sweeny attended the provincial council of the Quebec church, where he invited the bishops of Quebec to intervene in New Brunswick affairs with the goal of supporting the cause of religious schooling. Bourget, who had had a key role in developing Lower Canada's system of religious schooling, accepted the invitation. Not only did the act prevent the teaching of Catholicism, regarded by the Roman Catholic Church as one of its key duties, but it also represented a substantial blow to ultramontanism
Ultramontanism
Ultramontanism is a religious philosophy within the Roman Catholic community that places strong emphasis on the prerogatives and powers of the Pope...
, which asserted the supreme authority of the Pope in all matters temporal and spiritual. On May 19, Bourget and Bishop Louis-François Laflèche co-authored and released a statement opposing the Common Schools Act, with the effect that several Conservative MPs of New Brunswick hailing from Quebec threatened to break ranks and support a motion of no-confidence against the government. The New Brunswick government responded by offering to pay the church's costs in the ongoing legal action over the act if the no-confidence motion was not passed - a deal which the church accepted.
The legal challenge made its way to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council
Judicial Committee of the Privy Council
The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council is one of the highest courts in the United Kingdom. Established by the Judicial Committee Act 1833 to hear appeals formerly heard by the King in Council The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (JCPC) is one of the highest courts in the United...
in England, at that time Canada's highest court of appeal, where the Privy Council rejected the church's case, effectively endorsing the government. However, discontent with the Common Schools Act continued to grow, culminating in 1875 when a protest at the town of Caraquet, New Brunswick
Caraquet, New Brunswick
Caraquet is a Canadian town in Gloucester County, New Brunswick.-Location:Situated on the shore of Chaleur Bay in the Acadian Peninsula, its name is derived from the Mi'kmaq term for meeting of two rivers...
devolved into a riot and two people were shot. Following the riots, amendments to the Act were made and the common schools system was eventually abandoned, replaced with a predominantly public schooling system but retaining government-subsidised religious schools.
Although New Brunswick ended up with a primarily secular schooling system, the civil unrest caused by the passage of the Common Schools Act and Bourget's public interference may have deterred the parliament of Quebec from following New Brunswick's lead, as Quebec did not eventually establish a public school system until 1964.
Guibord case
On November 18, 1869, Joseph Guibord, a professed Catholic and member of the Institut Canadien, died. His widow, Henrietta Brown, applied to have Guibord buried in Notre Dame des NeigesNotre Dame des Neiges Cemetery
Founded in 1854, Cimetière Notre-Dame-des-Neiges is a 343-acre cemetery located in the borough of Côte-des-Neiges—Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The entrance and the grounds run along a part of chemin Côte-des-Neiges and up the slopes of Mount Royal...
, a Catholic cemetery. Due to Bourget's earlier excommunication of the Institut, reinforced by a letter written by Bourget that year, Brown was told that Guibord could not be buried in the sanctified area of the cemetery reserved for Roman Catholics, although the cemetery curate
Curate
A curate is a person who is invested with the care or cure of souls of a parish. In this sense "curate" correctly means a parish priest but in English-speaking countries a curate is an assistant to the parish priest...
offered to bury Guibord without religious rites in the section used for criminals. Brown did not accept this offer, and Guibord's remains were therefore temporarily deposited in the vault of the local Protestant cemetery.
Prominent lawyers Rudolph LaFlamme and Joseph Doutre QC commenced legal proceedings on behalf of Guibord's widow and eventually took the case to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council
Judicial Committee of the Privy Council
The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council is one of the highest courts in the United Kingdom. Established by the Judicial Committee Act 1833 to hear appeals formerly heard by the King in Council The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (JCPC) is one of the highest courts in the United...
in England, which was at that time the court of supreme jurisdiction for Canada. His argument was that under the civil law of Canada the Church had a legal obligation to afford Guibord a Catholic burial.
In 1874 the Privy Council ruled that Guibord should be buried in a Catholic cemetery, and ordered that Bourget and the Roman Catholic Church pay the costs of the legal proceedings. Following the ruling, Bourget went to the Notre Dame des Neiges Cemetery
Notre Dame des Neiges Cemetery
Founded in 1854, Cimetière Notre-Dame-des-Neiges is a 343-acre cemetery located in the borough of Côte-des-Neiges—Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The entrance and the grounds run along a part of chemin Côte-des-Neiges and up the slopes of Mount Royal...
and deconsecrated the burial plot where the Privy Council had ordered that Guibord could be buried. Upon arrival at the cemetery, the hearse containing Guibord's body was pelted with rocks by an angry mob, many of whom were employees of the parish who had been given a day's holiday by Bourget specifically to allow them to attend. The body was escorted to the grave plot by soldiers, where it was buried despite Bourget's insistence the ground was not sanctified.
Université Laval
In 1852, Bourget was involved with the founding of the Université LavalUniversité Laval
Laval University is the oldest centre of education in Canada and was the first institution in North America to offer higher education in French...
by the Séminaire de Québec. At the time, Bourget believed that responsibility for the University was to be shared by all bishops within the episcopal province of Quebec. However, the organisation and management of the University were subsequently taken over by the archbishop and seminary of Quebec, with the result that by 1858 none of the local (Montreal) classical colleges were affiliated with the University.
This led Bourget, from 1862, to plan the founding of a new Catholic university in Montreal. This was in part prompted by increasing numbers of Catholic students enrolling at the (secular) McGill College
McGill University
Mohammed Fathy is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university bears the name of James McGill, a prominent Montreal merchant from Glasgow, Scotland, whose bequest formed the beginning of the university...
and elsewhere to study law and medicine out of lack of a Catholic alternative. In 1865 Bourget petitioned the Vatican for the establishment of a new Catholic university in Montreal but his application was rejected. In 1870 the Université Laval proposed opening a branch in Montreal but Bourget rejected this proposition as it did not accept his authority over it as bishop. In 1876 the Vatican ordered the establishment of a branch of the Université Laval at Montreal, answering only to Quebec (not Bourget), but Bourget resigned as Bishop shortly thereafter and therefore was never required to enact the order.
Division of Notre-Dame parish
By 1863, the Montreal parish of Notre-Dame had grown in size to a population of around 100,000, with its parish priest by tradition being the Sulpician superior of the Grand Séminaire de MontréalGrand séminaire de Montréal
The Grand séminaire de Montréal is the sacerdotal school of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Montreal. The institution was founded by the sulpicians in 1840 on the demands of Ignace Bourget. A branch of Université Laval's faculty of theology was installed in the seminar in 1878...
. Following an application by the Superior General of Saint-Sulpice in Paris, Bourget was asked by the Holy See
Holy See
The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...
to comment on the situation of Notre-Dame parish. Bourget commented that he was happy with the current situation, providing that the parish priest was wholly subordinated to Bourget as bishop, meaning that Bourget would have the power to dismiss them from the position.
The Sulpicians disputed Bourget's proposed hierarchy and both Bourget and the Superior General of Saint-Sulpice were summoned to Rome. The Sulpicians refused to allow Bourget to have authority to dismiss the parish priest and threatened to withdraw their entire religious community of 57 priests from Montreal, which would have created a crippling shortage of clergy in the diocese. Negotiations were held with the result that in 1865 Bourget was given authority to divide the parish of Notre-Dame on the condition that the new parishes would be offered first to the Sulpicians, that the Sulpicians would name their own priests to the parishes but would require them to be invested by the Bishop, and that the new parish priests could be dismissed by either the Bishop or the Superior of the Sulpicians.
Between September 1866 and December 1867, Bourget divided Notre-Dame into ten new canonical parishes. However, in order to invest the parishes with legal existence Bourget required Montreal's civil authorities to incorporate them. The Sulpicians advised the government not to recognise the new parishes, claiming that they were merely succursal chapels of the parish of Notre-Dame. This resulted in a series of protracted legal and political battles between Bourget and the Sulpicians which ended with Bourget's victory in 1873, when all the parishes obtained their civil registration.
Resignation, late life and death
Édouard-Charles Fabre
Édouard-Charles Fabre was Archbishop of Montreal in 1886 and of Sherbrooke and Saint-Hyacinthe in 1887.Fabre was the eldest of 11 children in an important Montreal business family...
as coadjutor bishop in a ceremony at the church of the Collège Sainte-Marie. Around this time, Bourget was frequently beset by illness, but despite this he continued a series of energetic attacks on liberalism, including liberalism within the Catholic Church. These attacks caused the Archbishop of Quebec and members of his inner circle to question Bourget's judgement and ability to perform as Bishop. The Archbishop of Quebec was also concerned that the church was becoming increasingly involved in secular politics, to its detriment. Ignazio Persico, parish priest of Sillery, proposed that Rome undertake an inquiry into the matter, including Bourget's conduct.
To forestall the inquiry, on April 28, 1876 Bourget resigned as Bishop of Montreal and on May 15 that resignation was accepted by the Pope, to take effect in September. Following his resignation, Bourget was appointed archbishop of the titular see
Titular see
A titular see in various churches is an episcopal see of a former diocese that no longer functions, sometimes called a "dead diocese". The ordinary or hierarch of such a see may be styled a "titular bishop", "titular metropolitan", or "titular archbishop"....
of Marcianopolis
Marcianopolis
Marcianopolis or Marcianople was an ancient Roman city in Thracia. It was located at the site of modern day Devnya, Bulgaria.-History:...
, and in early 1877 he retired to Sault-au-Récollet
Sault-au-Récollet
Sault-au-Récollet is a neighbourhood in the Ahuntsic-Cartierville borough, in the city of Montreal. It is located at the eastern edge of the borough...
, taking with him his secretary, Joseph-Octave Paré.
Between August 12 and October 30, 1881, Bourget travelled to Rome, pleading unsuccessfully for the establishment of a second Catholic university in Montreal. In 1882, Bourget took part in a fundraising drive to help raise money to pay off the Diocese of Montreal's significant debts, which totalled some $840,000. On October 11, 1882 he announced that a sum of $84,782 had been raised through these efforts. On November 9, 1882, Bourget made his final public appearance at Boucherville, celebrating the diamond anniversary of his ordination as the conclusion of his fundraising tour.
Bourget died on June 8, 1885 at Sault-au-Récollet
Sault-au-Récollet
Sault-au-Récollet is a neighbourhood in the Ahuntsic-Cartierville borough, in the city of Montreal. It is located at the eastern edge of the borough...
. A funeral service was conducted by Father Collin, the Superior of the Sulpicians, at the Church of Notre Dame, and Bourget's body was buried alongside that of his predecessor Jean-Jacques Lartigue
Jean-Jacques Lartigue
Jean-Jacques Lartigue was a Canadian Roman Catholic who served as the first Bishop of Montreal. He was the only son of a noted Montreal family...
in a vault under the southwest pillar of the dome of the then-unfinished St James Cathedral, later renamed as Mary, Queen of the World Cathedral
Mary, Queen of the World Cathedral
The Cathedral-Basilica of Mary, Queen of the World in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, is the seat of the Roman Catholic archdiocese of Montreal. It is the third largest church in Quebec after St. Joseph's Oratory and the Basilica of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré east of Quebec City...
. On March 20, 1993, his remains were transferred to the Cathedral's mortuary chapel for bishops and archbishops, of which his mausoleum forms the centre. On June 24, 1903 a statue of Bourget
Ignace Bourget Monument
The Ignace Bourget Monument is a monument of Louis-Philippe Hébert located in front of Mary, Queen of the World Cathedral in Montreal.- Overview :...
created by artist Louis-Philippe Hébert was unveiled in the parvis of the St James Cathedral. The statue was funded by approximately $25,000 in donations from Catholic clergy and faithful. In 2005 a cleaning and restoration of the statue was performed.
External links
- Archbishop Ignace Bourget - Catholic-Hierarchy.org entry