Saint Patrick’s of Montreal: The Biography of a Basilica 

Saint Patrick’s Basilica in Montreal observed its 150th anniversary in 1997, yet few are aware of the magnificent neo-Gothic building in the city’s downtown core. More than a religious institution, the church is older than Canada, and has been at the heart of the episcopal, linguistic, political, and social history of Montreal.rnrnThis history offers a fascinating glimpse at the creative tension that resulted when French and English speaking Irish Roman Catholics, divided by language but united by faith, clashed in a struggle of wills. It is the story of stubborn bishops, dynamic pastors, and colourful parishoners who contributed to the evolution of the basilica from a branch-chapel of Nôtre-Dâme, to the parent church of Montreal’s 250,000 English speaking Roman Catholics.