The Notre-Dame Basilica is located in the centre of Place d'Armes in Old Montreal. When it was built, they decided to dedicate this new church to the Lady the Blessed Virgin. Back then, Notre-Dame Basilica was only considered a church until April 21st 1982, when Pope John Paul II visited Montreal and decided to upgrade it's status to a Basilica.
The plans for the church were designed by New York architect James O'Donnell, who surprisingly wasn't even christian. He sadly did not see the end product since he died in 1830. The construction of the church lasted from 1824 to 1829, which was the main construction. The sanctuary was the next thing to be constructed, which was finished in 1930. In 1841, the western tower was completed and named "La Perseverance". It home to a bell called "Jean-Baptiste", and weighs a total of 11 tons. In 1843, the eastern tower was completed and named "La Temperance". It houses a carillon of 10 small bells. The interior of the church took much longer to construct, which was from 1872 to 1879. When the church was fully finished, it was considered the largest one in North America, and it kept this status for over 50 years.
The Basilica was given a unique pipe organ, which they still have today. This pipe organ was created by the "Casavant Freres" in 1891. It has a total of 4 keyboards, and has a massive amount of pipes, 7000 to be exact. It was the first organ ever to use adjustable-combination pedals with electricity.
On December 7th 1978, someone intentionally set fire to a building, which destroyed the Sacre-Coeur Chapel. They later rebuilt the chapel, using only old photographs and drawings to recreate the same design.
The Notre-Dame Basilica is also a very famous place for weddings, funerals, etc. On December 17th 1994, Celine Dion and her husband Rene Angelil got married there. On May 31st 2000, the provincial state funeral of the hockey legend Maurice "Rocket" Richard was held there. They also held Canada's 15th Prime Minister, Pierre Trudeau's state funeral.
The Basilica is open for guided tours, and they also hold weddings, funerals, and other religious sacraments.
