Church fundraisers unite NDG ‘village’

Shannon Rose

Several committees are working together to create a haven in NDG, with green space and acivites for all members of the community.

“We want the whole world to be as excited as we are,” says Margo Welford, who is on the honours committee for the restoration of Notre-Dame-de-Grâce church. “The church was one of the central points to bring the community together. We really want to bring it back to what it used to be.”

Welford explains that they want the church to be available to the entire community, not just Catholic parishioners. “We want people to feel like it belongs to them,” so they plan to create events that reach out to everyone – concerts, arts sales and sporting events, among many others. “The sky is the limit,” she says, noting that NDG is a very tightly knit community. “I find that it’s like a little village. I get that feeling at the NDG church.”

“The big thing was growing melons here.” In one of the committee’s brainstorming sessions they decided that it would be fun to have a melon patch on the church’s land. “That’s really bringing it back to its roots. I think that some of the older people who have been here for generations would really get a kick out of that.”

Currently such projects are serving as fundraisers for the renovation and restoration of the church. The government is covering 70 per cent of the money needed, but according to the budget, the committee still needs to raise $100,000 a year, for three years. “We need to do the restoration work, but we want it to stay alive for the future, not just for three years.” In other words, the church is going to continue organizing these events long after the restoration has been paid for.

The work includes fixing the doors, restoring the stained glass windows, recovering the fresco on the ceiling and getting the church to look the way that it did in its prime. “Unfortunately, they’ve covered a dome inside that has artwork underneath. This is something that we would love to bring back.”

“There are three facets to the value of the church,” says Alain Mignot, President of the organizing committee. “The historical value, the architectural value and the environmental value.”

Alain says that the church is an important historical landmark. “It was the first church built aside from the Montreal Parish.” The bones of the first mayor of Montreal are buried in a crypt in the back of the church.

“The architecture is very unique. The stained glass windows were made by Guido Nincheri [1885-1973].” This famous artist specialized in stained glass windows and frescoes. He constructed artwork for churches all across North America.

As for the environmental value, the church has a large terrain. The government is converting the green space into a park that will still be owned by the parish.

“It’s really such a beautiful place and a fun thing,” Welford says. “I’m very excited to be part of this project. I’ve taken it to heart.”