Archdiocese of Québec Archidiœcesis Quebecensis Archidiocèse de Québec | |
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 Coat of arms | |
| Location | |
| Country |  Canada |
| Territory | Quebec City |
| Ecclesiastical province | Quebec |
| Statistics | |
| Area | 35,180 km2 (13,580 sq mi) |
Population
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| Parishes | 40[1] |
| Information | |
| Denomination | Catholic Church |
| Sui iuris church | Latin Church |
| Rite | Roman Rite |
| Established | 12 January 1658; 367 years ago |
| Cathedral | Notre-Dame de Québec |
| Patron saint | Immaculate Conception andLouis IX of France |
| Secular priests | 737 |
| Current leadership | |
| Pope | Leo XIV |
| Archbishop | Gérald Lacroix |
| Auxiliary Bishops | Marc Pelchat Juan Carlos Londoño |
| Map | |
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| Website | |
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TheArchdiocese of Québec (Latin:Archidiœcesis Quebecensis;French:Archidiocèse de Québec) is aLatin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction orarchdiocese of theCatholic Church inQuebec, Canada. It is the oldestepiscopal see in theNew World north ofMexico and theprimatial see of Canada. The Archdiocese of Quebec is also themetropolitan see of anecclesiastical province with thesuffragan dioceses ofChicoutimi,Sainte-Anne-de-la-Pocatière andTrois-Rivières. The archdiocese's cathedral isNotre-Dame de Québec inQuebec City.
From the beginning ofcolonisation of theNew World, the Church influenced the politics and policies ofNew France. Even during the first voyages ofJacques Cartier in the 16th century,missionary priests would accompany theexplorers on their voyages to the New World. After two failed attempts to settle inAcadia, in 1608,Québec City was founded bySamuel de Champlain, giving the Church a solid base to spread the faith to theIndigenous populations. In 1615, theRecollet missionaries arrived in Québec, followed by theJesuit missionaries 10 years later. Their presence would help drive the colonies, giving the colonizers a moral reason for their presence, as well as giving the Church an influential position in domestic and local policy. In 1658, the Church would establish anapostolic vicariate byPope Alexander VII, 124 years since the first voyage of Jacques Cartier in 1534. The vicar apostolic wasFrançois de Laval. As the vicar apostolic of Québec, Laval was a central member of theSovereign Council of New France. Arguably, while he was charged with only the spiritual matters of New France, he had the most influence as he was the highest representative of the Church, as well as having excellent relations withKing Louis XIV. In 1663, Laval would establish theSeminary of Québec. In 1674, with the population of New France growing rapidly and the Seminary of Québec enrolling more students,Pope Clement X elevated the apostolic vicariate to adiocese, which would depend directly on theHoly See; this provision would later secure its permanence afterNew France passed into the hands ofGreat Britain in 1760. At its peak, in 1712, the Diocese of Québec covered the entire American continent to the Gulf of Mexico. Only the British colonies that would later become the United States and the Spanish colony of Florida were not under the authority of the Bishop of Quebec.
Under British rule, the peoples of Québec were discriminated against in respect of their Catholic faith and their language. Any person in theEmpire wanting to take a position had to take theTest Oath which denounced their faith. Because almost all the colonists were French-speaking Catholics, the Test Oath prevented the local population from participating in local politics. However, in 1774, the British Parliament passed theQuebec Act that allowed Québec to restore the use of French customary law ("Coutume de Paris") in private matters alongside the British common law system, and allowed the Church to collect tithes on the businesses and property of Catholics. In 1819, the diocese was elevated to anarchdiocese. By 1840, political leaders formally recognized the Church. The Archdiocese of Québec was split into new dioceses as the population increased.
It lost large pieces of its territory with the formation of the Dioceses ofHalifax andKingston in 1817, the Diocese ofCharlottetown in 1829, the Diocese ofSt. Boniface in 1844 and the Diocese ofMontréal in 1852.
It is common, but not inherent to the title, for the Archbishops of Québec to either be named to the cardinalate while serving or when transferred to a larger archdiocese or to a post in theRoman Curia.
On 17 September 2024, Pope Francis appointed ArchbishopJean-Marc Aveline as theHoly See’sspecial envoy for the Archdiocese of Quebec’s 350th anniversary celebrations on September 20–22.[2]
Since 24 January 1956, the Archbishop of Quebec has the ceremonial title ofPrimate of Canada; the title was given to the reigning Archbishop of Quebec byPope Pius XII.
Built in 1693 to 1694 on order byJean-Baptiste de La Croix de Chevrières de Saint-Vallier, the Chapel of Bishop's Palace was a private place of worship for the Bishop of Quebec and located within the residence (or Bishop's Palace).
Following the British conquest the chapel was leased toLegislative Council of the Province of Quebec from 1777 to 1791 and successorsLegislative Assembly of Lower Canada andLegislative Council of Lower Canada from 1791 to 1833.
The chapel was demolished in 1831 to build a new addition where the two legislative houses met from 1834 to 1839. The new addition and bishop's residence would survive until it was demolished in 1852–1853. A new bishop's residence by Thomas Baillarge was built in 1844 to 1847 slight north.
Preparing for the return of Parliament to Quebec City, a new parliamentary building was completed from 1853 to 1854 on Côte de la Montagne, but it burned down shortly after. Parliament relocated within the city toQuebec Music Hall andQuebec City Courthouse until capital rotated out again.
Rebuilt by 1860 and served Parliament until 1866. The building was repurposed asParliament of the new province of Quebec in 1867. A fire destroyed this building in 1883 and decision was made to relocate to the nearly complete newhome which had begun construction since 1877. The burned-out building was demolished by 1894. Today the old Parliament site is now home toParc Montmorency.
Below is a list of individuals who have led the Archdiocese of Quebec and its antecedent jurisdictions since its founding.[3][4]
Under theCode of Canon Law, thecoadjutor bishop has the right of succession (cum jure successionis) upon the death, retirement or resignation of the diocesan bishop he is assisting.[5][6][7] All coadjutor ordinaries except forCharles-François Bailly de Messein eventually succeeded to become head of the Archdiocese of Quebec or its antecedent jurisdictions.
Unlike coadjutors,auxiliary bishops do not have the right of succession, per canon 975, §1 of the1983 Code of Canon Law.[5] Four auxiliaries went on to become Archbishop of Quebec.
On February 22, 2011,Vatican Information Service (VIS) andCatholic News Service (CNS), announced thatPope Benedict XVI had named the 53-year-old BishopGérald Lacroix, until then an Auxiliary Bishop (assistant bishop) of Quebec (since 2009), as the new Metropolitan Archbishop of the Quebec and Primate of Canada. As archbishop, he succeedsMarc Ouellet, his former superior, who became the prefect of one of the Roman Curia's most important administrative departments, the SacredCongregation for Bishops, in July 2010. Lacroix is a member of the Quebec-based Saint PopePius X Secular Institute. Lacroix was born inSaint-Hilaire-de-Dorset, Quebec, on July 27, 1957, the eldest son in a family of seven children. At the age of 8, his family settled inManchester, largest city ofNew Hampshire (in the U.S.), where he attended the parochial elementary school ofSaint Anthony of Padua andTrinity High School. He studied one year atSaint Anselm College in neighboringGoffstown. He joined the Pius X Secular Institute as a consecrated lay member in 1975, and made perpetual vows in 1982. The same year, he was named secretary general of the institute. He earned a master's degree inpastoral theology atLaval University, and from 1985 to 1987, directed the La Maison du Renouveau, a formation and Christian renewal centre. He was ordained a priest on October 8, 1988, in the parish ofNotre-Dame-de-la-Recouvrance. He was ordained to the episcopacy as Auxiliary Bishop of Quebec on May 24, 2009.
On December 12, 2011, Pope Benedict appointedGaetan Proulx andDenis Grondin Jr. as Auxiliary Bishops of the Archdiocese of Quebec to serve under Lacroix. They were ordained to the episcopacy as Auxiliary Bishops of Quebec on February 25, 2012.[8]
On May 4, 2015, Pope Francis appointed Bishop Grondin asArchbishop of Rimouski.
On July 2, 2016, Pope Francis appointed Bishop Proulx asBishop of Gaspé.[9] On October 25, 2016, the same pope appointedLouis Corriveau and Marc Pelchat as Auxiliary Bishops of the Archdiocese. In 2019, he transferred Bishop Corriveau to a diocesan post elsewhere, and on November 25 appointed Martin Laliberté, P.M.E. as auxiliary here.
(in French)Hierarchy of theCatholic Church in Canada | |
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| Province of Edmonton | |
| Province of Gatineau | |
| Province of Grouard–McLennan | |
| Province of Halifax–Yarmouth | |
| Province of Keewatin–Le Pas | |
| Province of Kingston | |
| Province of Moncton | |
| Province of Montreal | |
| Province of Ottawa–Cornwall | |
| Province of Québec | |
| Province of Regina | |
| Province of Rimouski | |
| Province of Saint Boniface | |
| Province of St. John's | |
| Province of Sherbrooke | |
| Province of Toronto | |
| Province of Vancouver | |
| Metropolia of Winnipeg | |
| Exempt dioceses (directly subject to the Holy See) |
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| Former jurisdictions | |
| Apostolic Nuncio | |
New France (1534–1763) | |
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46°48′50″N71°12′22″W / 46.8138°N 71.2061°W /46.8138; -71.2061
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