The chapel of Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours (Our Lady of Good Help) is Montreal’s oldest stone church, sitting for hundreds of years as a beacon of hope. It celebrates a special milestone this year, 250 years, having acted as a refuge for residents, pilgrims, sailors and travelers arriving by the St. Lawrence River and Seaway. Today we’ll explore together a fascinating chapter of Catholic history in North America, and learn that key to the story of this chapel, and the Catholic community of Nouvelle France, is St. Marguerite Bourgeoys. She was the first teacher of the colony of Ville Marie, and founder of the Congregation of Notre Dame, and was laid to rest on the site she worked so hard to consecrate for the Lord, with help of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Faith Full is a Catholic podcast hosted by Tony Ganzer. This episode features Carole Golding, Pastoral Coordinator of Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours Chapel in Montreal. 

Learn more: https://margueritebourgeoys.org/en/history/ 

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The Blessed Virgin Mary looks over Montreal’s present and future, and stands as a beacon from its past…guiding us to her Son. The original chapel of Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours was founded by St. Marguerite Bourgeoys, building a foundation for this chapel and community that has survived war, fire, and the many difficulties of early colonial life. A statue of the Blessed Virgin overlooks the Old Port of Montreal, where sailors and settlers would arrive after facing the grueling path to the New World.

This place represented peace. Refuge.

And it still does, in a way. Montreal is a vibrant city, and the oldest quarter has its share of foot traffic: tourists, locals, pilgrims. The historic port, market, neighborhood, can feel quaint at times, and overwhelming at others. The chapel gives space for a quiet moment with God. You may remember our episode from the National Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help, the site of the only Catholic Church-approved Marian apparition in the US. That site has since been renamed the National Shrine of Our Lady of Champion to reflect the place where it occurred, but it doesn’t take away I think from the original devotion to Our Lady of Good Help at that site, and the importance of the devotion here in Montreal.