By Stanley Ugagbe
The Notre-Dame Basilica in Montreal which is adjudged one of Canada’s best-known religious landmarks is seeking urgent government assistance to withstand a budget shortfall caused by COVID-19.
Making the call, Claudia Morissette, director of the historic church in Old Montreal, said Notre-Dame expects to be short about $12 million in revenues this year as cultural events and guided visits remain suspended due to the pandemic.
Morissette said “It’s huge. It represents 85 per cent of our total revenue”.
The director succinctly averred that money is “absolutely necessary” to preserve and restore the stone church, which was constructed in the 1820s in the Gothic Revival style and remains one of the main tourist destinations in the city, welcoming around one million visitors per year before the pandemic.
While admitting that a first phase of restoration work is already underway on its facade, Morissette said the church is concerned it will not be able to finance the second and third phases of restoration on the building’s east and west towers.
The Nigerian Canadian News gathered that these first three phases are expected to cost $9.2 million out of a total of nearly $30 million of work needed to preserve and restore the building over the next decade, the church estimates.
“We can’t press pause (on phases two and three) because that would risk putting the integrity of the towers in peril and (could) even become dangerous,” said Morissette, adding that delays on the work could also lead to an increase in overall costs.
Reports have it that Notre-Dame is not the only church in Quebec facing economic challenges due to COVID-19, which has hit the province hard.
It is reported that across the province, where the Catholic Church historically played a central role but has seen a decline in recent decades, many churches have struggled to pay rent and maintain their aging buildings as the pandemic forced them this spring to suspend in-person services.
Recently, Quebec’s Culture Department announced that it would invest $15 million to preserve religious heritage, targeting 62 buildings and three organs. Culture Minister Nathalie Roy said the investment also would help stimulate the economy and create jobs for artisans and labourers.
Morissette said Notre-Dame received $1 million last year from Quebec’s Religious Heritage Council, a non-profit organization that supports the conservation of historic buildings, to help finance part of phase one of its restoration. But the church did not get any of the new funding.
She said “We understand that (the money) goes quickly, and we also understand that we’re not the only ones. We know that COVID-19 affected many people”
“But we’re a major attraction. We are one of the major patrimonial jewels.”
Cultural heritage adviser at Quebec’s Religious Heritage Council, Andreanne Jalbert-Laramee said that if Notre-Dame is struggling, smaller and less renowned churches are no doubt struggling, too.
In an interview, Jalbert-Laramee said “The worry is that if their financial situation is difficult, they will delay these restoration projects, this work, and that will make the situation even more difficult for those buildings”.
While noting that the government’s $15-million investment is a good step, she said that about $40 million is needed to restore and preserve religious heritage buildings across Quebec.
“These are interventions that are essential for the survival of these buildings,” Jalbert-Laramee said. “We see that the need is great, the need is there.”
On her part, Morissette said she remains concerned the Notre-Dame Basilica will not be able to finance its restoration.
Morissette called for any of the three levels of government — federal, provincial and municipal — to provide urgent financial aid to help Notre-Dame withstand its losses.
“Because it’s the symbol of the founding of the City of Montreal, that it’s one of the most well-known religious monuments in North America, that it’s the main tourist attraction in Old Montreal … we need to preserve this gem so that the next generations can enjoy it,” the director said.
