Saint-Roch Church, Quebec City

The Église Saint-Roch, located in the Notre-Dame de Saint-Roch parish, stands as the largest church in Quebec City. Its construction spanned from 1914 to 1923, marking the fourth church of the same name to grace the site. However, its visual prominence within the city dwindled following the erection of a shopping mall in 1974, which has since been demolished. Today, the church plays a central role in the neighborhood's revitalization efforts.

This church's origins trace back to an epidemic during the colony's construction of a hermitage, later dedicated to Saint Roch. With the neighborhood's growth, a bigger church became essential, serving as Quebec City's religious center. Public worship began in 1917.

The architectural design, executed by the same architects who worked on the Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré Basilica, seamlessly melds a Gothic Revival exterior with a Romanesque Revival interior. This stylistic fusion drew inspiration from the works of Eugène-Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc. The structure, framed with steel, is adorned with black granite sourced from nearby Rivière-à-Pierre and features two towering 45-meter steeples.

Inside, the church boasts interiors crafted from Saskatchewan marble, replete with discernible fossils. The interior showcases exquisite artisanal work, including intricate carpentry and sculpted oak furnishings, a mosaic-adorned marble altar, and ornate ironwork. The medieval-style stained glass windows depict scenes from the New Testament, Old Testament, religious history of Quebec, and the life of Saint Roch. Notably, the church houses several masterpieces, such as Jacques Blanchard's "Vision de Saint Roch," Hyacinthe Collin de Vermont's "La Sainte Famille pendant la fuite en Égypte," and two paintings by Antoine Plamondon.