Canada is a country that has many beautiful churches, particularly gothic revival churches within English Canada.
One thing that is particularly gratifying to me is when I comes across grandiose churches that are either in small cities, towns, villages, even rural areas. Often their stories are quite interesting, either denoting some sort of local aspirations, local connections to people of influence, or at very least denoting the presence of an early and concentrated Catholic community for which such a church served Catholics for miles around.
One such church in my own locale is the "Church of Our Lady" in the city of Guelph, or more properly, the Church of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception. What is particularly edifying about it, in addition to its wonderful gothic revival form, is that it is set upon a hill in the midst of that city at the end of a main street, making the Church all the more dramatic in appearance and visible for quite a distance. The grounds that surround it are wonderful as well.
A bit of history and then some more photos:
"From the earliest days of the settlement of Guelph, Catholics have played a role in the life of the community. Bishop Macdonell, the Bishop of Kingston, who was responsible for the Catholic Church in Ontario, was a friend of John Galt, the founder of Guelph. He had supported Galt's work with the Canada Company, which was charged with developing much of the land in southern Ontario. When Galt established the new settlement on April 23, 1827, he gave to the Catholic Church the hill in the center of the town. In is Autobiography he writes: "a beautiful central hill was reserved for the Catholics, in compliment to my friend, Bishop Macdonell, for his advice in the formation of the Company." A road was cleared leading up to the hill: Macdonell Street. In the autumn of 1827 Bishop Macdonell was one of the first visitors to the new settlement."
(Source: Blogguelph.com)
(Source: Blogguelph.com)
(Photo by Dan Cardoso)
(Photo by Dan Cardoso)
