Saint-François-Xavier Cathedral in Chicoutimi celebrates its hundredth anniversary in 2022.
For the occasion, a program filled with activities is planned, but the historic building would also need renovations. With the lower income from the factory, the organization that manages the building, and given the lower attendance at the place of worship, these will not be easy.
“The government helps us. We cannot hide it, but it is certain that we have to struggle even more”, admitted the Bishop of the Diocese of Chicoutimi, Monsignor René Guay, in an interview with TVA Nouvelles.
The current cathedral has overlooked the Saguenay for a century. It is the third cathedral after the fires that destroyed the first two in 1912 and 1919.
Former minister and PQ member for Chicoutimi, Stéphane Bédard, and his spouse, Janick Tremblay, are honorary presidents of the centennial. They wanted to, in a way, continue the work of Stéphane’s father, former minister Marc-André Bédard, who was president of the St-François-Xavier factory until his death in November 2020.
“It is a civic duty to take care of such a building that has such historical value for the entire community,” said Stéphane Bédard. “To simply democratize this beautiful building. To bring it back to the families. To bring her alive to our city center. And I think that’s what Mr. Bédard wanted,” added Janick Tremblay.
But the cathedral does not hide its age. Electricity and plumbing would need updating.
The current president of the factory, Jean Grimard, showed TVA Nouvelles elements of the building that would need renovations.
“The main water pipe. There is a leak,” said Mr. Grimard. “We can’t play in there because if we start playing in there, we’re going to have to change all the lines.” In the engine room, he also told us about another plumbing problem. “This line should be changed. It would cost a fortune. So we managed to fix the problems.”
It must be specified that there was water damage in January. “The piping that was outside froze and it started to flow,” added Jean Grimard, pointing out the breaks in the wall.
There was then about five centimeters of water in the basement in the Bégin room of the Cathedral.
“The plumbing is a major element,” underlined Mr. Grimard. “When you look at the winters we have and the heating, it’s always something that worries us a bit. The factory does not have the finances to do so. We need help to do that, that’s for sure. For the moment, what we manage to do is to maintain the building so that it does not deteriorate.
The Bishop of the Diocese believes that the factory team is doing a good job to preserve the Cathedral. “It’s quite a challenge. We cannot say that the St-François-Xavier factory is in deficit. She’s not rich. They are doing a good job.”
Over the past two years, $440,000 has been invested in the windows. The funds came from Quebec, the City of Saguenay and the Cathedral Foundation. But there are also questions about the condition of important parts inside.
“We will have to check the stained glass windows because the stained glass windows are still old,” said Mr. Grimard. “It’s not major. We asked for a diagnosis on the stained glass windows. It is not a building that is in danger, but it is a building that requires a lot of vigilance in its maintenance. And that’s what we intend to do. There isn’t much left of the heritage buildings on Racine Street when you look at it. It is one and we want to protect it.
The entire Centennial team wants the community to reclaim the cathedral with this special year.
“Let us really feel it as ours,” said Bishop Guay. Not a building that is only used for Mass.” Jean Grimard has the same hope. “We want people to realize that the cathedral is a church, but it’s a living place.”
The factory is also interested in a project sent to it by Saguenay in the fall. The development of a park in front of the entrance, a kind of Cathedral Square.
Reference-www.tvanouvelles.ca