Décollation-of-St-John-the-Baptist Catholic Church

Beautiful church. Magnificent renewed Casavan organ. Some visits available in the summer time. Inquire if you happen to be there when a concert is scheduled.

A typical church.

The most beautiful or rich of the lower St. Lawrence with that of Trois Pistoles

What a beautiful monument must be kept as such.

The church of La Décollation-de-Saint-Jean-Baptiste is a place of worship in the Catholic tradition, erected from 1846 to 1855. The quarry stone building has a plan composed of a rectangular nave ending in a flat apse. It has a roof with two straight slopes. A bell tower crowned with an arrow and a cross rises in the center of the facade with three portals with pointed arches. A chapel-sacristy is attached to the bedside. The church of La Décollation-de-Saint-Jean-Baptiste is of heritage interest for its historical value. The place of worship is located on a site occupied for religious purposes since the beginnings of the locality. Granted in the 17th century, the lordship of Île-Verte was however mostly occupied from the 18th century. At that time, the mission was served by missionary priests. The land where the church stands today was officially donated by the Lord in 1778. The wooden place of worship which was built there from 1798 is probably the third of the mission. The population of L'Isle-Verte grew considerably at the beginning of the 19th century and the parish was canonically erected in 1828. It was in this context that, in 1833, the construction of the church was authorized, which would finally begin. 13 years later. The place of worship therefore testifies to an important period in the history of the locality. In addition, the land on which the church stands includes an area of ​​archaeological potential which could contain, in particular, the remains of an old presbytery and an outbuilding. The church of La Décollation-de-Saint-Jean-Baptiste is also of heritage interest for its architectural value. Several notable architects from the second half of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century helped give the Gothic Revival building its current appearance. The original plans for the church built between 1846 and 1855 are attributed to Charles Baillairgé (1826-1906). The latter, coming from an important family of sculptors and architects, designed several places of worship and other important buildings, including the former prison of the Plains of Abraham. The exterior of the church was completed in 1855 under the supervision of François-Xavier Berlinguet (1830-1916), also from a family of sculptors and architects. The latter will work with his father, Louis-Thomas Berlinguet (1789-1863), on the creation of the original interior decoration of the church. The place of worship was then modified according to plans by David Ouellet (1844-1915), a prolific architect of the turn of the 20th century. In 1890, the bell tower placed on the top of the church was replaced by the current bell tower. The same year, a chapel-sacristy was added against the apse. The church of La Décollation-de-Saint-Jean-Baptiste is therefore a representative witness of the religious architecture of the second half of the 19th century. The church of La Décollation-de-Saint-Jean-Baptiste is also of heritage interest for its architectural and artistic values ​​based on the quality of its interior decoration. In 1906, the factory adopted a resolution to invite Canon Georges Bouillon (1841-1932) to suggest ways of embellishing the interior ... The plans for the new interior decor of the church of L'Isle-Verte were drawn up by the architect Thomas Raymond (1853-1923) after the sketches of Bouillon. The work was carried out from 1914 to 1917. The false vault with multiple ribs, the fasciculated pillars, the profusion of sculpted elements covering a large part of the surfaces and the fixed pieces of furniture, such as the pulpit surmounted by an openwork spire, constitute one of the most complete interiors of neo-Gothic influence in Quebec Catholic religious architecture of this period. The whole harmoniously and coherently integrates some older elements, including the high altar probably designed by Louis-Thomas Berlinguet between 1857 and 1862. Source: Quebec Ministry of Culture and Communications, 2015.