La Nativité-de-la-Sainte-Vierge Sanctuary

145 chemin Saint-Jean, La Prairie, QC J5R 2J9

Opening hour

Summer schedule – June 21 to August 25, 2023
Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Group tours by appointment on Saturdays and Sundays (450 659-1133)

Events

An ancient charnel house. A bell dating back to 1767. Benches with a particular function. It is here, at the La Nativité-de-la-Sainte-Vierge Sanctuary, that you will find these intriguing remnants of the past and many other remarkably well-preserved works – all ready, in their own way, to tell their story.

To explore this heritage monument is to delve into the heart of La Prairie’s history.

  • Heritage features

Death from the cold

As we all know, you can't bury a coffin in the cemetery in winter. So the body is kept refrigerated until warmer weather arrives. But what was done in those days, before the invention of...
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  • Heritage object

Sounds old

It dates from 1767. It weighs some 600 pounds (nearly 275 kilos). And it's still ringing! ...
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  • Heritage object

The choir font

Today, as we know, during a baptism, the basin, known as the baptismal font, is placed at the front during the ceremony, then emptied and put away. But in the past, here at La Nativité church,...
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  • Heritage object

Mass police

Did you know that back in the day, the church had its own peace officer? This cross between a policeman and a security guard was called a constable. And he had his own pew at the back of the...
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  • Historical figure

Holy peace

Who was Saint Pacific, and how did her bones end up in the Church of the Nativity? In all likelihood, her name was no accident. History has it that this young Roman practitioner had the gift...
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  • Heritage object

Sitting on your privilege

In church, a pew is just a pew, right? Well, not always. It can demonstrate a special status. Take the one in front, to the right of the central aisle in the nave of La Nativité church....
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  • Heritage features

Wealth at low cost

As you enter La Nativité church, you see two magnificent stained-glass windows. But even more astonishing than their impressive beauty, age and remarkable preservation, is the original cost of...
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  • Heritage object

Mobilizing for furniture

It's solid. Made of bronze. Dates from 1870. And it's the only one of its kind in Quebec. We're talking here about the high altar (not to be confused with maîtres d'hôtel, which are generally...
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  • Works of art

Sculptural decor

The year: 1867. While in Canada, people were busy creating... Canada, in Montreal, at the studio of artist Tomasso Carli, they were busy creating the many superb plaster statues that today...
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  • Heritage object

An expensive preaching pulpit

As well as admiring the priest's sermons at the time, believers attending mass at La Nativité church could also admire the remarkable preaching pulpit on which he stood. This imposing raised...
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Upcoming events

Concert by Chœur de La Prairie
June 16, 2023 - 8 p.m.Buy tickets at 450-659-1133
Temporary exhibition of religious objects and artefacts and Noah's ark in wax
June 21 to August 25
Religious heritage days
September 8 to 10, 2023Details coming soon
Collège Jean De La Mennais concert - Details coming soon
December 17, 2023Details coming soon
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La Nativité-de-la-Sainte-Vierge Sanctuary, La Prairie
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