Basilica of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré: Canada’s Cultural Gem

In this installment of ‘Larger Than Life: Architecture Through the Ages,’ we walk to a church along the Saint Lawrence River near Québec City.

Saint Anne de Beaupré’s façade is typical of medieval churches, stressing similarities between the Romanesque and Gothic. Aside from the Gothic spires, its features, most notably the rounded arches and lack of flying buttresses, are overwhelmingly Romanesque. Yet the dramatic impact creates a rather Gothic appearance overall. Wangkun Jia/Shutterstock

In 1658, French colonists in the Canadian settlement of Beaupré, 25 miles from the rapidly expanding Québec City, set aside land for a new chapel. The chapel became a shrine housing a miraculous statue of St. Anne (the mother of the Virgin Mary). By 1676, the site was a popular place of pilgrimage and on the way to becoming home to one of Canada’s most remarkable works of ecclesial architecture: the Basilica of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré.

The basilica is reminiscent of some of the oldest cathedrals and abbeys in France. Originally dating from the 1600s and rebuilt many times, the structure was largely rebuilt in the Romanesque style following a 1922 fire. The cross-shaped design, rounded arches, radiating semicircular side chapels, and spire-topped towers reveal a foundational faithfulness to mostly Romanesque tradition.