Chapelle des Ursulines

The Chapelle des Ursulines (English: Chapel of the Ursulines) is a Roman Catholic chapel and heritage museum located at 18 rue Donnacona in the historic district of Old Quebec, Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. It is part of the larger complex of the Monastère des Ursulines de Québec, which was founded in 1639 and is recognized as the oldest institution of learning for women in North America.^[1] The chapel is celebrated for its exceptional interior woodwork, its collection of European paintings, and its deep associations with the history of New France.

The history of the Chapelle des Ursulines is inseparable from that of the Ursuline community in Quebec. The Ursuline Sisters were the first Catholic nuns to arrive in New France.^[2] Their history in Quebec begins on 1 August 1639, when its first members landed in Canada. The monastery was established under the leadership of Mother Marie of the Incarnation (1599–1672), an Ursuline nun from Tours, and Madame Marie-Madeleine de Chauvigny de la Peltrie (1603–1671), a wealthy widow from Alençon in Normandy.^[3] The letters patent sanctioning the foundation, signed by King Louis XIII, are dated 1639.^[3]

Upon their arrival, the nuns studied the languages of the Indigenous peoples and began to educate Indigenous children, teaching reading, writing, needlework, embroidery, drawing, and other arts.^[3] After three years in the Lower Town of Quebec City, the community relocated to a monastery built on ground ceded to them by the Company of New France.^[3]

The chapel was first erected in 1722.^[4] The current building dates from 1902, when it was rebuilt in its present form, though much of its interior decoration is considerably older.^[5] Between 1726 and 1736, the sculptor Pierre-Noël Levasseur and his workshop produced the celebrated carved-wood interior décor, which includes the pulpit and two richly decorated altarpieces.^[4][5] From 1736 to 1739, the Ursuline nuns undertook the meticulous work of gilding all of this woodwork with gold leaf.^[4]

The architectural complex as a whole was built in phases from the 17th to the 20th century. The main wings were laid out around an interior courtyard in the tradition of 17th-century French convents. The oldest buildings reflect the style of the French Regime, featuring stone walls with white plaster, tin roofs, and small-paned windows.^[6]

The monastery, including the chapel, endured the siege and bombardment of Quebec by William Phips in 1690, and again during the assault by James Wolfe in 1759.^[2] After the decisive Battle of the Plains of Abraham on 13 September 1759, the French commander Montcalm was buried by night in the convent chapel.^[2] French General Louis-Joseph Montcalm's remains rested in the chapel until 2001, when they were transferred in a solemn ceremony to the cemetery of the Hôpital Général de Québec, to rest alongside the men he had commanded.^[7]

After the fall of Quebec, the nuns agreed to provide British officers and soldiers with accommodations and medical care, as the Hôtel-Dieu and Hôpital Général were filled to capacity. In exchange, they were permitted to resume teaching.^[6]

During the French Revolution, several French refugees served as chaplains to the monastery. The most notable among them was Abbé L.-P. Desjardins, who later died in France as Vicar-General of Paris. Through his efforts, the chapel acquired valuable paintings by Philippe de Champaigne, Charles Le Brun, Hyacinthe Collin de Vermont, and others.^[2] The chapel today houses more than fifteen paintings, the vast majority of which belong to this Desjardins Collection, assembled by abbots Philippe-Jean-Louis and Louis-Joseph Desjardins in the 19th century and representing almost 200 European works delivered to Quebec.^[4] The paintings displayed in the chapel were produced in the 17th and 18th centuries and include works by significant artists such as Claude François (known as Frère Luc), Frère André, and Philippe de Champaigne.^[4]

The present chapel building dates from 1902, though the three main elements of its interior design—the pulpit, the Sacred Heart altarpiece, and the main altarpiece—were created by Pierre-Noël Levasseur between 1726 and 1736 and moved into the current structure. The chapel's altar is considered a masterpiece of French-Canadian wood sculpture.^[1]

Several art historians regard it as the most beautiful collection of wood carvings remaining in Canada from the New France era, and it is the only example of religious décor from that period to have been preserved in its entirety.^[4] The Ursulines themselves carried out the gilding of the woodwork with gold leaf between 1736 and 1739.^[8]

At the heart of the chapel is the Oratory of Marie of the Incarnation, a place of remembrance and contemplation dedicated to the founder of the Ursulines in Quebec City, who was canonized in 2014.^[4] Beneath a granite monument created by the Delwaide and Bourgault workshops in 1972 lie the remains of Saint Marie of the Incarnation (1599–1672).^[4] The oratory and tomb are open to the public and serve as a pilgrimage destination for visitors from around the world.^[8]

Adjacent to the chapel stands the Musée des Ursulines de Québec, which is housed in Madame de la Peltrie's house, a building erected in 1836 and enlarged in 1868.^[9] The museum, with galleries on three floors, offers permanent and temporary exhibitions showcasing the Ursulines' cultural legacy.^[9]

The Ursulines first opened a seasonal museum to the public in 1936, with the proceeds financing the new Ursuline mission in Japan.^[10] In 1993, layperson Christine Cheyrou was appointed museum director, a post she held until 2016, during which the museum became increasingly professional and its collections grew.^[10] Since 2017, the institution has been managed by the Pôle culturel du Monastère des Ursulines, an organization created by the Ursulines to oversee their archives, collections, and museum.^[10]

The museum's rich collections include the trunk that Marie of the Incarnation used on her voyage from France to Quebec City in 1639, items made of bark and embroidered with porcupine quills or dyed moose hair representing the blending of Indigenous and French techniques, rare Parisian jewelry dating from before 1717, and ornate liturgical vestments.^[11]

The Ursuline Monastery, of which the chapel is a central part, was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1972.^[1] It was recognized because it is one of the few large conventual complexes in Canada dating from the first century of settlement, and because its chapel altar, created by Noël and Pierre-Noël Levasseur around 1730, is considered a masterpiece of French-Canadian wood sculpture.^[1] The large stone wings added in 1850 complete one of the most important groups of buildings constructed in Canada before 1880.^[1]

The monastery complex is also located within the historic district of Old Quebec, itself a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The chapel is open to the public and is located at 18 rue Donnacona in Old Quebec, directly across from the Musée des Ursulines.^[8] An innovative 360-degree audio tour titled Echoes From the Heart offers visitors a way to experience the chapel's tangible and intangible heritage through the voices of community nuns sharing their stories, music, and reflections.^[4]

• Marie of the Incarnation
• Old Quebec
• National Historic Sites of Canada
• Battle of the Plains of Abraham
• Pierre-Noël Levasseur

• Official website of the Pôle Culturel du Monastère des Ursulines - Chapel page
• Parks Canada - Ursuline Monastery National Historic Site