What does the future hold for Montreal's unused church buildings?

According to the most recent numbers available from Quebec’s Culture and Communications Ministry, 242 churches are owned by Christian denominations in Montreal.

And with attendance dwindling for decades, many parishes are struggling to preserve the imposing, stone buildings where church service is no longer held.

Julia Gersovitz, an architect at EVOQ Architecture and professor at McGill University, has worked on a number of church restoration projects.

“When dealing with historical buildings, they are incredibly well built. They will sustain blow after blow and wound after wound,” she says.

“But at a certain point, if the roof has been leaking long enough the walls will be wet with that water, and that rain and that snow. And what’s going to happen is that the walls are going to start to fail.”

Gersovitz says many of those responsible for these unused church buildings know that major repairs are needed. They just don’t have the funds to pay for them.

“It’s a big challenge right now in Quebec and Canada to make sure [churches] are able to operate and pay for the building maintenance and the restoration — that costs a lot of money,” says Christian Bolduc, who works to raise money for Montreal parishes.

And he says rising prices in the construction sector are making that even more difficult.

In the heart of downtown, Pastor Graham Singh has transformed St Jax Montreal.

While still offering spiritual services, the Anglican church also offers a space for performances, and for community groups beyond their congregation to gather.

It took him years to realize that the solution comes from working with local community groups.

“It needed to be secular or non-religious, because we needed to connect with other actors like municipalities, granting foundations … other charities and non-profits who are non-religious.”

Singh says churches are often in the perfect location: close to public transit, homes, universities, libraries and other resources.

He says community groups are best suited to answer the needs of the neighbourhood and know what might be missing.

In Montreal, at least 33 former churches have been transformed: operating as community centres, libraries or sports centres, to name a few.

In Hochelaga–Maisonneuve, the church formerly known as L’Église Saint-Mathias-Apôtre has been transformed into a non-profit, called Chic Resto Pop.

The organization offers affordable meals, employment training programs and other services to help break isolation.

“We saw that the population had great and growing needs,” says Jeanelle Bouffard, head of administration at Chic Resto Pop, of the group’s decision to move into the former church in 2004.

Almost everywhere you look, there are reminders of Le Salon Richmond 1861’s past life as a place of worship.

In Montreal’s southwestern Little Burgundy neighbourhood, the building that was once named l’Église St. Joseph predates confederation.

But since 2015, it has been operating as an event space.

“When I saw the space the first time, I said I was impressed by the height, the colouring and the work that was done,” says Danielle Bitton, who runs Le Salon Richmond 1861.

She says her team wanted to keep the church’s authenticity, down to the original wood, while making needed updates needed for a modern venue.

“The challenges were big,” she says. “This is an old lady and we had to take good care of [her]. We went with a lot of precaution.”

As the times change, the Catholic Archdiocese of Montreal says it’s open to adapting, too.

Christian Lépine, the Archbishop of Montreal, says that could mean partnerships between churches or with community groups and other organizations that serve people experiencing homelessness.

And he said that selling the old buildings could be a possibility in circumstances where the local community is still being served.

“It depends on the borough,” he says. “Let’s say if you have four churches in a borough you can sell one, let’s say to another church or community project. But if you have one church in a borough the spiritual needs are there.”

The cost of necessary repairs for many churches can reach millions of dollars.

In Quebec, there are two financial assistance programs available: one for restoring cultural heritage sites of a religious nature, and the other to repurpose surplus heritage places of worship.

Over the last four years, the province has provided about $80 million in funding through those two programs, and Premier François Legault made a campaign promise this fall to dedicate another $40 million over four years to preserve and transform Quebec’s churches.

Gersovitz says that’s a step in the right direction, but more money is likely needed.

“So $40 million sounds like a lot of money … but the money is spread across Quebec. We have a big problem,” she says.

She says it’s important to look at the characteristics of each building — if it has high ceilings and large windows, for example — and assess the needs of a community to see what would be the best solution.

Back in Hochelaga-Maisonneuve, Robertson and Émilie Therrien, a lawyer who lives in the area, have formed the group Hochelab to transform St. Clément.

In June, the group received funding to diagnose the health of the building. Their goal is to open a community space with a gym, food market, event space and some kind of spiritual component.

“Hochelaga has always struggled with specific problems of poverty, education et cetera. We just want to improve our neighbourhood,” Therrien says.

A 10-minute walk down Adam Street is Saint-Nom-de-Jésus, another century-old church that is still in use.

Its parish is also responsible for St. Clément. A spokesperson says it approves of Hochelab’s plan for the old building, saying it could meet many needs of the neighbourhood — if it secures the funding.