She said that she was given a tour of the special climate-controlled storage area where many important documents are kept.
Throughout the ages clerics have been able to control history and pick and choose what facts they want to relate.
I say it'd be great to get those documents taken out and shared openly. Bernier's quest was to prove that the city's original founders sought to impose a certain type of mystical, pro-feminist Catholicism in the new settlement.
Sharing those documents could either support or disprove that notion.
I'd be more curious to know what other political or historical information could be unearthed. Some of it might not be flattering to the church, such as stuff relating to the Duplessis Orphan scandal or other child abuse stories.
Recently the Vatican began releasing some of its secret documents.
ReplyDeleteHow may know that there is also a secret garden behind our Notre Dame Cathedral?
One lucky day while walking around the area, I happened to notice the back gate was wide open, so I ventured inside, and without a soul in sight, I took several photos.
Robert says: Sure hope the bunker is sealed and waterproof since I have heard rumours about a water pipe or two breaking in Montreal. Actually it seems every other day you here supposed reports of this.:p If this is true, all those docs could be a soggy mess one day.
ReplyDeleteI too have seen the secret garden. But you can also see it now on Google Maps.
ReplyDeleteThe garden is private, not secret. It is most probably the oldest of its kind in North America since its owners, the Gentlemen of Saint-Sulpice, were seigneurs of the whole island of Montreal. As such they kept records whence the archives.
ReplyDeleteI believe that I first learned about the existence of Notre Dame's garden either from a newspaper article or TV news clip, so the notion that it was "secret" is obviously misplaced.
ReplyDeleteHowever, how many reading this are aware of the Chapelle de la Reparation in the east end of the island at the corner of Blvd. de la Rousseliere and rue Prince Arthur, behind which is a pleasant walking path and garden in which there is even a replica of the famous Grotto of Lourdes.
Best visited during the summer, from the Honore Beaugrand Metro take the 186 bus and then a short walk north from Sherbrooke East.
Been there too, UrbanLegend:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.flickr.com/photos/mtlweblog/3895299432/
In the 1970's I was working as a freelance photog.
ReplyDeleteI was asked to photograph the cast of Oh! Calcutta!, an avant-garde theatrical review consisting of lots of male and female total nudity. It was schedules to open at the Centaur Theatre located on St. Francois Xavier, the street on the west side of Notre Dame Cathedral.
I was to pose the 12 naked cast members at a Centaur rehearsal in such a way that allowed a graphic artist creating a publicity poster to later superimpose each letter in "Oh Calcutta" over each of the 12 cast members to hide their graphic parts (i.e. breasts, genitals). For instance, the O would cover a female, while the letter h would be matched with a male. The cast consisted of 6 females and 6 males, enough for each of the letters (as well as the exclamation marks!!).
At the photo shoot I found the indoor lighting of the Centaur to be inadequate for what was needed. Someone suggested that I do the shoot in the outside church garden behind the Centaur. It was private, and no one would bother us, so I was told. Access was through a back door of the Centaur. I quickly checked it out and it was perfect. Nice flat, even lighting-- a photog's dream.
The cast put on their white satin robes, and out we went the garden. I started lining everyone up, while they were still wearing their robes. Just as they were about to disrobe for the photo, I looked around the garden and to my surprise noticed several nuns looking down at us with much curiosity, from a large promenade balcony that, I think, stretched across the width of the church building.
I yelled for the cast to stop disrobing. We quickly retreated back into the Centaur, thus averting a possible scandal. I don't think the nuns realized how close they came to getting an eyeful.
I took the picture inside. The available lighting was crappy.
It was fun, though. The good, old 1970's...
You know, these records are the archives of the Gentlemen of Saint-Sulpice, that they use to run the compagny. These archives are certainly old! But they are not public!
ReplyDeleteTo my knowledge, researchers with serious motives are allowed in.
Now, if you are looking for old documents, Bibliothèque Archives National du Québec (BAnQ) is the provincial institution dedicated for preserving historical documents. They are worth checking out!
-An Archivist