Assomption Cathedral $7M renovation begins in Moncton

Though the campaign to save Notre-Dame-de-l'Assomption Cathedral in Moncton is still $800,000 short, restoration work began on its foundation last week.

A community group raised more than $6 million over two years in order to save the downtown landmark. 

Marie-Linda Lord, the president of the Notre-Dame-de-l'Assomption Cathedral foundation, says the cathedral's future is now solidified.

"We're very happy to see all the machines around the church, so it means now that the cathedral is saved," she said.

Fundraising campaign

Lord said the restoration will take five years to complete because there is a lot to be done.

"They're starting with the foundation of the church. They want to make sure that it's in good shape. Next summer … they'll start to look at all the stones on the exterior walls," she said.

"And there's work to be done also on the roof because it has leaked on the organ last spring. So we want to make sure to save the organ."

Lord said she believes her group was able to raise the large sum because of the importance of the cathedral in Moncton's Acadian community.

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"People have been generous because they knew from the start that we were facing an important issue. Either demolishing it or fixing it.

"And I think people believed that it was important to find the money, so to be generous, so we could have the restoration that the cathedral needed."

Part of the cathedral will be converted into office spaces and conference rooms that Lord said will be a source of revenue in the future.

"It won't be made with the money we raised, the money comes from other sources, it's another project," she said.

Historical value

Historian Robert Pichette said it's not the first time the church has served as a community centre.

"Archbishop Melanson, the founder of this cathedral, wanted this cathedral to be many things, not just a worship temple," he said.

"There was a museum here which was the nucleus of the Acadian museum now on the campus of the university. There were meeting rooms, there was a lending library for the public, newspapers, plus the Saint-Vincent-de-Paul [society] which looked after poor people. It was a great many things."

The structure was built in 10 months in 1940 and is one of the few examples of art deco architecture in New Brunswick.

The stained glass windows of the cathedral all portray women in the Bible. 

Pichette said above all, the structure is a symbol of the Acadian people.

"It is highly significant because it was an identity question. It showed the entire world that the Acadians were a people. They were upright, they were standing upright..

"This was a way of saying 'We're home and here we are, and we deserve the best.'"