Religious feasts and celebrations

Until the 1960s, Franco-Ontarians are fervent Catholics. In Ottawa, as elsewhere in French Canada, they frequently participate in the many feasts of the liturgical year, as well as various special celebrations organized by the Church and its organizations. Memorable images of regional anniversary masses, pilgrimages and other highlights of Catholic history are countless. They bear witness to a not-so-distant time when religious feasts and celebrations were the most important events in the life of the community.

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Interior of Sainte-Anne Church during the 50th anniversary celebration, Ottawa, 1923.

Source: University of Ottawa, CRCCF, Fonds Paroisse Sainte-Anne d'Ottawa (C72), Ph131-50.

Black and white photograph of the interior of a church seen from above. The church is richly decorated. Attendance is strong.

Sainte-Anne Church, 50ᵗʰ anniversary celebration

Interior of Sainte-Anne Church during the 50th anniversary celebration, Ottawa, 1923.

University of Ottawa, CRCCF, Fonds Paroisse Sainte-Anne d'Ottawa (C72), Ph131-50.

Black and white photograph of the interior of a church seen from above. The church is richly decorated. Attendance is strong.

Altar boys at jubilee celebrations

Altar boys at the 50th anniversary celebrations of Sainte-Anne's Church, Ottawa, 1923. 

University of Ottawa, CRCCF, Fonds Paroisse Sainte-Anne d'Ottawa (C72), Ph131-35

Black and white photograph depicting a group of fifteen boys. Some are sitting, with others standing behind them in two rows. They all wear cassocks and surplices.

Corpus Christi altar

The Corpus Christi altar, in front of the residence of Dr. Joseph Woods, at the corner of Sussex and Cathcart, Ottawa, June 1927.

University of Ottawa, CRCCF, Fonds Jean-Robert-Woods (P178), Ph57-2.

Black and white photograph of an altar at the front of a three-storey house, decorated with banners and streamers. About thirty children – dressed in white, wearing crowns and wings, holding bouquets of flowers – stand or sit on either side of the stairway leading to the altar.

Anniversary of priesthood

Twenty-fifth anniversary of the priesthood of Bishop William Scantland, Sainte-Anne's parish priest, Ottawa (1949-1965), 1945. 
 

University of Ottawa, CRCCF, Fonds Paroisse Sainte-Anne d'Ottawa (C72), Ph131-59a.

Black and white photograph of clerics praying at the altar of a church. Other clerics and lay people attend the ceremony.

Allegorical float

Allegorical float along the Rideau Canal during the Marial Congress, entitled Et fugit in Aegyptum (And he fled to Egypt), Ottawa, June 1947.

University of Ottawa, CRCCF, Fonds Paul-Larose (P345), Ph286-2/9.

Black and white photograph of an imposing crowd watching a parade alongside a canal. Soldiers and clerics walk in front of an allegorical float pulled by horses. A train passes on the opposite bank.

Thanksgiving mass

Thanksgiving mass, presided over by Archbishop Marie-Joseph Lemieux of Ottawa, on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the founding of the Union des cultivateurs franco-ontariens, Ottawa, 1954. Photo: Champlain Marcil.

University of Ottawa, CRCCF, Fonds Union des cultivateurs franco-ontariens (C30), Ph124-28.

Black and white photograph of a mature cleric wearing the biretta, sitting in a raised chair next to the pulpit. He is surrounded by five other clerics and young altar boys, all dressed in cassocks and surplices.

Saint-Jean-Baptiste procession

Saint-Jean-Baptiste procession in front of the Sainte-Anne parish rectory, Ottawa, 1956. Photo: Castonguay.

University of Ottawa, CRCCF, Fonds Paroisse Sainte-Anne d'Ottawa (C72), Ph131-64.

Black and white photograph of a crowd in front of a stone building with richly decorated windows. The group includes men, women, nuns and children.

125ᵗʰ anniversary of the Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes parish

Celebration of the 125th anniversary of the Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes Parish, founded in 1854. Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes Grotto, Vanier, July 19, 1979. Photo: Le Droit
 

University of Ottawa, CRCCF, Fonds Le Droit (C71), Ph92-2-190779_MES.

Black and white photograph of a priest seen from an angle. He is addressing an audience seated on benches outdoors. Older women make up the majority of the audience.
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