In 1637, the Jesuits arrived in New France, and founded a mission in the area. They built the mission Saint-Joseph de Sillery, to minister to the localFirst Nations population. They named their mission after Saint Joseph. In 1644, they built a chapel, dedicated to Saint Michael, for the French and First Nations peoples on a promontory in Sillery known as pointe à Puiseaux. The Jesuits left in the late 1600s. Until 1847, the local Catholic population had to travel to Sainte-Foy or Quebec City to attend Mass. That year, a local timber merchant, Patrick McInenly, had his house converted into a place of worship, St. Richard's Chapel. Later, with the congregation increasing, it was decided to build a church on the site of the first chapel.
Construction
Construction on the church began in 1852, utilizing the plans of the Irish-born architect Goodlatte Richardson Browne. In 1853, Joseph-Ferdinand Peachy took over as architect. The church opened for worship in 1854. The French form of the name, Colomb, was adopted by canonical decree in 1855. The following year, both the municipality and the parish took on the name St Columba of Sillery. In 1880, the bell tower was completed and a spire was added according to Peachy's designs.
Developments
When the church was opened, most of the work on the interior had not started. This work began in October 1866 and was based on Browne's designs. Peachy supervised the work and Jean Vézina crafted the wooden decor and Maurice Larose did the masonry. In 1945, the Gothic Revival interior was changed during a renovation. The gold and white wooden altar was moved to the sacristy and a brown granite one from Chicoutimi was installed in its place. The choir stalls were removed and a wooden balustrade was replaced by a communion table made of iron. The pulpit was removed and new pews were installed. The stations of the cross were replaced with metal ones. In 1969, the church was renamed St. Michel de Sillery. It was done to honour Pierre de Puiseaux. He was a former owner of pointe à Puiseaux.
Parish
The church is in the same parish as St. Charles Garnier Church. It was founded on 7 August 1944 when Cardinal Villeneuve authorised the creation of a new parish, under the patronage of Saint Charles Garnierfor the people in the northern part of the Sillery area. In the autumn of 1947, the church, designed by Charles A. Jean and built by François Jobin & Co., was opened. As the two churches are now in the same parish, their Mass times do not conflict. St. Michel de Sillery Church has a Sunday Mass at 11:00am. It also Masses at 4:30pm on Wednesday and Friday. St. Charles Garnier Church has Masses for Sunday at 4:30pm on Saturday and at 9:30am on Sunday morning. It also has Masses at 4:30pm on Monday, 5:30pm on Tuesday and 4:30pm on Thursday.
