st michael’s church open to visitors

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve passed St Michael’s Church while wandering Mile End and thought: maybe this time it will be open. There’s almost always someone on the stairs of the imposing, Byzantine-looking structure - munching a sandwich, reading, talking on a cell phone, or just whiling away the afternoon.

But, alas, the double wooden door is closed and locked, with no notice of when it will open.

I’ve wondered: Is the interior like Sacré-Coeur in Paris, brimming with golden mosaics?

Or more like the Greek-Orthodox church of my childhood, where I attended Easter services with a friend? My memories of her church center on the aromas of pirogees served on Fridays, and the colorful icons in gilded paintings and radiant stained glass windows.

En fait, Eglise St Michael is unlike either. And I have the Canada Summer Works program to thank for setting me straight.

I arrived earlier this month to find the doors open and a young man from Massachusetts waiting to give me a free tour. He unlocks the doors daily as part of a program that helps not-for-profit organizations increase visibility, while giving college students valuable work experience.

His enthusiasm is respectful but not dry - and he is delighted to hold forth on the statues, symbolism, history and art history of the parish.

To my surprise, the church is not Greek-Orthodox as the dome and minaret suggest, but Catholic, under the auspices of the Franciscans. The original worshippers were Irish; that population has dwindled, and the church now serves the Polish community.

My guide pointed out the saints adorning the inside of the dome (which was the largest dome in Montreal before St Joseph’s Oratory was built). He told stories depicted in Guido Nincheri’s stained windows and murals. He explained how the Stations of the Cross were copied from a church in Munich.

I love the way tour guides make even stone - and in this case, concrete - come alive. My tour was worth the long wait. This young man’s insights helped me appreciate faith, architecture, and the history of this splendid neighborhood.

Ca vaut le coup d’y passer.

If you go: 5580 Rue St Urbain, at St Viateur O. Visits in French and English, M-F, 9:30am-5pm, July-Aug.

Photograph courtesy Mourial.