Story of the first church

The first church, 1658

"Last century, people knew, of the existence on the cost of Beaupre a first church to Sainte Anne, flooded by the Saint-Laurent River, replaced by an other one; and since people ignored the original place of this primitive monument, they concluded that it was from the beginning of the colony, this church was erected on the shores of the river, they added that it was build by sailors; and has it was dedicated to Sainte Anne, and supposed finally that it was built in souvenir of the pilgrimage of Sainte-Anne of Auray, from the demand of the habitants, that came probably from Bretagne. This is what we read on a last century document registered at  Sainte-Anne parish, and in the memories published by M. de Latour. From all these suppositions, we should conclude, as we did the last time, that the church that M. de Queylus specified the place in 1658, was not the first one, but a new church destine to replace the one that previously existed.

"But all these suppositions are not founded, rather the examination of the monuments of that time shows that before the year 1658 there were on the cost of Beaupre no church or chapel dedicated to Sainte Anne; and the one that M. de Queylus specified the place and determined the name was the first one erected in Canada having this name, although there was in the church in Quebec city an altar dedicated to God under the name of this Sainte.

"To start with, there is no written document saying that a chapel ever exited before the year 1658 (...). The Compagnie des Cent Associés was giving 25 « ecus » per year to a priest of Quebec to make a few trips per year on the cost.

"In 1645, it was M. de Saint-Sauveur, secular priest, who had the charge of this mission; the Jesuits toke it over afterwards, and every year would visit the habitants. In 1646, Father Vimont at Easter covered it; the year after, Father Dequen visited it at Christmas; he did the same the next year and went up to cap Tourmente. Finally, we see other priest visit the cost, Father Jérôme Lallemant filled this function, the same year that preceded the arrival of M. de Queylus in Canada.

"It is certain that the church which M. de Queylus marked the place  contract March 8, 1558 was built not on the cost, but on the shore of the river, consequently, it was the first church of Sainte Anne de Beaupre.

As the great floods was threatening the church and the presbytery, and could not last long at this place, M. de Laval, on December 17, 1666, confirmed  the privileges granted to the donor of the land by M. de Queylus, applied specific condition: ”In case that a chapel is built on the cost, it will be taken from the land of said sir de Lessart as much land  that will be jugged necessary for this regard. In this case, it will be taken parallel on the land of sir de Lessart, on the side of the cost, that will be needed for the presbytery, on the concession of sir de Lessart."

"What M. de Laval had been afraid of appended: the church of Sainte-Anne and the presbytery were destroyed by the floods before the summer 1676, where M. Fillon, priest, began a new one, not on the shore, as did M. de Queylus, but higher on the cost. Missing founds, there was no church in Ste-Anne of Petit Cap for a few years."

From: Faillon, Étienne, S. S. (1865).Histoire de la Colonie Française en Canada. Villemarie, bibliothèque paroissiale.

cote 971.01 F161 1865 - 66 Collection spéciale Bibliothèque du Parlement du Québec.

Mr. Guy Lessard, genealogist