About

Religious Heritage Days is an annual event coordinated by the Quebec Religious Heritage Council. It aims to allow Quebecers to discover testaments (buildings from different periods and construction techniques, organs, works of art, archives, monuments, cemeteries, etc.) to their province’s religious heritage and provide insight into their predecessors’ knowledge, actions, rituals and ideas. These discoveries can be made through cultural mediation activities (visits, tours, concerts, conferences, exhibitions, etc.), which can also be linked to initiatives directly dealing with local and regional management of this heritage or its value and accessibility.

The programming is made up of activities offered on a voluntary basis in different areas of Quebec. Each activity takes place in a physical location and is organized by a local or regional entity.

Although the event’s activities are offered free of charge, sites may suggest voluntary contributions and donations can be collected on site.

Background

2022 marks the 5th edition of Religious Heritage Days, the 3rd to be held across all of Quebec.

It all started in 2018, when the Quebec Religious Heritage Council’s (CPRQ) Table de concertation de Montréal conducted a pilot project aimed at developing a strategy to promote accessibility to places associated with religious heritage.

The Passerelles heritage cooperative, supported by members of the CPRQ team, was mandated to develop and implement this strategy. Site managers were brought together to share their experiences and discuss their concerns. Subsequently, the Best Practices Guide was published to provide basic tools for owners and managers of religious heritage wishing to open their building to the public. On September 7, 8 and 9, 2018, 28 locations participated in the open house event.

Renewed in 2019, the event was enhanced as part of the Agreement on the Cultural Development of Montreal concluded between the City of Montreal and the Government of Quebec. Tourisme Montréal also joined as a sponsor. On September 6, 7 and 8, 2019, 73 venues took part in the event and several activities are offered, including guided bus tours, concerts, etc.

In 2020, the CPRQ improved the event website and expanded participation to include all of Quebec. The Religious and Spiritual Tourism Association of Quebec (ATRSQ) helped publicize the event and encouraged the participation of different venues. On September 12 and 13 2020, 138 venues from 87 different cities and municipalities took part in the event, which took place in compliance with health guidelines related to the Covid-19 pandemic.

In 2021, the CPRQ organized the first series of twelve regional meetings to discuss the event. The programming on September 11 and 12 2021, included 275 sites offering activities in 176 different localities, in compliance with the health measures in force.

The CPRQ then organized a series of twelve regional consultations with the aim of presenting the Religious Heritage Days to new partners. These consultations confirmed the relevance of maintaining regional consultations in preparation for future editions of the event.