Saint Augustine of Canterbury

For the first time since mid-January the thermometer rose above zero degrees. As the day was pleasant I walked to Pilates class this morning and stopped to photograph this church on my way home. 

Circa 1919, this baroque style Roman Catholic cathedral was once the heart of English Catholics in the neighbourhood. However, as the size of the congregation decreased, it moved to its current location in Notre Dame de Grace church and the Saint Augustine of Canterbury building was scheduled for demolition. In the heart of the neighbourhood and directly across the street from a huge park the land was very attractive to developers. Fortunately, however, the community rallied to save the cathedral and in May 2003 the building was purchased by River's Edge, an evangelical church group. The building has been identified by the Montreal borough of CDN/NDG as being of heritage value and as such it is subject to controls pertaining to construction, renovation or demolition work that will hopefully ensure it stands beautifully for many years to come.