Celebrating the 350th Anniversary of the Diocese of Québec

WHEREAS, in 1534, the explorer Jacques Cartier claimed land for France in the New World which he called Canada, after the Iroquoian word for “village;” and

WHEREAS, in 1608, King Henry IV of France named Samuel de Champlain as the governor of New France with orders to establish a settlement on the banks of the St. Lawrence River which he named Québec; and

WHEREAS, in 1615, Augustinian Recollect missionaries; and in 1625, missionaries of the Society of Jesus, first came to Québec and New France to support the establishment of the Church in the new colony and to bring the Gospel to the Indigenous peoples of the New World; and

WHEREAS, in 1658, Pope Alexander VII established New France as an Apostolic Vicariate under the leadership of Bishop François de Laval whose apostolic zeal and pastoral care built up the Church in the New World and led to the establishment of the Diocese of Québec by Pope Clement X on October 1, 1674; and

WHEREAS, for more than a century, the Diocese of Québec was the spiritual home of all Catholics in the New World outside the Spanish and British colonies, with territory from the Arctic Circle to the Gulf of Mexico; and

WHEREAS, in 1819, Pope Pius VII elevated the diocese to the Archdiocese of Québec and, in 1844, Pope Gregory XVI distinguished the local Church further by naming it a Metropolitan Archdiocese; and

WHEREAS, in 1956, recognizing the Archdiocese of Québec’s long history and status as the first diocese in Canada, Pope Pius XII bestowed the title of Primate of Canada on the Archbishop of Québec and his successors; and

WHEREAS, in 2014, on the 350th anniversary of the Cathedral Basilica of Notre Dame de Québec, the archdiocesan cathedral church, Pope Francis officially granted a Holy Door to the cathedral basilica which was manufactured and installed with the assistance of the Knights of Columbus Québec State Council and Supreme Council; and

WHEREAS, the Knights of Columbus was first established in Canada in the Province of Québec with the foundation of Montreal Council 284 on November 22, 1897, and within the Archdiocese of Québec in 1899 with the chartering of Québec Council 446 in Québec City.

NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the Knights of Columbus extends its congratulations to the faithful of the Archdiocese of Québec on the occasion of the 350th anniversary of the establishment of their diocese; and

FURTHER RESOLVED, that we also extend our appreciation and congratulations to the Archbishop of Québec and Primate of Canada, His Eminence Gérald Cyprien Cardinal Lacroix, for his support of the Knights of Columbus in Québec and across Canada, as well as to his predecessor, His Eminence Marc Cardinal Ouellet, for his decades of support of the Order during his service in many high offices of the Catholic Church; and

FURTHER RESOLVED, that we stand in solidarity with all Québecois and Canadian Knights as they work to evangelize the faith in their country and carry on the work of holy Québecois men and women like St. François de Laval; St. Marie of the Incarnation, O.S.U; St. André Bessette, C.S.C; and Blessed Marie Catherine of St. Augustine, O.S.A.

Celebrating the 350th Anniversary of the Diocese of Québec

Resolutions