Description
Built in the 1820s by the Irish architect Janus O'Donnell. Before seeing his work completed, O'Donnell died in 1830 and his body rests under the basilica.
The two towers were added in the 1840s by the architect John Ostell. The west tower, called "Perseverence", houses the large bumble-bee named "Jean-baptiste". the tower is called "Temperance", houses a carillon of 10 bells. With its neo-Gothic style, the basilica was for a long time the largest religious building in North America.
The three statues on the front represent the Virgin Mary (Montreal), Saint-Jean-Baptiste (québec) and Saint-Joseph (Canada).
