### MONTREAL, ARCHDIOCESE OF
The Archdiocese of Montreal is located in the province of Quebec (Canada).
Today the archdiocese numbers 946,535 Catholics, of whom 806,185 reside in the city of Montreal. More than 8,000 belong to the Eastern rite. There are 1,795 diocesan priests and 871 religious priests belonging to 25 different congregations who exercise the sacred ministry. Eleven congregations of brothers and 54 religious institutes of women dedicate their lives to prayer, teaching, and the care of the sick.
Among its institutions are 201 parishes, 18 public chapels, a seminary for foreign missions, a seminary of philosophy, a seminary of theology (Faculty of Theology of the University of Montreal), a Catholic and a civil university, 43 scholasticates and novitiates, 23 apostolic schools, 13 classical colleges, 726 schools and convents, 6 normal schools, 3 pedagogical institutes, and 72 hospitals, day nurseries, and orphanages. The archdiocese covers an area of 12,096 square miles.
The city was founded by Dauversière (v.), who in 1640 happened to meet the Sulpician Jean-Jacques Olier at Meudon. Their conversation resulted in a financial contribution from Olier toward the founding of the city. A company called the Société Notre-Dame de Montréal was established to promote the glory of God in Montreal. Paul Chomedey de Maisonneuve and Jeanne Mance, founder of the Hôtel-Dieu of Montreal, were among the first settlers of the new locality. On May 17, 1642, the Jesuit Barthélemy Vimont celebrated the first Mass in Montreal; in 1643 Marguerite Bourgeoys arrived in Montreal to open the first elementary school and shortly thereafter founded the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady (Congrégation Notre-Dame). Sister Marguerite was beatified by Pius XII on November 12, 1950.
The population grew gradually; only in 1821 did Montreal have its first bishop in the person of Msgr. Jacques Lartigue, who remained vicar general of Quebec and suffragan bishop. On May 13, 1836, Gregory XVI, with the bull *Apostolici ministerii manus*, erected Montreal into a diocese, and Leo XIII elevated it to an ecclesiastical province on June 7, 1886.
The following dioceses have been detached from Montreal: St-Hyacinthe on June 8, 1862; Sherbrooke on August 28, 1874 (which, since 1951, constitute the province of Sherbrooke); Valleyfield on January 27, 1892; Joliette on January 27, 1904; St-Jean-de-Québec on June 9, 1933; and St-Jérôme (1951). These form the ecclesiastical province of Montreal.
The diocese has played a primary role in the development of the Church in Canada, largely through the efforts of Msgr. Ignace Bourget, second bishop of Montreal (1840–1876). He introduced into Canada the Oblates of Mary Immaculate (1841), the Jesuits (1842), the Clerics of St. Viator (1847), the Fathers of the Holy Cross (1847), the Brothers of Charity of Ghent (1865), the Dames du Sacré-Cœur (1842), the Sisters of the Good Shepherd of Angers (1844), and the Sisters of the Holy Cross (1847). He also founded several religious congregations for women that soon spread throughout North and South America: the Sisters of Providence (1843), of Mercy (1848), of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary (1843), and of St. Anne (1850).
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### UNIVERSITY OF MONTREAL
The Sacred Congregation of Propaganda, at the request of Msgr. Ignace Bourget, bishop of Montreal, asked Laval University of Quebec to establish a branch in Montreal. Among the many reasons for this decision was the great distance separating the two cities, which prevented many young people from attending Laval University.
Instruction began in Montreal in 1878 with the Faculties of Theology and Law, and in 1879 with the Faculty of Arts. On February 2, 1889, Pope Leo XIII, with the brief *In adudum*, granted the branch greater independence, though the institution retained the name *Université Laval de Montréal*. On May 8, 1919, in response to a request from the bishops of the ecclesiastical province of Montreal, the Sacred Congregation of Seminaries and Universities of Studies authorized the Montreal branch to constitute itself as an independent university, and on February 14, 1922, it obtained civil recognition from the province of Quebec. On October 30, 1927, Pius XI canonically erected the University, which in 1950 received a new civil statute.
For several years the University had only a provisional seat, but soon the authorities decided to construct a building worthy of both the metropolis of Canada and the high mission of the university. Construction lasted several years, and today the University possesses an imposing building on Mount Royal that houses all the faculties—one of the most notable university buildings in America.
The University has developed rapidly and now includes a large number of faculties: theology (with the Pio XI Institute for popular theology); law; medicine, with the Institute of Experimental Medicine and Surgery for advanced studies, as well as the related Institutes of Dietetics and Nutrition and the School for Nurses; philosophy, with Institutes of Psychology, Medieval Studies, and Family and Social Education; letters; sciences; dentistry; pharmacy; social, political, and economic sciences, with a specialized section in industrial relations and a section in social service. The University also comprises the Schools of Optometry and Hygiene and the affiliated institutions: the École Polytechnique, the Agronomic Institute of Oka, the School of Veterinary Medicine (the last two directed by Trappist Fathers), the School of Advanced Commercial Studies, the École Normale Supérieure, and the Marguerite d’Youville Institute. In 1950, the Faculty of Music was established.
The governing body consists of a council of 12 Catholic governors, a Commission of Studies, and an executive committee. In 1949–50, it had 1,517 professors (300 of whom were in affiliated classical colleges), and in 1950–51, 12,195 students. — See pl. XCVII.