Beloved monastery was place of beauty and healing, say devastated musicians, artists

As the flames leaping fromtheMonastre du Bon-Pasteur in downtown Montreal die down and the smoke abates, Montreal's music and artcommunities are mourning the loss of one of the city's most cherished cultural spaces.

The heritage building near the corner of Sherbrooke and de Bullion streets housed a seniors' residence, a housing co-operative, a daycare and condominiums.

It has also been home toone of Montreal's most revered classical music venues.

For over three decades, the monastery's 120-seatchapel has played host tohundreds of concerts a year, many by emerging classical musicians. The chapel is "at the heart" of Montreal's cultural heritage, saidits artistic director, Simon Blanchet.

"It's a tragedy," he said.

"We're devastated because the Bon-Pasteur chapel is a really important place for music and concerts in Montreal. It's been a springboard for many artists," said Blanchet.

"It's traumatizing for everyone in the music scene. Everyone is in shock."

Although much of the building is in ruins right now, Blanchetis counting on the city to step in to salvage the chapel and protect its place in the city's heritage.

Prix d'Europe scrambles to find new venue

The 111th edition of the Prix d'Europe a week-long competition for young musicians with a scholarship prize of $50,000 was set to be held at the chapel in 10 days. Organizers are now scrambling to find a new venue.

Lise Boucher, the head of the Acadmie de musique du Qubec, the non-profit group that sponsors that competition, describes the chapel as a "beautiful" space where musicians havealways been "warmly received."

She said she hopes the competition will return there some day.

"For the whole cultural and musical scene of Montreal, it's a huge loss even if they repair, rebuild or renovate," Boucher said. "It will surely be closed for several months."

For the past 30 years, the building has also been headquarters forLes Impatients, an organization that provides a space wherepeople with mental health issues canengage in artistic expression.

"It's almost like a second home," said Frdric Palardy, the organization's executive director. "They meet with people. They have a safe space. There's no judgment."

Palardy says the fire caused irreparable damage, consuming a large collection of artwork created by the 130 participants at Les Impatients.

"We lost everything," he said.

Sketch artist and sculptor Brooks Hughes, one of the people that has found refuge in art at Les Impatients, said he was last there yesterday morning.

Hughes, who has a history ofdepression which is now under control, has been creating works of art there for the past nine years. As a person with reduced mobility, he said otherwise,he doesn't get out much.

"It's very close to home," he said. "It's devastating for a whole lot of people who don't have anywhere to go."

"We're like a little community. We do artwork and we joke," he said.

"My greatest concern is for the people I consider as part of my family and where they're going to go. Will the group stay together? That has upset me the most," said Hughes.

Hughes is determined not to giveinto despair.

He said he and his fellow artists will continue to heal himself through the power of art, wherever the next studio opens its doors.

What it looks like at the scene of the Bon-Pasteur monastery fire

1 year ago

Duration 1:08

CBC's Rowan Kennedy explains what's left in the aftermath of Thursday's destructive blaze.