French Canada: Parish Churches

"The sheet-iron roof and the steeples were covered with bright aluminum paint, making the outside look finished and the whole glitter for miles in the sun." Source: from the French-Canadian novel, Two Solitudes, by Hugh MacLennan.

Because essentially everyone is Roman Catholic and religion is an important part of ordinary life, rural churches in Quebec are large and elaborate. Why do church steeples have bells in them? What river and hills are in the background?

Answers:

bells "call" people to worship; the higher the height of the steeple the farther the sound travels
the St. Lawrence River and beyond, the Canadian Shield

Created by Ingolf Vogeler on 30 May 1996; last revised on 09 March 2005.