French Canada: Private Shrines

Quebec's population once was completely Roman Catholic. The cultural landscape evidence still attests to the very religious character of the province. But now 19 percent of couples live in common-law relationships and 44 percent of children born out of wedlock. Lysiane Gagnon, a columnist for Montreal's La Presse, thinks that with the collapse of the Catholic Church in Quebec, nationalism has become the new religion of many Quebecois. Note the size and details of the private shrine in the photo below, which was built and is maintained by this Roman Catholic farm family.
How do you know that this is a dairy farm?

Answers:

windows in the basement of the barn are indicative of dairy farming -- before electricity was widely used, light was needed in the barn to milk the cows
silo, which is enclosed by the barn, stores silage for dairy cows
milk house (grey building), attached perpendicular to the barn

Compare this photo with an other French Canadian Roman Catholic landscape element.

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