Nestled in a South Shore community 25 minutes from downtown Montreal, St. Augustine is a unique example of Modern Mid 20th Century Quebec churches.  Located in St-Bruno-de-Montarville, this English Catholic church was completed in 1967 and serves a community of 250 parishioners in the diocese of St. Jean-Longueuil.

Award winning architect Victor Prus (1917-2017) and talented Quebec artist Jordi Bonet (1932-1979), came together to collaborate on the design of this building, its altars, baptismal font and other points of interest. Victor Prus described the church as ‘a metaphor of the temporal nature of the living world’.

Materials for the church complex are simple and natural and are intended to age and weather beautifully.  Both the interior and exterior wood are untreated BC cedar and are not meant to be stained but to weather naturally. Over time, the cedar has developed into a beautiful satiny silver patina. The church proper has granite-like terrazzo floors and copper roof flashings.  The concrete foundation, evocative of ageless, rock outcrops, extends upwards to meet the open-face wood siding. Victor Prus would go on to create other award-winning works such as the Expo 67 Stadium, the Grand Théâtre de Québec, the Conservatory of Music in Québec City and the Palais des Congrès in Montreal.

The Conseil du Patrimoine du Quebec has declared St. Augustine of Canterbury Church “Incontournable A” making the church eligible for financial aid as a heritage building.  St. Augustine was part of the new category of modern religious heritage for “places of worship emblematic of the postwar period 1945-1975”. 

On August 4th, 2019 at a press conference on the steps of Sainte-Famille Church in Boucherville, Nathalie Roy, minister of Culture and Communications, announced that St. Augustine of Canterbury Parish would be eligible to receive funding for the start of much needed renovations. In order to receive financial aid, St. Augustine must raise 30% of the total cost to renovate this cultural gem.  Quebec’s culture belongs to everybody, both residents and tourists, so we hope that you will aid us in this renovation project to restore a building worthy of its history.