Corporation du Patrimoine et du Tourisme Religieux de Québec

OUR MISSION

The Corporation du patrimoine et du tourisme religieux de Québec sees to the animation, interpretation and development of Québec City’s religious heritage.

OUR OBJECTIVES

To develop services and reception facilities in as many religious institutions of Québec City as possible.
To develop and offer guided tours and thematic visits in connection with Québec City’s religious heritage.
To create activities with the members of the Corporation and collaborate on common projects.
To inform those of the tourist industry about projects given by the Corporation and to ensure a presence at various pertinent gatherings.
To put together and promote religious heritage animation activities, such as guided tours, concerts, conferences, etc.
To train and supervise guides and specialized group leaders with respect to religious heritage.
Collaborate on and participate in Québec City’s cultural and tourist activities.

HISTORY

A committee, formed to concentrate on the religious tourism of Québec City, was created in 1984, the year when Québec became the host of two major events that would mark the history of the region: les Grands Voiliers and the Visit of Pope John Paul II. These events corresponded with a period when more and more visitors were choosing Québec as their tourist destination.
Monsignor Maurice Couture, auxiliary bishop of Québec City at the time, gathered a few people together to reflect on the place that the Church should have been holding in the rapidly developing field of tourism. Aware of the importance of religious heritage in the city’s historical, architectural, artistic, cultural and ethnological backgrounds, the committee members noticed that Church heritage was seldom promoted and was not easily accessible to tourists coming from abroad or to the local population.

In 1986, a Pastoral Tourism Committee was created and received its official approval by Cardinal Louis-Albert Vachon. The committee was made up of pastoral workers, ecclesiastical members interested in tourism and pilgrimages, as well as professionals from the tourist industry interested in faith and religion.

Upon reflection, the committee members proposed a first promotional tool for the city’s religious heritage, the guide Québec Living Stones. Following this first initiative, a tour was then proposed that would allow visitors to discover the faith and courage of Québec City’s ancestors who left us churches, chapels, convents, monuments, museums and other priceless treasures.

Stemming from this first heritage development project, a partnership began to grow between the main religious institutions of Old Québec. Shortly thereafter, a second far-reaching project was developed by the religious tourism committee: the creation and operation of a Sound and Light Show to be held inside Notre-Dame de Québec Basilica Cathedral. The first show would be presented six years later, in 1993.

In 1988, the Corporation du tourisme religieux de Québec was officially founded and would become the Corporation du patrimoine et du tourisme religieux de Québec in 1995. In 1993, a new initiative lead to the creation of a François de Laval information center, located inside Notre-Dame de Québec Basilica-Cathedral, that would promote and make Québec’s first bishop known to the public. In May 1994, a first international symposium on the religious heritage and pilgrimages was organized by the Corporation. Over 160 people were in attendance and shared their ideas and personal experiences.

Since its beginnings, the Corporation has concentrated on welcoming visitors and on distributing information for tourists coming from other parts of Canada and other countries, as well as for pilgrims passing through. It has worked on placing reception facilities in as many religious institutions as possible and on distributing information through various means adapted to the diverse clientele. It has also developed and promoted religious heritage through the organization of various activities and guided tours that allow one to discover the cultural identity of Québec and the spiritual heritage that is directly related to it.

Over the years, the Corporation has made itself known through guided tours, walking tours adapted to children and youth, and pilgrimages. Its activities, spanning a wide range of subjects, are adapted to various clientele, from those interested in culture, history and art to those who desire to deepen their faith and spirituality.

The Corporation has also formed several partnerships in order to develop various projects. From originally having only a few members, today the Corporation has over forty members from different religious denominations. It has also formed partnerships with major industries, organizations and events that also participate in the tourist and cultural promotion of Québec City.

In the beginning, the CPTRQ concentrated on the religious heritage of Old Québec. Today, it promotes the religious heritage of the entire region of Québec City.