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The Former Presbytery of Saint-Jérôme

Engraving published in a newspaper, showing the façade of a rectangular one-and-a-half storey house with a steeply pitched roof having three dormers. A porch extends the full width of the house, with the roof overhanging it. A wooden fence runs along the dirt road in the foreground.

Engraving: Adolphe Morrisette
Date: Around 1900
Source: Société d’histoire de la Rivière-du-Nord, Collection Société d’histoire de la Rivière-du-Nord
Classification mark: P005, S01, SS04, D05, P03

The presbytery of Saint-Jérôme was built in 1839 next to the parish church (the location today is the southwest end of Parc Labelle). The front door was on Grande Rue, later Rue Labelle. Like many presbyteries of the time, it resembles a house in the so-called Québécoise style, with roof dormers, shuttered windows, and an ample front porch covered by the roof. From 1868 to 1891, Curé Labelle lived in this house with his mother, who saw to the needs of the household, other clergymen, and Labelle’s loyal friend Isidore. The story goes that in the time Labelle lived there, the presbytery was a welcoming gathering place where enjoyable conversation could be found. Travelling priests would also stop in to spend the night, sure of receiving a warm welcome. Dormitory rooms were always available for these guests passing through. The building was demolished in 1895, and a new, roomier and more functional presbytery was built nearby on Rue Saint-Georges.