The Catholic faith has played a large role in shaping Canada’s culture and history.
Like other nations in the Americas that began as former European colonies, Canada’s history has been largely defined by exploration and conquest, along with the establishment of religious missionaries. The last National Household Survey revealed that Catholics make up 38.7 percent of Canada’s population, a testament to the legacy of Catholicism in our country. Indeed, the Catholic faith has played a large role in shaping its culture and history.
Did It Begin With John Cabot’s Arrival?
Chronicles of America disclosed that Venetian explorer John Cabot, better known to some as Giovanni Caboto, landed in northeastern Canada in 1497. Depending on who you ask, Cabot’s ship landed in either Nova Scotia, Cape Breton Island, Newfoundland, Labrador or even the northeastern part of the United States. In either case, his Biography entry reveals that he claimed the territory for King Henry VII of England. Some sources insist that he also raised banners for his home nation of Venice and for the Pope, but some of Cabot’s story has been lost to history and remains in the domain of speculation today.
Samuel de Champlain and French Catholic Settlement
French navigator and geographer Samuel de Champlain left his own mark on Canadian history as the first to make an accurate map of its eastern coastline. In 1608, he established a Catholic colony that eventually became our modern-day Quebec City. A few years later, he founded a fur trading post and Catholic colony on the Island of Montreal. Known as “the Father of New France,” he spent his time in Canada creating trading opportunities, charting new areas, and furthering relations with Canada’s Indigenous peoples.
The Canadian Encyclopedia explains that several Catholic orders came to Canada later in the 1600s, including Franciscans and Jesuits. While the French Canadian Catholic Church’s focus was first on evangelizing Indigenous peoples, it soon had to turn its attention to the growing population of French settlers. With the establishment of parishes and other institutions, the first diocese was formed in Quebec in 1674, and Catholicism had firmly established itself in the region.
British Impacts on Canadian Catholicism
During the same period in which French Canada was developing as a Catholic territory, British Catholics were creating their own presence in Newfoundland. In 1620, George Calvert established the Avalon colony, in which a Catholic ministry was founded by two priests. As part of Avalon’s first charter, Calvert included the concept of religious tolerance to allow all residents, including Catholics, to practice their faiths freely.
However, British influence would not fully play out until the Seven Years’ War and French Canada’s conquest. The Canadian Encyclopedia mentions the 1763 Treaty of Paris, which converted New France over to British rule. The years that followed proved to be somewhat contentious for both French Canadian Catholics and their new British Protestant neighbors. French Catholics worried about conversion attempts from English Protestants, but the right to openly practice their religion was included in the terms of surrender. These liberties were further secured in the Quebec Act of 1774.
Irish Immigration Adds Further Complexities
Irish Catholics began migrating to Canada in the second half of the 17th century. This would set the stage for the later battle over French-language schools in the nation. Siding with Canadian Protestants, Irish Catholics opposed the use of French in public educational institutions, while French Catholics remained staunchly in favor of it. This heated debate led to legislation such as Ontario’s Regulation 17. As TVO revealed, it was enforced until 1927 and repealed in 1944. Moreover, full public funding to French-language schools was not instituted until 1968.
Catholicism’s Legacy in Canada
From initial settlement, to questions of religious freedom, to a battle between cultures, the history of Catholicism in Canada is a long and complex one. Our nation’s religious makeup, the monuments left behind by earlier settlers and even modern public policies all display evidence of its legacy.
A Croquembouche can be a unique wedding cake option.
With the number of French contributions to our culture, you probably won’t be surprised to find a croquembouche at a Canadian wedding. However, you might not be familiar with the history, details and preparation behind these fascinating pastry desserts. Whether you’ve adopted a French theme for your festivities or just want a different type of wedding cake for your reception, this delightful tower of goodness might be just right for your crowd.
Origins in 19th Century France
While much of Canada was still under British rule, a young Parisian baker began crafting a pastry creation that would become his enduring legacy. In January 2017, the U.S. media network National Public Radio website published a piece on legendary French chef Marie-Antoine Carême, the famed inventor of the croquembouche. Born to an impoverished family around 1783 or 1784, he was presumably orphaned by social turmoil resulting from the French revolution. Carême began working in a Paris kitchen at the age of eight, and by the time he was 15 years old, he’d landed a position as an apprentice to top-rated pastry chef Sylvain Bailly.
As Carême honed his craft during his late teen years, Bailly regularly displayed Carême’s stunningly elaborate pastries in his bakery shop window. By the late 1700s, this young sensation had fashioned a tower of small, round cream puffs called “choux” festooned with spun sugar. A recipe for this dessert, which he called a croquembouche, was published in his 1815 cookbook “Le Pâtissier royal parisien.” Meanwhile, Carême continued to rise to culinary stardom, designing lavish, beautiful sweets for the likes of Napoleon, Russia’s Czar Alexander I and prince regent George IV of England.
The Croquembouche in the Modern World
While there are many modern variations on this delicious pastry, they still follow the same basic format: a tall mountain of cream puffs covered in spun sugar and other wonderful edibles. You’ll probably have no difficulty finding bakers in any province to supply one for your special day, and it’s an appropriate wedding cake for many types of wedding themes. Wedding Bells Magazine showcased a French vintage matrimonial affair in a 2012 piece on its website, adding that the couple chose a croquembouche to add a delicate grandeur to their festivities.
If you think that such a spectacular wedding cake should get its own entrance and fanfare, you’re absolutely right. In fact, contributor Kim Petyt on The Good Life France blog revealed that a croquembouche is usually not presented until dessert time. With the lights dimmed and celebratory music playing, guests typically begin chanting “Le gateau! Le gateau!” as the star of the hour is brought out to the dining hall while decorated in small, sizzling fireworks. Once the display is over, the staff serves each guest three or four of the sweet, creamy choux to enjoy.
Flavorful Possibilities Abound
In both exterior decorative touches and inner fillings, the croquembouche presents a wide variety of lovely flavors. Traditionally, each choux contains vanilla-bourbon crème in the center. Nevertheless, bakeries offer several popular filling choices which can include favorites such as caramel and chocolate, or less common tastes like rose, pistachio or orange blossom. Besides spun sugar or pastel-tinted icing, a croquembouche wedding cake can be decked out in sugared almonds, chocolate, candied ribbons or even edible flowers.
A Delicious Wedding Cake Idea for Your Nuptial Affair
The croquembouche is a distinctive and delightful wedding cake that offers a complex combination of aesthetics, French culture and flavor. Its name appropriately translates to “crunch in the mouth,” and your guests will enjoy the taste and texture of this now-classic sweet treat. Add to that the customary celebratory fanfare with which it’s presented during your festivities, and your croquembouche will certainly be a memorable part of your wedding day.
While taking a religious tour, you get to see the inner workings of how churches function.
Even if you aren’t religious, there’s a lot that can be learned by taking a religious tour within a city. You may need to call and make arrangements if you want to tour the inside of the church, but you don’t even have to go inside to see the architecture of the building. Make sure you don’t interrupt worship services. Vancouver is not one of the oldest cities in Canada, but there’s still a lot of heritage within the city. Here are some of the best churches to visit when you’re in town.
Different Churches to Visit On Your Religious Tour
Paul’s Anglican Church was built in 1905. It is now a heritage building that cannot be torn down, nor have the integrity of its design altered. It’s a Gothic Revival design, and when you go inside, there’s a replica of a medieval labyrinth laid in the floor. It’s not a maze, but a walking path that leads into the centre and back out again. People of all faiths use it for meditation and reflection. The labyrinth is open to the public during certain times of the day.
Christ Church Cathedral is noted for its stained glass windows. It’s such a popular exhibit that the church has a self-guided tour that can be downloaded to walk you through the building. The church itself is an excellent example of Gothic Revival architecture built at the turn of the 20th You might even think that it was taken out of the English countryside and moved to its location in Vancouver. In 1995, the church began a restoration project that took about 11 years. Visitors are invited to take a walking tour through the building to enjoy its rich heritage.
The Holy Rosary Cathedral is home to the Roman Catholic faith. Pope John Paul II visited this church when he came to Vancouver. This building was built in the French Gothic style, and it features 21 beautiful pictorial stained glass windows. It’s one of three places in British Columbia where bells are hung in the English way. The bells made three oceanic crossings before the final installation. After one installation, the bells were not considered melodic enough and had to be sent to England to be melted down and recast.
Andrew’s-Wesley United Church is a short walk from downtown. The Gothic building was completed in 1933, and it’s a popular venue for music concerts. Every Sunday, the church offers Jazz Vespers in the afternoon and candlelight and music service in the evening as extra worship services for the community. The church also houses many stained glass windows and liturgical hangings to help understand the faith.
Holy Trinity Ukrainian Orthodox Cathedral is a beautiful building that did not receive the designation of Cathedral until 1983, but the parish was established in 1937. On the first Friday of the month, the church hosts a Ukrainian supper featuring pirogies and cabbage rolls at great prices. The inside of the Cathedral features beautiful paintings of icons. Worshippers venerate, not worship, these icons and show respect for their faith by genuflecting before the icon painting.
Learning more about faiths outside of your own opens your eyes to the similarities and differences between different religions. It can bridge gaps between individuals and in communities. Take a religious tour of your own town if you can’t get to Vancouver to explore its religious heritage. Look at the difference in architecture, decorations and stained glass windows. You don’t have to be a believer to see the beauty in the history of the building and interior décor. Understanding how religion affects someone’s life helps you understand their morals, their celebrations and their lifestyle. And it gives you a better understanding of the world.
The Catholic faith has played a large role in shaping Canada’s culture and history.
Like other nations in the Americas that began as former European colonies, Canada’s history has been largely defined by exploration and conquest, along with the establishment of religious missionaries. The last National Household Survey revealed that Catholics make up 38.7 percent of Canada’s population, a testament to the legacy of Catholicism in our country. Indeed, the Catholic faith has played a large role in shaping its culture and history.
Did It Begin With John Cabot’s Arrival?
Chronicles of America disclosed that Venetian explorer John Cabot, better known to some as Giovanni Caboto, landed in northeastern Canada in 1497. Depending on who you ask, Cabot’s ship landed in either Nova Scotia, Cape Breton Island, Newfoundland, Labrador or even the northeastern part of the United States. In either case, his Biography entry reveals that he claimed the territory for King Henry VII of England. Some sources insist that he also raised banners for his home nation of Venice and for the Pope, but some of Cabot’s story has been lost to history and remains in the domain of speculation today.
Samuel de Champlain and French Catholic Settlement
French navigator and geographer Samuel de Champlain left his own mark on Canadian history as the first to make an accurate map of its eastern coastline. In 1608, he established a Catholic colony that eventually became our modern-day Quebec City. A few years later, he founded a fur trading post and Catholic colony on the Island of Montreal. Known as “the Father of New France,” he spent his time in Canada creating trading opportunities, charting new areas, and furthering relations with Canada’s Indigenous peoples.
The Canadian Encyclopedia explains that several Catholic orders came to Canada later in the 1600s, including Franciscans and Jesuits. While the French Canadian Catholic Church’s focus was first on evangelizing Indigenous peoples, it soon had to turn its attention to the growing population of French settlers. With the establishment of parishes and other institutions, the first diocese was formed in Quebec in 1674, and Catholicism had firmly established itself in the region.
British Impacts on Canadian Catholicism
During the same period in which French Canada was developing as a Catholic territory, British Catholics were creating their own presence in Newfoundland. In 1620, George Calvert established the Avalon colony, in which a Catholic ministry was founded by two priests. As part of Avalon’s first charter, Calvert included the concept of religious tolerance to allow all residents, including Catholics, to practice their faiths freely.
However, British influence would not fully play out until the Seven Years’ War and French Canada’s conquest. The Canadian Encyclopedia mentions the 1763 Treaty of Paris, which converted New France over to British rule. The years that followed proved to be somewhat contentious for both French Canadian Catholics and their new British Protestant neighbors. French Catholics worried about conversion attempts from English Protestants, but the right to openly practice their religion was included in the terms of surrender. These liberties were further secured in the Quebec Act of 1774.
Irish Immigration Adds Further Complexities
Irish Catholics began migrating to Canada in the second half of the 17th century. This would set the stage for the later battle over French-language schools in the nation. Siding with Canadian Protestants, Irish Catholics opposed the use of French in public educational institutions, while French Catholics remained staunchly in favor of it. This heated debate led to legislation such as Ontario’s Regulation 17. As TVO revealed, it was enforced until 1927 and repealed in 1944. Moreover, full public funding to French-language schools was not instituted until 1968.
Catholicism’s Legacy in Canada
From initial settlement, to questions of religious freedom, to a battle between cultures, the history of Catholicism in Canada is a long and complex one. Our nation’s religious makeup, the monuments left behind by earlier settlers and even modern public policies all display evidence of its legacy.
A Croquembouche can be a unique wedding cake option.
With the number of French contributions to our culture, you probably won’t be surprised to find a croquembouche at a Canadian wedding. However, you might not be familiar with the history, details and preparation behind these fascinating pastry desserts. Whether you’ve adopted a French theme for your festivities or just want a different type of wedding cake for your reception, this delightful tower of goodness might be just right for your crowd.
Origins in 19th Century France
While much of Canada was still under British rule, a young Parisian baker began crafting a pastry creation that would become his enduring legacy. In January 2017, the U.S. media network National Public Radio website published a piece on legendary French chef Marie-Antoine Carême, the famed inventor of the croquembouche. Born to an impoverished family around 1783 or 1784, he was presumably orphaned by social turmoil resulting from the French revolution. Carême began working in a Paris kitchen at the age of eight, and by the time he was 15 years old, he’d landed a position as an apprentice to top-rated pastry chef Sylvain Bailly.
As Carême honed his craft during his late teen years, Bailly regularly displayed Carême’s stunningly elaborate pastries in his bakery shop window. By the late 1700s, this young sensation had fashioned a tower of small, round cream puffs called “choux” festooned with spun sugar. A recipe for this dessert, which he called a croquembouche, was published in his 1815 cookbook “Le Pâtissier royal parisien.” Meanwhile, Carême continued to rise to culinary stardom, designing lavish, beautiful sweets for the likes of Napoleon, Russia’s Czar Alexander I and prince regent George IV of England.
The Croquembouche in the Modern World
While there are many modern variations on this delicious pastry, they still follow the same basic format: a tall mountain of cream puffs covered in spun sugar and other wonderful edibles. You’ll probably have no difficulty finding bakers in any province to supply one for your special day, and it’s an appropriate wedding cake for many types of wedding themes. Wedding Bells Magazine showcased a French vintage matrimonial affair in a 2012 piece on its website, adding that the couple chose a croquembouche to add a delicate grandeur to their festivities.
If you think that such a spectacular wedding cake should get its own entrance and fanfare, you’re absolutely right. In fact, contributor Kim Petyt on The Good Life France blog revealed that a croquembouche is usually not presented until dessert time. With the lights dimmed and celebratory music playing, guests typically begin chanting “Le gateau! Le gateau!” as the star of the hour is brought out to the dining hall while decorated in small, sizzling fireworks. Once the display is over, the staff serves each guest three or four of the sweet, creamy choux to enjoy.
Flavorful Possibilities Abound
In both exterior decorative touches and inner fillings, the croquembouche presents a wide variety of lovely flavors. Traditionally, each choux contains vanilla-bourbon crème in the center. Nevertheless, bakeries offer several popular filling choices which can include favorites such as caramel and chocolate, or less common tastes like rose, pistachio or orange blossom. Besides spun sugar or pastel-tinted icing, a croquembouche wedding cake can be decked out in sugared almonds, chocolate, candied ribbons or even edible flowers.
A Delicious Wedding Cake Idea for Your Nuptial Affair
The croquembouche is a distinctive and delightful wedding cake that offers a complex combination of aesthetics, French culture and flavor. Its name appropriately translates to “crunch in the mouth,” and your guests will enjoy the taste and texture of this now-classic sweet treat. Add to that the customary celebratory fanfare with which it’s presented during your festivities, and your croquembouche will certainly be a memorable part of your wedding day.
While taking a religious tour, you get to see the inner workings of how churches function.
Even if you aren’t religious, there’s a lot that can be learned by taking a religious tour within a city. You may need to call and make arrangements if you want to tour the inside of the church, but you don’t even have to go inside to see the architecture of the building. Make sure you don’t interrupt worship services. Vancouver is not one of the oldest cities in Canada, but there’s still a lot of heritage within the city. Here are some of the best churches to visit when you’re in town.
Different Churches to Visit On Your Religious Tour
Paul’s Anglican Church was built in 1905. It is now a heritage building that cannot be torn down, nor have the integrity of its design altered. It’s a Gothic Revival design, and when you go inside, there’s a replica of a medieval labyrinth laid in the floor. It’s not a maze, but a walking path that leads into the centre and back out again. People of all faiths use it for meditation and reflection. The labyrinth is open to the public during certain times of the day.
Christ Church Cathedral is noted for its stained glass windows. It’s such a popular exhibit that the church has a self-guided tour that can be downloaded to walk you through the building. The church itself is an excellent example of Gothic Revival architecture built at the turn of the 20th You might even think that it was taken out of the English countryside and moved to its location in Vancouver. In 1995, the church began a restoration project that took about 11 years. Visitors are invited to take a walking tour through the building to enjoy its rich heritage.
The Holy Rosary Cathedral is home to the Roman Catholic faith. Pope John Paul II visited this church when he came to Vancouver. This building was built in the French Gothic style, and it features 21 beautiful pictorial stained glass windows. It’s one of three places in British Columbia where bells are hung in the English way. The bells made three oceanic crossings before the final installation. After one installation, the bells were not considered melodic enough and had to be sent to England to be melted down and recast.
Andrew’s-Wesley United Church is a short walk from downtown. The Gothic building was completed in 1933, and it’s a popular venue for music concerts. Every Sunday, the church offers Jazz Vespers in the afternoon and candlelight and music service in the evening as extra worship services for the community. The church also houses many stained glass windows and liturgical hangings to help understand the faith.
Holy Trinity Ukrainian Orthodox Cathedral is a beautiful building that did not receive the designation of Cathedral until 1983, but the parish was established in 1937. On the first Friday of the month, the church hosts a Ukrainian supper featuring pirogies and cabbage rolls at great prices. The inside of the Cathedral features beautiful paintings of icons. Worshippers venerate, not worship, these icons and show respect for their faith by genuflecting before the icon painting.
Learning more about faiths outside of your own opens your eyes to the similarities and differences between different religions. It can bridge gaps between individuals and in communities. Take a religious tour of your own town if you can’t get to Vancouver to explore its religious heritage. Look at the difference in architecture, decorations and stained glass windows. You don’t have to be a believer to see the beauty in the history of the building and interior décor. Understanding how religion affects someone’s life helps you understand their morals, their celebrations and their lifestyle. And it gives you a better understanding of the world.
