The exterior of the Basilica is in the style of the Italian Renaissance. Construction began in 1924 based on plans by Montreal architects Dalbé Viau and Alphonse Venne. When Brother André died on January 6, 1937, the dome had not yet built. That same year, the French Benedictine Monk, Dom Paul Bellot, in collaboration with Montreal architect Lucien Parent, undertook the completion of the Basilica.
The dome was poured and covered with copper. The towers and the base of the dome took on distinctive traits. Th interior was completed in 1966, based on on designs by the Canadian architect Gérard Notebaert.
DIMENSIONS:
- Overall: 105 m (341 ft.)
- Width across the transepts: 65 m (210 ft.)
- Width of the nave: 37 m (120 ft.)
- Height from the floor to the top of the inner dome:
60 m (196 ft.)
- Height from the floor to the cross on top of the outer dome: 91 m (319 ft.).
THE TWO DOMES:
- The inner dome: 26 m (85ft.) in diameter
- The outer copula: 39 m (125 ft.) in diameter
- The exterior dome rises 155 m (506 ft.) above street level and 263 m (856 ft.) above sea level. It is the highest point in Montreal.
THE MAIN PORTICO:
The concrete walls are covered with gigantic granite blocks from the quarries of Saint Cécile near Lake Mégantic. Corinthian columns 18 m (60 ft.) high tower over the heads of visitors and pilgrims. The main portico is 164 m (537 ft.) above sea level and 283 steps separate it from street level.
