In the 19th century, religion was a fundamental marker of identity. Faith shaped daily life, and places of worship emerged as essential hubs of spiritual and social life. In its built environment, Montréal reflected the diversity of denominations that mixed together.

St. Gabriel Street’s Scottish Church, founded in 1792, was Montréal’s first Presbyterian church. It served the city’s Scottish Presbyterian community until 1886, when the congregation relocated to Sainte-Catherine Street. The old building on Saint-Gabriel Street was ultimately demolished around the turn of the 20th century to make way for an annex to the courthouse.

While the vast majority of Montrealers were Catholic, other religious communities also took root: Anglicans, Presbyterians, Methodists, Baptists, Congregationalists and a small Jewish community. To accommodate this diversity, the number of places of worship in Montréal increased sixfold in the second half of the 19th century!