This image shows the Corpus Christi celebrations in Québec City in May 1932. On this feast day, people would watch the procession pass before their homes, then follow it. As the procession moves toward the heart of the city, the crowd grows larger and larger. In the photograph, the procession is crossing rails, as train or streetcar tracks were ubiquitous in the city.

1905 - 1945

Corpus Christi, a time-honoured tradition

Corpus Christi is a Catholic religious holiday celebrated 60 days after Easter. It was a very popular feast day in Québec City in the first half of the 20th century, up until 1960s and the secularization of society during the Quiet Revolution. Also known as the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ Day, it commemorates the presence of Christ in the sacrament of the Eucharist. On this holy day, local residents decorated their homes and joined in a procession that stopped before altars of repose along the way. Do you have any special memories of Corpus Christi?

Corpus Christi procession crossing the tramway tracks on Des Chutes Boulevard

Auteur inconnu This image shows the Corpus Christi celebrations in Québec City in May 1932. On this feast day, people would watch the procession pass before their homes, then follow it. As the procession moves toward the heart of the city, the crowd grows larger and larger. In the photograph, the procession is crossing rails, as train or streetcar tracks were ubiquitous in the city.

Chronoscope Can you locate this place on the map? (unilingual French for a limited time)

Depicted period: 1932

OPEN