MONTREAL — Quebec Minister of Culture and Communications Nathalie Roy announced that the Abbaye-Notre-Dame-du-Lac-a-Oka and two buildings located inside will be deemed a heritage site under the Cultural Heritage Act.
Developed around 1881, the Abbey-Notre-Dame-du-Lac-a-Oka heritage site is where the monks of Trappe d’Oka performed their activities and, according to the minister, points to the role they played in the development of agriculture in Quebec.
Roy believes that the heritage site buildings at the Abbaye-Notre-Dame-du-Lac-a-Oka have been carefully preserved and are still used today for agriculture and education, which proves that the old is not necessarily obsolete and can be useful in a contemporary context.
The Notre-Dame-du-Lac abbey architecture is characterized by its sober, uncluttered character, in accordance with the principles of Cistercian architecture.
In 2009, the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance monks (Trappists) left the Oka abbey to settle in Saint-Jean-de-Matha.
The heritage site therefore bears witness to the presence for more than a century in Oka of the first trappist community in Quebec.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 5, 2020.
