Montréal - Vieux Séminaire Saint-Sulpice

The Old Seminary of Saint Sulpice adjoining the Basilica dates from 1685. The foundation still belongs to the order of Saint Sulpice, a non-ordained priestly order. It began in Paris in 1642 with Abbé Dollier de Casson at its head, and much of the land of Montréal was gifted to it by the king in the 17th c. The seminary is the oldest stone dwelling in a city where originally most buildings were constructed more cheaply and simply in timber.

The building, which is not open to the public, is of a refined simplicity, with some late-Renaissance style embellishment. Through the grille can be glimpsed the oldest clock tower in North America, dating from 1710.