#Canada #Quebec – Saint-Paul Church (Église Saint-Paul), a historic Catholic church in Montreal’s Sud-Ouest borough was destroyed by a massive fire in the early morning of February 23, 2026.
The fire broke out around 1:30–1:40 a.m. near the corner of Avenue de l’Église and Rue Laurendeau. It quickly engulfed the century-old building, which was designated as a heritage site. Flames spread to the adjacent former rectory, which had been converted into a seniors’ residence). More than 100 firefighters responded; the blaze was described as intense, with “hundreds of feet of flames” visible.No injuries were reported, but 73 seniors (some accounts say around 75) were evacuated from the residence due to the spreading fire, along with other nearby residents, for a total of about 148 people temporarily displaced into the cold.
The church building was completely destroyed (total loss), reduced to rubble with smoke continuing to billow afterward. A food bank operating in the basement of the church was also lost. The adjacent seniors’ home suffered damage but the primary destruction was to the church itself.
Built between 1910 and 1911, it originally served the local Catholic community as a parish church. In recent years, it had been vacant for several years with no regular Catholic Masses or celebrations held there. It was still used for community purposes, including the food bank. At the time of the fire, part of the building (the sanctuary) was reportedly used by a small Orthodox Christian community for liturgy.
The Diocese of Montreal issued a statement describing the event as a “painful moment” for those connected to the site of prayer and service, while confirming the church’s long-vacant status for Catholic worship.
The cause of the fire remained under investigation in the immediate aftermath, with no immediate determination of arson or accident publicly confirmed in reports. It was noted as the second significant historic building fire in Montreal that year. This incident drew widespread local and national coverage due to the loss of heritage architecture, the impact on vulnerable seniors, and the destruction of community services like the food bank. No fatalities or major injuries occurred, which was highlighted as a relief given the scale of the blaze.
Since mid-2021, there has been a marked and sustained increase in church fires, particularly those ruled or suspected as arson, coinciding with public reactions to allegations of unmarked graves at former residential schools and ongoing investigations that have drawn no evidence. A CBC (state-funded media) investigation documented at least 33 churches fully destroyed by fire from May 2021 to December 2023. Of these, 24 were confirmed arsons, only 2 were ruled accidental, and the rest were suspicious or under investigation. This was more than double the number from the prior comparable period.
Image: Saint-Paul Church seen from above in the aftermath of the fire that destroyed the entire structure.
