Newly restored, Our Lady’s Altar was returned to its place in the sanctuary last week.

Having all three of its altars restored to their former state has been the fervent desire of many of the faithful and their priests ever since the nascent parish of Saint Clement acquired them in 1984 and thus saved them from certain destruction.

Parishioner generosity has made possible the realization of many prayers by ensuring a very successful Side Altar Restoration Campaign. As of the end of December 2020, parishioners had contributed $29,345.00 to the project involving this second side altar which was budgeted at $24,800 (plus applicable taxes). The additional funds received will be directed to other sanctuary restoration work.

The work to restore the side altars was undertaken by Atelier Plantagenêt who in 2019, carried out the restorative treatment of the high altar.

Thank you for your generosity!

Restorations by their very nature sometimes reserve discoveries that are both unexpected and impossible to fully explain.

Such is the case with the restoration of one of Saint Clement’s side altars. Work being carried out on the altar dedicated to Saint Joseph has uncovered an early ex voto offering hidden behind the fabric lining tabernacle when it was removed for cleaning. How and why it came to be there is a mystery.

The ex voto consists of a donor card in gold lettering signed “Donné par L. Joseph Fauteux Ecr” and is accompanied  by a heart-shaped silver votive medal surrounded by palm branches carrying the inscription “Sister Anne Marie, November 13^th 1916.”

We don’t know the identities of either Joseph Fauteux or Sister Anne Marie and it is unlikely that we ever will. What we can be sure of however is that the votive offering was so important to Mr. Fauteux that he took pains to ensure that the card identifying him as the donor was done in gold lettering embellished with scroll work before placing it where, together with the silver memento carrying Sister Anne Marie’s name, it would be next to Our Lord in His tabernacle.

If Sister Anne Marie’s identity, like Mr. Fauteux’s, is unknown, so too is the significance of the date of November 13^th, 1916. Was it her date of birth or that of her death? Was it perhaps the date the young woman entered religious life?  We simply don’t know. All we know is that over one hundred years ago, both objects were entrusted to the safekeeping of Saint Joseph and carefully placed out of sight in the tabernacle.

The saint will continue to watch over them for once the restoration is complete, the votive offering will remain attached to his altar, enclosed in a secure frame accompanied by an explanatory note documenting its discovery.

In what is surely a providential gesture, two statues of the guardian angels which originally stood sentry to the high altar in the former Monastery of the Precious Blood on Echo Drive have at long last been reunited with their charge as the result of a very generous gift made to the parish during its 50^th anniversary year.

The angels have been reunited with the high altar thanks to the generosity of Darlene Lagasse and Denis Orbay, members of the Saint Clement Union of the Precious Blood.

When the Sisters Adorers were constrained in 1984 to bring their sanctuary into line with post-conciliar norms, the statues of the two angels, part of a larger company which had adorned the monastery chapel since 1923, were taken over by the Union of the Precious Blood. It was also at that time that Ottawa’s Latin Congregation assumed custody of the monastery’s three altars. Both angels and high altar remained separated for 34 years until this July 1^st, feast of the Precious Blood, when they were at last once more brought together.

Saint Anne’s stain glass windows were purchased in 1908 from N.T. Lyon of Toronto.  The stain glass window illustrating Our Lady’s visit to her cousin Elizabeth has undergone repairs and restoration. Due to water infiltration over the course of the years, the wooden casement of the window on the East side of the nave suffered rot and required attention. Northern Art Glass of Ottawa was entrusted with the project which included the cleaning, re-leading and replacement of missing glass pieces where necessary as well as the provision of adequate ventilation when the window was returned to its place.  This was something of a test run for similar work which will need to be carried out on a number of other windows in the church.   Donations are welcome toward their eventual restoration !