Churches the province over are struggling to make ends meet and the Catholic church in Saint Antoine Abbé is no exception. The impressive stone church at the heart of the village, with its bells that toll everyday at noon and 6 p.m. and its scenic backdrop of apple trees, is a 150-year-old landmark that many residents take for granted.
Diminishing attendance combined with skyrocketing costs of living set off discussions about the church’s future in 2022. The parish originally hoped for a partnership with the municipality of Franklin, but lack of funds and momentum for this arrangement brought the Saint Viateur Parish, of which the church is a member, to put the church up for sale.
According to a recent article in La Presse, there are 2000 religious buildings in Quebec in the same situation. As a society we are now facing the question: Is our religious heritage worth preserving? And if so, how should we do it and where should the money come from?
Jimmy Lakatos, renowned video scenographer and longtime collaborator with the Cirque du Soleil, has been interested in this question for quite some time. He has always found churches to be fascinating from an artistic perspective, and he saw the church in Saint Antoine Abbé as an opportunity to artistically explore the space and as a potential laboratory to answer the above question. He made an offer on the building in August 2025, but buying a church turned out to be quite complicated.
When a church is deconsecrated or desacralized (passes out of the hands of the church) the building is no longer exempt from the building code of Quebec. Bringing a 150-year-old building up to code for insurance purposes can be extremely expensive – around a million dollars for the church in Saint Antoine-Abbé. Upon learning this, Lakatos, surprised but undeterred, changed his game plan.
The ultimate goal of Lakatos is not to own a church but to see it transformed into something useful and inspiring for the community. His idea is to hold a series of cultural and artistic events over the next three years to stir up interest and create momentum in the community around the church. His hope is that once people experience the church’s potential, they will become invested in its preservation; and, once there is enough momentum, the municipality will be willing to invest the time and money.
For now, the parish of Saint Antoine Abbé has pledged to maintain the space and keep it insurable. It is a very expensive building to maintain; just a month of heating in the winter costs $3000. The parish plans to fundraise to balance their budget. Adolphe Bordeau, former president of the fabrique, wants people to understand that to keep the church going, they need more community involvement from fundraising to management.
The first of these events will be on June 24 for St-Jean. Lakatos will use his expertise to beautifully light up the interior of the church. There will also be live music and a video projection on the side of the church co-created with the elementary school of Saint-Antoine-Abbé. The event will be from 9 to 11 p.m. It is free to the public. It is also an opportunity for those interested in participating in future projects or church fundraisers to talk with Lakatos and Bordeau.
“I don’t just want to celebrate,” says Lakatos, “I want to get people to say, ‘OK, we need to think this through, we need a roadmap, we need a vision.’ And that vision, we have to build it together with everyone.”