The Church

Faith is an important part of La Survivance (or cultural survival) because the practice of faith extends beyond religious ritual. It includes communal traditions that build affinity, like festivals, holidays, foods, music, language, art, and architecture. For most French-Canadian immigrants to Rhode Island, cultural survival was intertwined with the maintenance of their Catholic faith.

Upon arrival in Woonsocket, the first wave of Québécois found that the local Catholic parish was Irish American, and therefore had a different set of traditions and rituals. Desiring a place to express and protect their cultural identity (and to be able to worship in French) French Canadians established their own churches where the sermons would be conducted in French. For these immigrants, the church would become the basis for all other community institutions, such as school, hospice, orphanages, etc.

They began by establishing a separate Catholic Church, named L'Église du Précieux Sang, or Precious Blood Church. Construction began on the site at 94 Carrington Avenue in 1873, aiming to accommodate the large population of French Canadians living in the surrounding villages of Hamlet, Globe, and Bernon. A storm destroyed the partially-built edifice in 1876; construction on the main building would be completed in 1881. Precious Blood continues to serve the local community to this day. This exhibit recreates the facade of Precious Blood Church located on Carrington Ave, Woonsocket, which is still open for masses on Sundays.

By the 1890s, the community had outgrown its sole church. French Canadians decided to establish a second parish, Saint Ann’s. By 1919, Woonsocket had five French-Canadian Roman Catholic congregations: Precious Blood, Saint Ann’s, Holy Family founded in 1902, Saint Louis founded in 1902, and Our Lady of Victories founded in 1909, the most of any community in the state. The city was also home to two Irish-Catholic churches, as well as Polish and Ukrainian Catholic parishes. 

French Canadians continued to maintain familiar traditions, including some that extended all the way back into the European continent. For example, French settlers had brought the tradition of celebrating Saint Jean Baptiste Day to the colonies of New France in the 1600s. As observed by French-Canadian immigrants to the United States, eager to express pride in their faith and heritage, the holiday took on a political tone and came to represent La Survivance. Woonsocket French Canadians often recognized the June 24 holiday with jubilant parades, picnics, and concerts.

The mosaic in this exhibit is from Our Lady of Victories, and was donated to the museum when the church closed its doors around 2006. The mosaic shows a fallen World War I soldier draped in the American flag being held by Joan of Arc, patron saint of soldiers, who hovers over a battlefield.