Mount Carmel

August 2014 - Charlottetown PEI

For more of our day click here.

I've been dying to show off this church from our August trip to Prince Edward island. We came upon it by chance on the day we arrived and were driving around.



Imagine turning a corner and finding this nestled along the coastline.

Mont Carmel exudes the rustic charm and fun-loving hospitality of this French-speaking culture. Our Lady of Mont Carmel Church, one of the Island`s oldest, provides a perfect example of the dazzling architecture and craftsmanship characteristic of so many structures of its era. Constructed of Island brick, the turn of the century church towers majestically over a magnificent shoreline backdrop. 

First I had to walk around the cemetery but we were being beckoned by two volunteers sitting on the church steps letting us know that we could visit inside.

 Inside is an Acadian flag on on window sill, evidence of the pride Islanders feel about their heritage.
The flag of Acadia was adopted on August 15, 1884, at the Second Acadian National Convention held in Miscouche, Prince Edward Island, by nearly 5,000 Acadian delegates from across the Maritimes. It was designed by Father Marcel-Francois Richard, a priest fromSaint-Louis-de-Kent, New Brunswick.

As the third Roman Catholic church constructed on this site since 1812, Notre Dame du Mont Carmel is significant as the spiritual home of many Acadian families in the Mont Carmel area of PEI.

Another Acadian flag.

Interesting French first names and Gallant is an extremely popular name on the Island.

It was built in 1898 from funds raised by the parishioners and the work was completed by many local artisans, including Anglophones who were not members of the parish. All of the estimated 450,000 bricks were made nearby at Frederick Strong's brickyard in Lower Bedeque.