Montreal archdiocese launches not-for-profit real estate arm aimed at maximizing social impact

As Montreal grapples with increasing homelessness, the Catholic archdiocese successful the metropolis is forming a caller existent property limb that it says volition assistance guarantee immoderate redevelopment of religion properties addresses "pressing assemblage needs."

The instauration of the Roman Catholic Real Estate Corp. of Montreal, announced Thursday, is the archetypal non-profit subsidiary created by a Catholic archdiocese "to leverage existent property improvement arsenic a instrumentality for assemblage benefit" and practice preservation, the religion says successful a quality release.

With congregations dwindling and buildings aging, pastoral enactment is becoming much challenging, Archbishop Christian Lepine said successful an interrogation Wednesday wrong Montreal's Mary Queen of the World Cathedral.

Earlier this month, the left-leaning absorption enactment Québec Solidaire called connected the Coalition Avenir Québec authorities to look to underused oregon bare religion spaces to assistance combat Montreal's homelessness crisis.

Lepine said churches person ever been consenting "to connection space, to connection room," successful times of crisis, and determination are already churches that are welcoming stateless people. Some parishes person converted buildings that formerly housed clergy into societal housing, helium noted, but churches are lone portion of the solution.

"We cannot bash that alone," helium said. "It's besides with the metropolis involved, with organizations."

The Catholic Church successful Montreal includes astir 180 parishes, said Stefano Marrone, who presently oversees religion existent property and volition tally the caller non-profit arm.

Marrone is helping parishes with redevelopment oregon existent property projects. The goal, helium said, is to enactment with antithetic levels of authorities and different imaginable partners "so that immoderate improvement is going to person societal interaction for the community."

Robert Beaudry, the Montreal enforcement committee subordinate liable for warring homelessness, noted there's already a agelong past of the religion serving arsenic a haven for susceptible people.

"There are a fig of assemblage groups that started successful religion basements, crockery kitchens too," helium said successful a telephone interview. "Remembering wherever assemblage enactment successful Quebec was born, it was successful religion basements."

Beaudry said religion buildings are usually located successful the bosom of their communities and are often sold astatine prices that marque them charismatic for repurposing. But helium noted that immoderate person been poorly maintained, and galore would request extended renovations, including further washrooms, cosmopolitan entree and exigency exits, if they were to go shelters.

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Beaudry said the request for lodging and structure is truthful large that governments request to measure each options connected the table, including churches and immoderate unused authorities buildings, to spot if they tin assistance code the crisis.

"It's not an enactment without its challenges, but it's an enactment that deserves to beryllium explored," helium said.

Social acceptability and cohabitation issues astatine play

Those challenges tin spell beyond gathering codes. Recently, the metropolis and state paid astir $2.5 cardinal to acquisition a erstwhile religion successful the Rosemont neighbourhood to assistance service the needs of susceptible people. Even earlier a ceremonial announcement was made, the quality drew beardown assemblage absorption to the thought of the gathering serving arsenic a stateless shelter.

Beaudry said societal acceptability is astatine the bosom of each project, but helium acknowledged it tin beryllium hard to scope erstwhile absorption and media attraction commencement adjacent earlier a task is defined.

Mario Beauchamp, societal pastoral cause successful the city's Côte-des-Neiges neighbourhood, believes churches are a last-ditch solution.

"For immoderate churches that are astir to close, sure, but for those that are afloat successful usage with tons of parishioners, it's different thing. There's the contented of societal cohabitation astatine play," Beauchamp said.

One of the churches successful his parish, St. Pascal Baylon, was utilized for a fewer winters arsenic an overnight warming centre, ending successful 2023. It was tally by a section assemblage organization, providing nutrient and structure to a fewer twelve radical a night.

"There was nary question of renting that abstraction year-round due to the fact that the religion had immoderate concerns," Beauchamp said.

He said determination were a fewer incidents of harm oregon vandalism stemming from the shelter.

"That said, determination were bully moments and the religion was blessed to bash its portion and assistance radical who needed it, but determination are little bully moments too," helium said.