Le repos Saint-François d’Assise is one of the largest Catholic cemeteries in Canada. As a charitable organization and sacred century-old institution, Le repos Saint-François d’Assise provides users and customers with a range of concessions, goods, and services in keeping with the needs of each individual and the funeral rituals of the Christian faith.
At the heart of these objectives is the desire to create a place of remembrance and commemoration that is welcoming, peaceful and conducive to contemplation. Since the foundation of Le repos Saint-François d’Assise in 1916, families have entrusted it with managing the remembrance of more than 250,000 people for whom the cemetery grounds and mausoleum-columbaria are the final resting place.
The cemetery has enough space to accommodate your loved ones and descendants for generations to come.
With its policy of genuine openness and welcome, Le repos Saint-François d’Assise is attuned to the traditions of many of Greater Montréal’s cultural communities. Numerous families from the Italian, Vietnamese, Haitian, Lebanese, Portuguese and other communities have laid loved ones to rest in our cemetery.
In addition to the secular priests section, we also welcome some thirty religious communities.
As a non-profit organization, we reinvest the revenues generated by the sale of concessions and funeral services to provide:
- Burial, cremation, and funeral services at a price everyone can afford
- Support for the bereaved through the infodeuil.ca website
- Access to a dignified burial for people in need, whatever their situation
- Artistic, cultural, and social activities for communities in Montréal and surrounding areas
- Donations to local community and religious organizations
Our mission
To remember the deceased and support bereaved family and friends by offering a permanent, dignified and accessible burial site in the heart of Montréal.Le repos Saint-François d’Assise’s primary aim is to listen to bereaved families and ensure a dignified burial for all.
We’re here for you, whether you opt for:
- Cremation followed by placement of the urn in a columbarium niche or interment in a plot
- Placement of a casket in a mausoleum crypt
- Burial of a casket in a plot
Vision
To be the benchmark for funeral, burial and bereavement services in the Greater Montréal area.Our funeral services
At the time of death of a loved one or prearranged funeral services
Le repos Saint-François d’Assise provides services and concessions (plots, niches, crypts) at the time of death and also as part of prearrangements.
Want to find out more?
Supporting the bereaved
Our infodeuil.ca website provides reflections, analyses, resources, and events to help you understand and work through the grieving process.
Le repos Saint-François d’Assise’s social involvement
Our social involvement in the Greater Montréal communityFor some, a burying place may simply be unaffordable or out of reach: children who leave us far too soon, loved ones who disappear and are never found, the forgotten ones who have no friends or family, the homeless, and many others.
That’s why we’ve chosen to get involved socially and provide space for the most destitute members of our society, so that they too can have access to proper burial, regardless of their situation.
Want to find out more about our community involvement in the Greater Montréal area?
Le repos Saint-François d’Assise has assembled a multidisciplinary team that shares a common goal: to help bereaved families choose the funeral services best suited to their needs.
In total, more than 60 experienced and well-trained personnel are here for you: attendants, horticulturists, cremation technicians, family advisors and many more.
Together, we ensure that your visit with us fully meets your expectations, in a calm and serene environment.
Questions?
A parish founded in New France on June 4,1724 played a key role in the birth and development of Le repos Saint-François d’Assise. The inhabitants of Côte de la Longue-Pointe chose St. Francis of Assisi as their patron saint.
The Saint-François d’Assise de la Longue-Pointe parish cemetery was located next to the church, whose majestic stone façade faced the St. Lawrence River. The church disappeared long ago to make room for the Louis-Hyppolite-Lafontaine bridge tunnel, a symbol of the Quiet Revolution.
The Saint-François d’Assise de la Longue-Pointe parish cemetery was the precursor of the Cimetière de l’Est de Montréal, built from scratch on March 16, 1916, on this same site.
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01 - Why build a new cemetery?
Because the original parish cemetery, which had been in use for almost two centuries, had no more room.
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02 – Where to build this new cemetery?
The parish council owned a key asset: a piece of land bequeathed by Nicolas Desautels on April 22, 1841. This long strip of land marked the boundary of an area stretched 117 m along the St. Lawrence River to the south, and nearly 5 km to the north, up to the present-day Metropolitan expressway.
The parish council also purchased twelve arpents of land near the northern part of this property, adding to the Désautels bequest. Eventually, the cemetery was established along the road known as Chemin de la Longue-Pointe and measured, as was said at the time, “84 arpents deep by 8 arpents wide”.
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03 - The birth of a social enterprise
On December 27, 1915, Bishop Bruchési approved the resolutions presented to him by the churchwardens and recommended that the Quebec government adopt the private bill piloted by Bishop LePailleur.
On March 16, 1916, the legislation establishing the Cimetière de l’Est de Montréal, sponsored by Quebec premier Lomer Gouin, Laval MNA Wenceslas Lévesque, and Émery Larivière, municipal councillor for the Mercier district on the Montréal City Council, was assented to by the parliament of Quebec.
As the “Compagnie Limitée du Cimetière de l’Est de Montréal” needed resources to develop a cemetery from scratch, amendments were made to the Act in 1918 authorizing the company to borrow.
First office on the cemetery site
Faced with a shortage of space to adequately meet the needs of bereaved families, the administrators decided on May 21, 1957, to expand the administrative structure by building a proper office on the cemetery site.
The cemetery’s first office building was delivered at the end of April 1958.
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04 - Gérard Bourgault, first secular Director General
From 1916 to 1972, two parish priests at Saint-François-d’Assise— Bishop LePailleur and Father Adrien Robillard—successively held de facto positions as chairman of the Board of Directors and managing director of the Cimetière de l’Est.
Sixty-six years later, a layman took the helm of the cemetery. Gérard Bourgault (1972–1983) was the first secular director general appointed by the Board of Directors.
In 1972, the director general convinced the Board that the cemetery’s modernization project should include the construction of a crematorium.
In 1977, the cemetery Board commissioned architect André Ritchot to design a major project that would considerably alter the cemetery’s overall appearance. The project included a new administrative building, reception chapels, spacious parking areas and a basement with three large, refrigerated repositories where the deceased can be kept with dignity before their interment.
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05 - The birth of Le repos Saint-François d’Assise
In the mid-1980s, Bishop Turcotte, who chaired the Board of Directors between 1983 and 1987, launched a strategic thinking process and provided tangible guidance on the choices to be made by the cemetery as a Catholic institution.
One of the main recommendations concerned changing the name. The choice of the new name had to reflect the peaceful and comforting nature of the cemetery while at the same time exploring the historical and secular link between the cemetery and its founding parish: Saint-François-d’Assise.
In the spring of 1986, the Board of Directors confirmed the cemetery’s new name: “Le repos Saint-François d’Assise,” and a private bill was immediately requested to modify the cemetery charter.
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06 - Infrastructure development
- A state-of-the-art IT system
- Today, a state-of-the-art IT system integrates all of the cemetery’s administrative operations.
- What’s more, an interactive website gives Internet users access to a wealth of information, including how to search for a deceased relative and locate their burial site.
- Improved equipment and mechanization
- A high-tech crematorium
- A state-of-the-art IT system
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07 - The new architecture of funeral rituals
In the mid-1980s, the cemetery became the first in Canada to adopt a long-term vision, with a master plan for the construction of six mausoleum-columbaria over a 15-year period (1982–1997). Architect André Ritchot designed the plans and erected the first mausoleum-columbaria in 1982.
In 1999, this vision was updated when the cemetery submitted its new development vision for the next twenty-five years to the City of Montréal. The plan focuses on the cohesive development of new mausoleum-columbaria, the addition of several gardens, and the renaturalization of areas bordering nearby residences.
For the construction of the last five mausoleum-columbaria, the cemetery is working closely with Quebec architect Martin Frenette. The 11 mausoleum-columbaria provide visitors with the opportunity to pay their respects 365 days a year, without being affected by the weather.
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08 - Site landscaping
The desire to make the site beautiful has been a constant. In 1971, an ambitious development plan prepared by Christian Lalonde (a specialist in environmental design) was approved.
In 1989, François Lefebvre, the cemetery’s third secular director, commissioned architect Roger Leblanc to transform the main entrance at the corner of Desautels and Sherbrooke into an oasis of greenery. His innovative plan was implemented, creating a welcoming green space and a majestic entrance. This involved moving the sales office from Sherbrooke Street to its new location, opposite the administrative offices.
In 1999, still under the guidance of the third secular director, the idea of a garden of remembrance was born with the presentation of the master plan for the mausoleum-columbarium. Completed in June 2016 to mark the cemetery’s 100 years of service, the new facility was inaugurated and blessed by Abbot François Baril, the Saint-François-d’Assise parish priest.
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09 - Supporting the bereaved
The cemetery is constantly seeking new ways to meet the needs of the families of today and tomorrow. Over the years, it has done its utmost to support families, encourage contemplation and respect the funeral rites of various communities, in keeping with its Catholic vocation. It also offers psychological support to the bereaved.