Montreal archdiocese launches not-for-profit real estate arm aimed at maximizing social impact
As Montreal grapples with growing homelessness, the Catholic archdiocese in the city is forming a new real estate arm that it says will help ensure any redevelopment of church properties addresses "pressing community needs."
The creation of the Roman Catholic Real Estate Corp. of Montreal, announced Thursday, is the first non-profit subsidiary created by a Catholic archdiocese "to leverage real estate development as a tool for community benefit" and heritage preservation, the church says in a news release.
With congregations dwindling and buildings aging, pastoral work is becoming more challenging, Archbishop Christian Lepine said in an interview Wednesday inside Montreal's Mary Queen of the World Cathedral.
Earlier this month, the left-leaning opposition party Québec Solidaire called on the Coalition Avenir Québec government to look to underused or empty church spaces to help fight Montreal's homelessness crisis.
Lepine said churches have always been willing "to offer space, to offer room," in times of crisis, and there are already churches that are welcoming homeless people. Some parishes have converted buildings that formerly housed clergy into social housing, he noted, but churches are only part of the solution.
"We cannot do that alone," he said. "It's also with the city involved, with organizations."
The Catholic Church in Montreal includes about 180 parishes, said Stefano Marrone, who currently oversees church real estate and will run the new non-profit arm.
Marrone is helping parishes with redevelopment or real estate projects. The goal, he said, is to work with different levels of government and other potential partners "so that any development is going to have social impact for the community."
Robert Beaudry, the Montreal executive committee member responsible for fighting homelessness, noted there's already a long history of the church serving as a haven for vulnerable people.
"There are a number of community groups that started in church basements, soup kitchens too," he said in a phone interview. "Remembering where community action in Quebec was born, it was in church basements."
Beaudry said church buildings are usually located in the heart of their communities and are often sold at prices that make them attractive for repurposing. But he noted that some have been poorly maintained, and many would need extensive renovations, including additional washrooms, universal access and emergency exits, if they were to become shelters.
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Beaudry said the need for housing and shelter is so great that governments need to evaluate all options on the table, including churches and any unused government buildings, to see if they can help address the crisis.
"It's not an option without its challenges, but it's an option that deserves to be explored," he said.
Social acceptability and cohabitation issues at play
Those challenges can go beyond building codes. Recently, the city and province paid around $2.5 million to purchase a former church in the Rosemont neighbourhood to help serve the needs of vulnerable people. Even before a formal announcement was made, the news drew strong community opposition to the idea of the building serving as a homeless shelter.
Beaudry said social acceptability is at the heart of every project, but he acknowledged it can be hard to reach when opposition and media attention start even before a project is defined.
Mario Beauchamp, social pastoral agent in the city's Côte-des-Neiges neighbourhood, believes churches are a last-ditch solution.
"For some churches that are about to close, sure, but for those that are fully in use with lots of parishioners, it's another thing. There's the issue of social cohabitation at play," Beauchamp said.
One of the churches in his parish, St. Pascal Baylon, was used for a few winters as an overnight warming centre, ending in 2023. It was run by a local community organization, providing food and shelter to a few dozen people a night.
"There was no question of renting that space year-round because the church had some concerns," Beauchamp said.
He said there were a few incidents of damage or vandalism stemming from the shelter.
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