Description of Historic Place

Assomption Church is a Roman Catholic Church built in the Neo-Classical style. It is located on Chapel Street in Grand Falls.

Heritage Value

Assomption Church is designated a Local Historic Place for its architecture and for its association with Father Thomas Albert.

Assomption Church, which was built in 1907 and inaugurated in 1908, is a good example of a Roman Catholic place of worship built in the Neo-Classical style. It was designed by the architect James C. Dumaresq, also known for drawing up the plans for the Legislative Assembly Building in Fredericton. The church is in the shape of a cross created by a transept crossing the choir, and the entire structure sits on a stone foundation. The church’s exterior is fairly plain, whereas the interior, particularly the altarpiece, is more elaborately decorated. The two corner pillars give the front façade an appearance of grandeur and are reminiscent of the flying buttresses and pilasters of 13th-century churches.

The Assomption Church is also recognized for its association with Father Thomas Albert. Father Albert was the parish priest of Grand Falls from 1921 until his death in 1924 and was a distinguished Madawaska historian.

Source: Town of Grand Falls, Historic Places file no. 01.

Character-Defining Elements

The character-defining elements that describe Assomption Church include:
- located on the original site of the first chapel, built in 1854, and the first church, inaugurated in 1885;
- symmetrical front façade with classical proportions;
- bell tower in the centre of the front façade, jutting out from the main section;
- elevated doorsill, representing the importance of the hierarchy of the site;
- doors surmounted by lintels with cut keystones, except for the central door;
- central door surmounted by a rounded window and a stone arch;
- Roman arch windows surmounted by delicate trim intertwined to form a large cross;
- exterior facing in ashlar, adding to the richness of the composition;
- gable roof covered in sheet steel;
- arms of the transept flanking the building;
- bell tower reminiscent of the cupola of the Legislative Assembly Building in Fredericton;
- Stations of the Cross, medallions representing the Apostles, and the other decorative moulded plaster elements;
- pews from the Saint-Pierre Chapel in Edmundston;
- statue of the Virgin of the Assumption above the main altar.