Rome and Renaissance Italy might be lacking in an atmosphere conducive to religious devotion. Their attention turned to the old survivors from the Middle Ages, the parish churches built in the Gothic Style. These, with their tall, pointed, gloomy interiors, given an emotional religious feeling by the coloured stained glass windows, appeared more suited to contemplation than the later classically—inspired churches. Of course, this belief that these old interiors were more appropriate to the worship of God had less to do with Church teaching than with the principles of the Romantic movement in art, popular at that time, which were based on an emotional rather than a rational response to life. The chief advo— cate of this revived medieval style was Augustus Welby Pugin (1812-1852).

Pugin was a gifted English architect who wrote a number of books in support of the Gothic Revival style, as it was to be called. As well he actually designed a large number of churches which illustrated his belief that Gothic architecture was the most appro— priate style for Christian worship. His theories quickly spread to North America and were enthusiastically followed by a number of architects, including an Irishman named Patrick Keely (1816- 1896). This Keely was the architect chosen by Fr. Peter McIntyre to design the church "6f St. Simon and St. Jude at Tignish, and it is to Keely that we credit the introduction of a purified form of

Gothic Revival on the Island. In 1888 it was decided to redecorate the interior of the church

at Tignish. For some time the interior designed by Keely to resem— ble stone, was deemed to be too dark. The man chosen to do the work was Francois Xavier Edouard Meloche (1855-1917) a Montreal artist/decorator and architect of considerable reputation. Meloche was a pupil of Napoleon Bourassa, a prominent Quebec artist. Meloche taught at the School of Arts in Montreal from 1887—88, and again in 1895 and 1898. During this time he had studied in Europe for one year (1889). By all accounts he was a great teacher. His technique of teaching is described in an article which appeared in La Minerve, a Montreal newspaper, on 8 April, 1892.

We do not know why Meloche was chosen to design and dec- orate the church of the Immaculate Conception at Palmer Road, but in the issue of La Minerve for 3 September 1982, the following

notice appeared (our translation): 1 2