On May 16, 1885, the church and the rectory are completely destroyed by a fire that devastated 75% of the village. Of the church, only the stony walls remain standing. A 80-foot (24.4-m) long, 30-foot (19.1-m) wide and 12-foot (3.7-m) high temporary chapel is built without delay. Construction is executed by Pierre Alard at the the cost of $875. The decision to build a new church, according to plans prepared architect Caron, of Nicolet, is made on February 22nd, 1886. The new building is 150 feet (46 m) long, 60 geet (18.3 m) wide with a 62-foot (19-m) by 44-foot (13.4-m) sacristy. Construction is executed by François Archambault, of Joliette, at the cost of $26,000. As Bishop Elzéar-Alexandre Taschereau, of Quebec, sets the site of the new church 28 feet more to the west than the former building, it is necessary to encroach upon the existing graveyard. Within a few months, the bodies buried in the former church and in the graveyard are exhumed and transferred in the actual graveyard. The first stone is blessed by vicar Charles-Edouard Légaré, on September 12th, 1886. The new church is blessed on December 29th, 1887 and the first mass is celebrated on January 1st, 1888. At that moment, the internal walls are still « bare on stone ». On May 10th, 1896, the churchwardens decide to commission architect Georges-Émile Tanguay to prepare the plans for the completion of the church. Works are entrusted to Paquet and Godbout, of St. Hyacinthe, at the cost of $17,000. Barely completed, this church is the prey of fire on February 28th, 1898.

For the second time, a temporary chapel is built in spring of 1898 and will be used for religious services during the next four years. The chapel is 106 feet (32.3 m) long by 31 feet (9.4 m) wide. The decision to build a third church is taken on March 31st, 1898. Plans are commissionned to architect Georges-Émile Tanguay for an extended building whose steeple will be erected in the centre of the facade. The church will be 212 feet (64.6 m) long, 80 feet (24.4 m) wide and 126 feet (38.4 m) at the transept. From the tenders received, on September 6th, the churchwardens accept the one from Paquet and Godbout for the bricklaying ($32,000), the one from Langlois and Labrecque for the metal roofing ($2,874) and the one from Pouliot and Gervais for windows and paint ($410). In a decree dated June 7th, 1898, Bishop Louis-Nazaire Bégin, of Quebec, grants permission for the exterior construction which should be paid with insurance money; no contract for the interior must be awarded before exterior construction is completed. Construction starts in autumn 1898. In the night of December 1st, 1899, the west wall collapses causing damage to the transept and to part of the apse. Demolition, clearing and reconstruction works resume only in May 1900. At the end of July, it was noted that part of the long wall sections have a slope of 7 inches (18 cm) towards the outside. Decision is made not to correct this defect immediately; it will be done 12 years later. The outside construction completed, interior works start on August 6th, 1901. The new church is blessed on June 26th, 1902. The final total cost was $73,820 including the heating system of heating, the church’s front steps in cement, sidewalks in alsphat, bells, organ, electricity installation, and liturgical vestments.

Certain furnishings, just after its inauguration, are the pride of the parishioners: the high altar with its remarkable baldachin; the pulpit with its canopy crowned by a small angel, sculpted by Louis Jobin and paid $25; the painting depicting “pope Calixte watching the building of a church” and hung over the main altar, ;a work executed on location by painter Charles Huot in 1902 at the cost of $600; and the statue of saint Calixte, also sculpted by Louis Jobin, and coming from the first church. Several improvements are carried out from 1902 to 1943, but they have not alter the outside nor the inside look of the church. In order to host the regional Eucharistic Congress planned for 1945, a renovation projet is proposed on May 28th, 1943. These works, estimated to cost between $20,000 and $25,000, are approved by the churchwardens on June 6th and 13th in spite of parishioners’ opposition. When works are completes, the baldachin over the main altar, the main cupola over the lateral altars, the pulpit including Jobin’s small angel are gone.

In September 1962, while the parish has no more debt, parish priest Camille Morissette plans major maintenance and transformation works. The plan is estimated at $40,200 and, on January 4th, 1963, most of the works is entrusted to Arts Religieux who will work according to plans prepared by Marcel Gagnon, of Quebec. As aresult, the high altar with its foundation and its tabernacle are discarded to be replaced by a varnished wood altar while a mere varnished rectangular wooden panel, hide the entrance to the sacristy. The lateral altars receive the same fate: they are discarded and replaced according to the model and the colour of the main altar.

In 1978, a large $50,000 construction project is launched on the church exterior: insulation, repairs to the bricklaying and to the roof, and painting. In 1984, works costing $125,000 are carried out, according to plans prepared by interior decorator Richard Hamel, for the restoration of the stained glass windows, paint in the church, and of new modifications to the chancel’s decor.

The latine-cross church, built according to plans prepared by architect Georges-Émile Tanguay, has a protruding chancel and a semi-circular apse. The wooden vault has a semi-circular shape.

1460, rue Saint-Calixte, Plessisville
Qc, CA
QC G6L 1P6