Grant and Funding Programs Offered by Fondation du Sanctuaire Marie-Reine-des-Cœurs

The Fondation du Sanctuaire Marie-Reine-des-Cœurs is a charitable foundation created to provide sustained financial support to the Marie-Reine-des-Cœurs Sanctuary and the Montfortaine community in Montréal. Its core mandate is to collect donations and membership contributions and to redistribute these funds to maintain the sanctuary’s infrastructure, support pastoral outreach, and preserve the site’s religious heritage.

Since its creation in 1991, the foundation has transferred significant amounts to the sanctuary, financing both material and pastoral projects. Material achievements include organ work, brick and asphalt repairs, roofing and masonry, doors and locks, accessibility improvements such as an elevator for people with disabilities, lighting, sound systems, surveillance cameras, and exterior façade and concrete work. These investments help maintain the safety, accessibility, and beauty of the sanctuary as a place of worship and pilgrimage.

Beyond physical improvements, the foundation funds a variety of pastoral initiatives that benefit parishioners, pilgrims and the wider Catholic community. Examples mentioned include support for World Youth Day activities, small-group pastoral services (including salary support), conferences and formation activities, religious publications (prayer booklets, leaflets, calendars), the upkeep of a religious library, and major liturgical celebrations such as Christmas, Easter and the Eucharistic Congress.

The foundation does not operate open-call competitive grant programs; instead, it channels funds directly to the sanctuary and its associated ministries according to identified needs and priorities. Its board of directors and several permanent committees oversee fundraising, planned giving, member recruitment and the planning of work and repairs, ensuring that donations are used to advance the sanctuary’s mission.

To sustain its funding capacity, the foundation offers several ways to contribute: becoming a “membre de cœur” through annual donations, participating in a benefit Christmas concert, requesting memorial Masses, and making planned gifts such as bequests, life insurance gifts or donations of securities. These mechanisms allow individuals and families to support ongoing and future projects that the foundation finances at the sanctuary.

Through this model, the Fondation du Sanctuaire Marie-Reine-des-Cœurs plays a focused but important role in the local religious funding landscape, acting as the principal financial partner for the sanctuary’s maintenance, development and evangelization activities.