The Globe and Mail

Drive through city neighbourhoods, or through the towns and villages that dot Quebec's countryside, and often the most distinctive feature is the church steeple, a reminder of a not-too-distant past when religion dominated people's lives. But many of those churches are falling apart. And with fewer Quebeckers going to church regularly, there is less money in the collection plate to cover the costs of upkeep and repairs. Congregations are merging and once-magnificent structures are being boarded up, listed for sale or demolished. Pipe organs, sculptures and paintings that once adorned churches are being sold to the highest bidder.