A Saturday morning walk in the neighbourhood revealed a shuttered church reflected in the condos that were developed around it. Having lived in the area for over ten years, I knew of the former heritage church, of course, but I never realized how it leaves a ghostly imprint on the upscale condos surrounding it on two sides. It took the sort of bright sunny day that casts the best shadows for that to become apparent. Saint-Charles Church was built in 1908 and served the local Franco-Ontarian community around Beechwood Avenue and what was then known as Eastview village — later the City of Vanier. The parish as both a liturgical and a community space was very much the reality at Saint-Charles. But in the second half of the twentieth century, a growing number of Francophones moved further out to the suburbs of Ottawa. By 2008, the dwindling number of French-speaking parishioners made it hard to justify two French-language Catholic parishes within 2 kilometres of each other.
Saint-Charles was shuttered and deconsecrated in 2013 — and then sold to developers in 2014. Many of the remaining parishioners joined Notre-Dame de Lourdes Parish 2 kilometres away. For years before the property was redeveloped, the church housed a vintage furniture store, as well as a farmers market in the summer months. As the church exterior has heritage status, the developers kept it in tact, with the aim to use the interior as a public and commercial space. Colourful stained glass birds were installed in the steeple, where the bells once tolled.