Se rendre à l’église

It's almost impossible to explain the traditional place of the church in french-canadian society.

When Britain took control of New France in 1759, the only people who stayed did so because they didn't have choice. The upper class of New France's society acted how people with money have always acted. All the lawyers, administrators, and titled arstocrats left. A couple acres of snow, now ruled by the English wasn't much of choice compared to Paris.

Given the opportunity, any Frenchman would have chosen to do that instead of having to swear allegiance to the Crown of England. So pretty much anyone with an education.
Among other differences, the Crown of England was a protestant headpiece.

It was also the leader of the France's chief a rival for about five hundred years. Joan of Arc's fifteen minutes of fame happened during the Hundred Years War between England and France. The war that turned New France over to Britain was only Seven Years but that was long enough.
After the dust settled, however, there was one titled member of French Aristrocracy that remained. L'Évêque remained to keep watch over the remaining habitants.

In the one hundred and fifty years from 1759 to to the 189o's when my great grandparent moved south to work in the spinning mills of Rhode Island, the only law that was really accepted was the law of the remaining French educated class.

In the west they were known as Robes Noirs (the Black Robes) as those monks (Des Moines) traveled as missionaries. In Lower Canada, the part of Canada downstream the St. Lawrence from Ontario what the Church had to say was more important than anything that the English lawmakers in Ottawa had to say.

As the last generation of immigrants from that culture to have the ghost of that memory, the obligation loomed large in my life even if when it wasn't part of my weekly routine.

I knew I was supposed to make the sign of the cross when I past a church. I knew I was supposed to go to confession on Saturday afternoon. I knew that I was supposed to give up candy for the forty days of Lent. I knew I was supposed to not eat for at least an hour before receiving communion at Mass.

These things were just common knowledge, that like knowing how to handle silverware properly separated us from those that weren't French.