Vandals damage vacant convent in Pointe-claire Village

Vandals damaged the old convent located on the shores of Lac St. Louis in the Pointe-claire Village.

Someone scrawled “Go F--- Yourself ” on a door on a rear second-floor balcony. The vulgar language was accompanied by a drawing of a penis. The window pane of the metal door was also cracked.

Several of the wind screens on the second-floor balcony had been slashed and left flapping in the wind.

The building ’s caretaker said it’s the first time he has seen this kind of vandalism at the convent in his five years on the job.

The caretaker, who would not give his name, said the vandalism is probably the work of teenagers who sometimes hang out in the rear of the building. He said he found marijuana butts on the second-floor balcony as well.

He said the damaged screens look like they had been slashed “with knives or someone put their fists through them.”

On a third-floor balcony, a window screen had been torn on a window that was still partially ajar on Tuesday.

We send security more often because there are a lot more kids with nothing to do right now.

The caretaker said there was no evidence anyone had broken into the convent. “We have motion detectors in the building, as well as alarms on the doors,” he said.

While damage was limited to the rear exterior of the convent, there was also evidence that someone had recently started a couple of small grass fires near the windmill, which sits adjacent to the convent. A beer can was jammed onto a religious statue in front of the building.

Michel Forest, president of the Pointe-claire Historical Preservation Society, said the vandalism was probably the work of “idle hands.”

“It’s unfortunate,” he said. “Maybe there are not many people around right now.”

Although the convent is on private property, the public is permitted to walk the picturesque grounds that overlook Lac St. Louis. “People come here to picnic, or fish,” the caretaker said.

The building, constructed in 1867 and owned by St-joachim Parish, has sat mostly empty since the nuns belonging to the order of Les Soeurs de la Congrégation de Notre-dame moved out in 2014. It is used occasionally as a television production set.

In March, several West Island pubs and businesses were vandalized, apparently with a sledgehammer. Windows were also broken in the Ye Olde Orchard Pub and a pharmacy in Pointe-claire Village.

Pointe-claire Mayor John Belvedere said the city recently increased patrols in the area, but he noted acts of vandalism have actually decreased during the pandemic.

“We send security more often because there are a lot more kids with nothing to do right now,” he said. “But the convent is on private property.”

In 2013, the city declared the Pointe area a “heritage site” to ensure its protection. Last year, a heritage conservation plan for the site was adopted by the city.

In the fall, the iconic windmill — the city’s civic symbol, built in 1709 — was badly damaged in a windstorm. Two of the four wooden blades were snapped by high winds.