Built between 1911 and 1914 to designs by Montreal architect Joseph Venne, Notre-Dame-des-Sept-Douleurs is one of Verdun's most imposing landmarks, a large cut-stone church whose triumphal arch facade, flanked by twin octagonal bell towers, anchors the corner of Wellington and de l'Église streets. The parish was established in 1899 to serve Verdun's rapidly growing Catholic community, and the building reflects that ambition: the exterior is neoclassical in character while the richly decorated interior shifts to baroque. The church was fitted from the outset with a Casavant organ, a three-manual, 3,004-pipe instrument blessed at the church's consecration in 1914, and a carillon of eighteen bells cast by the French house Paccard followed a decade later. The De l'Église metro station, at the foot of the church, takes its name from the street named for it.