If Quebec City is, as many claim, “the jewel of North America,” then its most sparkling facets are its historic Catholic sites.

And it's the Christmas season that brings out the best in those.

Right now most of the old city is animated and magically decorated. There are concerts, Christmas markets, choirs and outdoor-theater presentations.

Everyone's first stop should be Notre Dame de Quebec Basilica-Cathedral near the historic Chateau Frontenac Hotel. The church has been destroyed by fire three times since it was first built in the 17th century. Each time it has arisen from the ashes, being rebuilt according to the original design.

Here a spectacular one-hour sound-and-light show titled “Act of Faith” is presented in the church for groups by reservation in December plus several times a day from Dec. 26 until New Year's Eve (and daily from May through October). The audience is supplied with earphones providing information in French or English. As the drama unfolds, an ingenious arrangement of laser images, multi-source projections, majestic scenery and music draws us into the story of the church's arrival in New France and, in particular, the parts played by Bishop Francois de Laval (Quebec's first bishop), Mother Marie of the Incarnation and other religious pioneers. Bishop Laval's diocese was enormous: It included all of North America.

The sound-and-light spectacular ends with the Hosanna — announcing the triumph of the faith, the church having been presented as a living symbol of the durability of that faith.

Christmas Eve Masses will be celebrated at Notre Dame at 8 (with the choir from la Petite Maitrise), 10 p.m. and midnight. On Christmas Day, Mass is at 9.30 a.m.

Also at the cathedral are Bishop Laval's funeral chapel, with a beautiful steel coffin bearing a life-size sculpture of this saintly priest who died in 1709 at age 86. Several priceless artifacts such as the mitre and chalice given to him by King Louis XIV of France are on display. You'll find also a small chapel to the Jesuit martyrs containing relics and an unusual crucifix designed by Paul La Croix. An animation center explores the extraordinary life and work of Bishop Laval. Next door is the seminary he established, still standing after 350 years, the principal location for priestly formation for many generations of young men.

Across the street, an impressive statue of Bishop Laval is the focal point of the park whose roadway is surrounded by horse-drawn carriages waiting to take visitors through the streets of Old Quebec City (Lower Town).

Across the street is the Musee de l'Amerique-Francaise, in which is housed the chapel of the original 1663 Laval seminary. A rich display of liturgical vestments is here, as are free afternoon concerts. Call the museum at (418) 692-2843 for a schedule.

And, speaking of museums, if you want to know more about the place of the Catholic faith in French-Canadian life both now and in the past, view the permanent exhibits at the Museum of Civilization. On display till March of next year is a highly praised exhibit called “Gratia Dei: A Journey Through the Middle Ages.” It really brings alive the lives of peasants, rulers and clergy in a time of crusade and pilgrimage. Call (418) 643-2158 for hours and information.

Blessing of the Bread

From there, you should visit Notre-Dame-des-Victoires in Lower Town, built on the grounds of the house of Samuel de Champlain. Bishop Laval had this church built because it was impossible for women and children to climb the cliff in the winter to the larger basilica. Its name commemorates the victories obtained from the Blessed Virgin on two occasions during French-English conflicts. The altar, in the shape of a turret, contains a relic of St. Lawrence, on whose feast day Jacques Cartier named the great river.

On Jan. 3, feast of St. Genevieve, patron saint of Paris, there is a blessing of 1,000 loaves of bread, commemorating her aid in halting deaths by scurvy in the 1600s. Pieces of the bread are distributed to people who come from far and wide. It is not eaten but kept. The saying is, “If you keep a piece in your purse, you won't lack food or money.” On Christmas Eve, Mass is at 7:30, 9 and 10:30 p.m., and at midnight. On Christmas Day, Mass is at 10.30 a.m. Concerts are held every Sunday in December at 2 p.m. A special Christmas concert with Les Rhapsodes will be held at the Eglise des St.-Martyrs Canadiens on Dec. 13 at 8 p.m.

Don't overlook the Christmas decorations at Quebec City's convent/museums. The Ursuline Motherhouse has a museum documenting the life of Mother Marie de L'Incarnation. That remarkable woman, a widow, left a young son in France in order to come to New France and found the first school for girls in North America. The chapel here is decorated with sculpted 18th-century wooden ornamentation. When Marie was beatified in 1980, Pope John Paul II called her “the mother of the Canadian Church.”

Montcalm, the French general killed in the decisive 1759 battle of the Plains of Abraham, which was finally won by the British, is buried in the Ursuline Chapel. Mother Marie's son sent relics of his mother from Paris to this convent, and they are also kept here on the altar of the Sacred Heart.

The Hotel Dieu Museum, operated by the Augustine Sisters, traces the founding of North America's first hospital and the history of medicine in Quebec, and the life of foundress Catherine de Saint-Augustin. The convent's old wooden staircase is considered one of the most imposing existing examples of 17th-century North American architecture.

What would a French-Canadian Christmas be without a traditional display of the Nativity? This year around Dec. 27, the Corporation of Religious Heritage will exhibit several great ones. In Charlesbourg, just outside Quebec City, from Dec. 1 till Jan. 5, there will be an outdoor display of more than 50 crèches, “Noel au Trait-Carre,” at the Moulin Des Jesuites with Christmas concerts as well. Also, at the Bibliotheque Gabrielle-Roy in Quebec City, Crèches d'ici et d'ailleurs (Nativity scenes from here and abroad), features 150 cribs from all over the world, fashioned from wood, leather, glass, shells, stones and even banana peels. Visitors can also participate in workshops here. This runs from Nov. 28 through Jan. 4.

That's just a taste of all that's going on in Quebec City's celebration of the newborn King. For more, go to www.quebecregion .com on the Internet.

My memories of Quebec City at Christmas time have lasted a lifetime. Yours would, too.

Joyeux Noël!

Lorraine Williams writes from Markham, Ontario.