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Naturally, every novena celebrated at Saint Joseph’s Oratory of Mount Royal has its own story…

Although Saint Brother André’s Original Chapel was inaugurated in the fall of 1904, it was used on a seasonal basis during the first five years of its existence. The Feast of St. Joseph wasn’t celebrated until 1909, and it was noticed that at the time, the Ascension (40 days after Easter) seemed to draw the most pilgrims.

Brother André left few objects behind. The few pieces preserved at the Oratory Museum remind us that Brother André was a simple man. His great devotion to Saint Joseph moved large crowds in the early 20^th century. This immense faith left us a legacy: the internationally renowned sanctuary, Saint Joseph’s Oratory of Mount Royal.

Conformity to Christ is a fundamental aspect of the spirituality of Blessed Basile Moreau, CSC. He understood this spiritual way of life following the teachings of St. Paul: “It is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who is living in union with me” [Galatians 2:20].

Saint Joseph’s Oratory of Mount Royal is pleased to present the exhibition Les Mondes de Katia Makdissi-Warren [Katia Makdissi-Warren’s Worlds], as well as a series of concerts, in partnership with the Société de musique contemporaine du Québec (SMCQ).

Frequent reference has been made to the magnitude of the funeral that followed the death of Brother André, on January 6, 1937. For an entire week, hundreds of thousands of people came to pay their respects and attend the funeral in the burning chapel of the Oratory’s crypt. The crowd was so large that it could take up to four hours to reach the coffin. And you couldn’t linger for long in front of Brother André’s body. According to reports from that time, there were 110 visitors per minute! ¹

C’est Noël! Les lumières colorées scintillent. Les familles et les amis se donnent rendez-vous pour célébrer.

Il est là, l’Enfant auprès de Marie et de Joseph. Il est là, l’Enfant de la sainte nuit, nuit de paix et d’espoir.

On January 1, 1924, two Oratory employees, Édouard Barsalo and Napoléon Carrières, had a pious idea: to start the new year off right by making a night pilgrimage from Mile-End to the Oratory, arriving on time for the first mass of the year, at 6 a.m. From this initiative, a tradition that has lasted over 80 years was born!

By the time you read this blog, the bells of the carillon and the consoles (keyboards and pedals) will have reached their destination, the Paccard foundry, in France.

In November, the landscape is stripped away to settle gently into the white silence of winter. A privileged moment to remember our dearly departed ones who have migrated to infinity, to another life. In November, it is these loved ones who inhabit our memory and our hope.

In 1957, Rudolf von Beckerath installed a 44-stop organ in the Trinity Lutheran Church in Cleveland, Ohio. He then made a trip to Montreal, at the invitation of organists Kenneth Gilbert, Raymond Daveluy and Lucienne and Gaston Arel.

Many saints and community founders felt a certain pride in affirming to have been entrusted with the responsibility by the Virgin Mary herself to preaching and spreading the practice of the recitation and devotion of the Rosary.

Social life is given its rhythm by successive periods of work, breaks, holidays and vacations. Summer seems to be the most popular season for taking a vacation.