Category: History
Life, love, death
Registrar of Collections, Saint Joseph's Oratory Museum
October 23, 2020 Arts and culture, History
That’s it, fall is already well established. Due to the closing of the museums, I invite you in this blog to discover our heritage in a completely different way. Let’s get outside the walls of the Oratory and discover a place out of the ordinary in the great outdoors.
Brother André’s Cause
Since October 17, 2010, Brother André has been recognized as a Saint by the Catholic Church, 73 years after his death. This recognition is the fruit of a long work accomplished by what was then the Office for the Cause of Brother André. Since my arrival at the Oratory in 2017, I have processed the archives of this office. This blog post presents the process that led to Brother André’s canonization.
The First Novena to Brother André
The year 2020 is a busy one for anniversaries at the Oratory. It marks the 100th novena to Saint Joseph, the 80th anniversary of the first novena to Brother André, the 175th anniversary of Brother André’s birth and the 10th anniversary of his canonization.
The Spanish Flu
Since its foundation in 1904, the Oratory has closed its doors to the public only three times. Aside from the current closure due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Oratory also closed its doors for one week during the 1998 ice storm.
The broadcasting of masses
Did you know that as early as 1940, the Oratory broadcast a 15-minute morning show on CKAC with the inevitable morning prayer. However, it was not until May 5, 1946, that the Sunday Mass in French was broadcast.
To Free from suffering following the example of Saint Brother André
April 2, 2020 Brother André, History, Spiritualité
Over the years, the Counseling Office of Saint Joseph’s Oratory of Mount Royal, a space of welcome, of listening, and of compassion, has without question become a valuable service offered to people who are wounded, not necessarily physically – as was the case in the time of Brother André (1904 to 1937) — but rather psychically, psychologically, emotionally, affectively, morally, and religiously.
What Remains of Brother André Today?
Registrar of Collections, Saint Joseph's Oratory Museum
February 20, 2020 Brother André, History
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 20th century. This immense faith left us a legacy: the internationally renowned sanctuary, Saint Joseph’s Oratory of Mount Royal.
New Year’s pilgrimage
Archives Technician
December 19, 2019 Faith, Fêtes et célébrations, History, Pilgrimages and Devotions
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!
A short history of the great Beckerath organ in the Oratory Basilica
By Vincent Boucher et Denis Juget
Titular Organist at the Oratory / Organ Builder
September 26, 2019 Arts and culture, History
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.
Alfred Bessette : Novice (1870-1874)
Archivist, Roland-Gauthier Archive and Documentation Centre
August 15, 2019 Brother André, History
It was on December 27, 1870, just a few weeks after arriving at Collège Notre-Dame, that young Alfred Bessette entered the novitiate of the Congregation of the Holy Cross1. Dressed in the Brothers’ cassock with a double cincture around his waist, Alfred took his vows of commitment before the novice master, Father Julien Gastineau, CSC. It was during this ceremony that he took the name of Brother André.
Rituals for the Blessing of Vehicles
By definition, a blessing is “a sacramental. It is an act, when performed by a duly qualified minister, in the name and by the authority of the Church, praying that God may look with favour on certain people and things, or dedicating them to religious service.1”
Easter Bells at the Oratory
Titular Carillonist of Saint Joseph's Oratory
March 27, 2019 Fêtes et célébrations, History
Tradition holds that on Holy Friday, church bells everywhere fly away to Rome, receive blessing from the Pope and come back to their parish on Easter Sunday to bring back the good news of Christ reborn!
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