Affiliation Roman Catholic Leadership Father Claude Grou Opened 1904 | Ecclesiastical or organizational status Minor basilica Height 129 m Architectural style Renaissance architecture | |
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Location 3800, chemin Queen MaryMontreal, QuebecH3V 1H6 Similar Notre‑Dame Basilica, Mount Royal, Montreal Biodome, Pointe‑à‑Callière Museum, Old Port of Montreal Profiles | ||
Saint joseph s oratory of mount royal
Saint Joseph's Oratory of Mount Royal (French: Oratoire Saint-Joseph du Mont-Royal) is a Roman Catholic minor basilica and national shrine on Westmount Summit in Montreal, Quebec. It is Canada's largest church and the twenty-seventh largest church building in the world.
Contents
- Saint joseph s oratory of mount royal
- Saint joseph s oratory of mount royal pipe organ
- History
- Modern developments
- References
The basilica enshrines a statue of Saint Joseph, which was authorised a Canonical coronation by Pope Pius XII on 31 July 1955, now located within its crypt department. The shrine is also famous due to its association with Brother Andre Bessette who was believed to possess healing powers through his Josephian devotion with its notable oil oinment given freely to its believers.
Saint joseph s oratory of mount royal pipe organ
History
In 1904, Saint André Bessette, C.S.C., began the construction of St. Joseph, a small chapel on the slopes of Mont Royal near Notre Dame College. Soon the growing number of the congregation made it too small. In 1917 a larger church was completed that had a seating capacity of 1,000. In 1924, the construction of the basilica of Saint Joseph's Oratory was commenced; it was finally completed in 1967.
Father Paul Bellot, an architect, completed the dome of Saint Joseph's Oratory between 1937-39. The dome is the third-largest of its kind in the world after the Basilica of Our Lady of Peace of Yamoussoukro in Côte d'Ivoire and Saint Peter's Basilica in Rome.
In 1949-1951, architect Gilbert Moreau carried out alterations and improvements to the interior of Saint Joseph's Oratory, as well as to the adjacent monastery, and rearranged the sacristy in the basilica.
The basilica is dedicated to Saint Joseph, to whom Brother André credited all his reported miracles. These were mostly related to some kind of healing power, and many pilgrims (handicapped, blind, ill, etc.) poured into his Basilica, including numerous non-Catholics. On display in the basilica is a wall covered with thousands of crutches from those who came to the basilica and were purportedly healed. Pope John Paul II deemed the miracles to be authentic and beatified Brother André in 1982. In October 2010 Pope Benedict XVI canonized the saint.
A reliquary in the church museum contains Brother André's heart, which he requested as a protection for the basilica. More than 2 million visitors and pilgrims visit the Oratory every year. It is located at 3800 Queen Mary Road, at Côte-des-Neiges (near the Côte-des-Neiges metro station).
Composer Émilien Allard notably served as the church's carillonneur from 1955 to 1975. For RCA Victor he released the LP album Carols at the Carillon of Saint Joseph's Oratory for which he wrote the arrangements.
Modern developments
On October 19, 2004, the Oratory held its centennial. All the bells of all the churches on the island of Montreal were supposed to ring at 9:00 a.m., though not all churches participated. At 9:05 a.m., the basilica rang its bell in response and celebration.
In 2004, the Oratory was designated a National Historic Site of Canada on the occasion of its 100th anniversary.
On 2 April 2004 Canada Post issued 'Saint Joseph's Oratory, Quebec' in the 2004 Tourist Attractions series. The stamp was designed by Catharine Bradbury & William Stewart based on a photograph by Bernard Brault. The 49¢ stamps are perforated kiss cut and were printed by Lowe-Martin Company Inc.