Saint Joseph's Oratory

Start with the steps. Feel the cool stone under your shoes, and the slight burn in your legs as the stairs keep rising. Above you, a green copper dome sits against the sky. Behind you, the city spreads out in rooftops and trees. One quick note before we climb. Saint Joseph's Oratory does not stand in Laval itself. It sits on the island of Montreal, on the slope of Mount Royal, a short drive south across the river from Laval.

The whole story of this place begins with one small, quiet man. His name was André Bessette, known to the world as Brother André. He was a religious brother of the Congregation of Holy Cross. For many years he worked as a doorkeeper at a boys' school, Collège Notre-Dame, just across the road from here. His job was simple. He opened the door, greeted visitors, ran errands, and swept floors.

But Brother André had a deep devotion to Saint Joseph, the husband of Mary. In Catholic tradition, Saint Joseph is the patron saint of Canada, and of workers and families. Brother André prayed with the sick who came to his door. He rubbed them with oil from a lamp that burned before a statue of Saint Joseph. Word spread. People began to report healings, and more and more visitors came to find the humble porter.

The crowds soon needed a place to gather. In 1904, a tiny wooden chapel went up on the mountainside. It was modest, barely larger than a garden shed by today's standards. That original chapel still stands on the grounds, and it is worth finding. Compare its small scale with the enormous basilica above it. The contrast tells the whole story better than any plaque — from a single room to one of the largest churches in the world.

As the pilgrims kept coming, the buildings grew. A larger crypt church opened in 1917, built into the hillside below the present basilica. Work on the great basilica itself began in the 1920s. Then came the Great Depression, and money ran short. For years the walls stood unfinished, open to the weather. Legend has it that Brother André suggested placing a statue of Saint Joseph inside the roofless building, so the saint would find himself a roof.

Whether or not that story is true, the roof did come. The basilica was finally completed in the 1960s, decades after the first stone was laid. Brother André never saw it finished. He died in 1937, at the age of ninety-one. Accounts from the time describe an enormous number of people filing past his coffin in the cold of a Montreal winter. He was beatified in 1982 and declared a saint in 2010.

Now look up at the dome. It is one of the largest domes of its kind anywhere in the world, and it rises far above the surrounding treetops. Because of its height on the mountain, the dome is often described as the highest point in Montreal. Its copper has turned that soft green colour over time, as copper does in the open air. On a clear day, it is visible from many parts of the city.

As you climb, watch the central staircase. It is made of wood, and you may see pilgrims climbing it slowly on their knees, pausing to pray on each step. This is an old form of devotion. Please give them space and walk on the side stairs. For those who need it, there are also escalators and elevators inside. The oratory was built for pilgrims of every age and ability.

Inside the crypt level, you will find one of the most moving rooms in the complex — the votive chapel. Its walls hold rows of crutches, canes, and leg braces. They were left behind by people who believed they had been helped by prayer here. Thousands of candles flicker in the dim light, and the air carries the warm smell of wax. Whatever your beliefs, it is a powerful sight.

Here is a detail many visitors do not expect. Brother André's heart is kept here, in a reliquary, a small sacred container. This follows an old Catholic custom of honouring the remains of holy people. In 1973, the heart was stolen from the oratory. It was recovered in Montreal the following year, after a long search. His tomb lies nearby, a simple black stone, and visitors often rest a hand on it as they pass.

The basilica itself feels very different from the crypt. Where the lower church is low, warm, and crowded with candles, the upper church is tall, cool, and spare. The design is modern for a church of this size, with clean lines and pale surfaces. Sound behaves differently up here too. Footsteps and whispers rise into the dome and come back softened. Take a moment to sit and simply listen.

A second surprise hangs in the bell tower outside. The oratory's carillon, a set of tuned bells played together, was originally cast in France for the Eiffel Tower in Paris. The bells were never installed there. Decades later, they found their home here on Mount Royal instead. If you hear them ring across the grounds, you are hearing music made for Paris, carried across an ocean to a Montreal hillside.

Before you leave, walk out onto the terrace and turn around. Below you, the stairs fall away toward the street. Beyond them stretch the neighbourhoods of the city, the river in the distance, and, far to the north, Laval itself. Feel the wind on your face. Listen for traffic, bells, and footsteps on stone. This whole place grew from one doorkeeper and a small wooden chapel. As you walk down, notice how the dome follows you, step by step.