Big doings at the Oratory.

The Montreal Gazette reports today on the consecration of St. Joseph's Oratory. Though the first chapel on the site was built a century ago and the present shrine was completed in 1967 (not in 1956 as the Gazette claims), the mark of permanence conveyed by formal consecration was delayed until this year. One of my favorite places in Montreal, the Oratory is more than a place of prayer and a memorial to its remarkable founder Brother Andre. It's also a beautiful building with some intriguing architectural details as well as a lookout point offering a spectacular view of the northern and western parts of Montreal Island and beyond. Whenever I'm visiting Montreal I like to watch the sunset from the upper-level observation deck of the Oratory; it's an experience that, as the estimable John Ferone, S.J. would observe, "makes it easy to say 'thanks.'" AMDG.