Not a day goes by without news reporting Quebecers’ grievances against the church, which has long been considered uncritical, or showing very high levels of disbelief or faith in secularism.
But there was a time when every French Canadian home of any worth had prominently displayed photographs of the Pope and our local religious hero, Brother André (1845-1937) on its walls.
A hundred dissertations on the case of Catholicism in Quebec would exhaust him no more than those of Rome.
For my part, while many point to the 1960s to indicate the relaxation of religious vice, I am more inclined to show two other key moments: Henri Bourassa’s speech at Notre-Dame Basilica in 1910 and Brother André’s funeral in 1937 .
When Bourassa complains that the English-dominated church in North America is using funds from French Canadians to fund its own Anglicization, he is rebuffed by the pope. So the Church, which protected language and nation, has the audacity to threaten them. This situation will force future Quebecers to “de-Catholize” to remain themselves!
Looking back, we realize that Quebecers became so irreligious because the Catholic Church gave them no choice!
Photo courtesy of Saint Joseph’s Oratory
Religious parade to mark the burial of the one officially recognized as a saint in 2010.
apotheosis
When Brother André died two years before the outbreak of the Second World War, no one could have believed that the Catholic influence was endangered. No one sees that the tremendous posthumous triumph of this little Notre-Dame College bouncer whose prayer is said to heal is also the swan song of Quebec Roman Catholicism.
Perhaps because of his holiness, it is difficult to define the personality of Alfred Bessette, this little fellow from Montérégie who lived in Saint-Césaire for a long time and was born in difficult circumstances, with poor health, fragile, poor parents.
Was it the grace of God or the power of faith that enabled this uneducated little fellow to escape a sad and worldly fate?
The legend of the pious brother, whose prayer heals while he is alive, spreads and he becomes no more and no less than an international star!
His devotion to the cardinal value of humility drives him to spoil Jesus’ very humble adoptive father: Joseph.
Indeed, Joseph is incredibly neglected in prayer compared to Mary.
Brother André dedicated himself to building a shrine to Joseph on the side of Mount Royal in front of his college. A chapel is built.
Photo courtesy of Saint Joseph’s Oratory
A phenomenal number of people gathered in front of the remains of Brother André when he died in 1937. We see him here surrounded by the crutches of people who are said to have been healed through his prayers.
A million visitors
When Alfred Bessette died, the oratory was far from finished, but work had begun. I wasn’t there to count them, but it is said that a million believers came from around the world to meditate before his remains, which now lie in a marble tomb paid for by his friend Maurice Duplessis.
Journalists from around the world covered the event, which remains the largest funeral in Quebec and Canada’s history.
We often speak of Expo 67 and the 1976 Olympics as the first major international events, but in reality Montreal saw its first tourist invasion in 1937 with the huge influx of foreign visitors for Alfred Bessette. !
Although the Church in Quebec has fallen, Brother André, who became a Saint in 2010, remains. We don’t go to mass anymore? Maybe, but the Oratory remains our number one tourist attraction.
And I know unbelievers who are seriously ill and suddenly think of Brother André and pray to him.