Spiritual aspect

Devotion to St. Joseph has always been present in the Church and reflects the image of the saint: a just and humble man, at the service of God in his project of love. By taking great care of his son Jesus and Mary, he allowed the realization of the Father’s great plan of love. Fully available, he placed himself at the service of God in order to participate in the great work of eternal salvation.

To explain the popularity of devotion to St. Joseph in Quebec, we must look at the characteristics that have made this saint so popular with Quebecers. The life of St. Joseph is somewhat similar to our own. Fathers and workers easily identify with St. Joseph, the foster father of Jesus and the carpenter. In the Holy Family, he is efficiency in discretion and simplicity. These are qualities that speak to us. The only member of the Holy Family to have experienced death, St. Joseph is also the patron saint of the Good Death. It is a comfort and a great support for those who are dying, for those who are accompanying them and for those who are grieving the loss of a loved one.

Saint Joseph’s Oratory in Quebec City is dedicated to the practice of devotion to Saint Joseph. Over the years, the Sisters of Saint Joseph of Saint-Vallier developed specific devotional practices that are still practiced today at the Oratory, focusing on welcoming one’s neighbor and trusting in Saint Joseph: the Offices of the Seven Sorrows and Seven Joys of Saint Joseph and the Pious Union of Saint Joseph.

The devotional services for the Seven Sorrows and Seven Joys of St. Joseph are held on the seven Sundays preceding the feast of St. Joseph. They are part of an old devotional practice of which Saint Joseph’s Oratory in Quebec City is the only depository in America.

We know nothing about the death of St. Joseph, except that he was the first member of the Holy Family to die, probably surrounded by Jesus and Mary. So he had what is called a good death. For these reasons, the Church designated him patron saint of the Good Death.

The devotion to St. Joseph has its roots in the early days of the colony. The first missionaries who came to Canada established the devotion to the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph. As early as 1624, Canada was placed under the patronage of Saint Joseph, one of the members of the Holy Family.

Since that time, devotion to St. Joseph has spread and developed throughout Canada. At the beginning of the 20th century, St. Brother André initiated in Montreal an important movement of devotion to St. Joseph which culminated in the erection of St. Joseph’s Oratory of Mount Royal. In Quebec City, the arrival in 1903 of the Sisters of St. Joseph of St. Vallier will channel the practice of devotion to St. Joseph by welcoming in their chapel the faithful who came to live their devotion to their patron saint. Their convent and, later, the Oratory that they had built next door, quickly became the privileged place for the expression of devotion to Saint Joseph in Quebec City.

Even today, the chapel brings together the faithful who wish to pray to St. Joseph alone, in groups or with the Sisters of St. Joseph of St. Vallier.