The Oratory
The Sisters of Saint Joseph of Saint-Vallier built Saint Joseph's Oratory in Quebec City with the intention of making it a place of faith witness and evangelization to reveal God through the spiritual experience of devotion to Saint Joseph and the beauty of artThe Oratory Chapel
It has a capacity of 342 faithful excluding the rood screen. Its splendor and decoration pay tribute to the great devotion of Quebecers to St. Joseph.
Of modest size, the chapel has many artistic treasures. The plans were entrusted to the architects Bergeron and Lemay, of Quebec City, who were inspired by neo-medieval architecture. The paintings and stained glass windows that decorate the Oratory were made between 1927 and 1941 by Guido Nincheri, an Italian artist who is considered one of the greatest artists of the Catholic Church. At the chapel of Saint Joseph’s Oratory in Quebec City, he created the murals, marouflaged paintings, mosaics, stained glass windows and drawings of certain pieces of furniture.
Since 2014, Radio Canada’s televised Sunday Mass has been transmitted live on Sunday mornings at 10 a.m. from Saint Joseph’s Oratory in Quebec City.
History
A brief history of the chapel
Since their arrival in 1903, the community of the Sisters of St. Joseph of St. Vallier has been committed to developing the devotion to St. Joseph. In 1911, the community bought a property on Chemin Sainte-Foy in Quebec City, the Villa Bijou, which they transformed into their convent. As soon as they moved in, the sisters set up a private chapel in one of the rooms of the villa.
As more and more of the faithful joined the community of the Sisters of St. Joseph of St. Vallier to pray to St. Joseph in 1925 Msgr. Louis-Nazaire Bégin, Archbishop of Quebec, gives the community of the Sisters of St. Joseph of St. Vallier permission to build a public outdoor chapel as an annex to their convent. Construction of Saint Joseph’s Oratory in Quebec City began in July 1925 and the chapel was opened for worship one year later. Archbishop Raymond-Marie Rouleau, who had replaced Archbishop Bégin as Archbishop of Quebec, officially inaugurated the chapel of Saint Joseph’s Oratory in Quebec City on March 19, 1927. That same year, the first services of the seven Sundays in preparation for the feast of St. Joseph were celebrated in the chapel of the Oratory, and in 1933, the Oratory hosted the first group and individual pilgrimages.
In 1928, it served as a place of worship for the new parish of the Holy Canadian Martyrs until their church was built. From 1998 to 2000, the chapel also served as a place of worship for the parishioners of Notre-Dame-du-Chemin, their church having been demolished, until the integration of the parish with those of Saint-Jean-Baptiste and Saints-Martyrs-Canadiens.
Place of expression of faith
Saint Joseph’s Oratory in Quebec City is dedicated to Saint Joseph, a man of faith who always leads us to Jesus. Its splendor and decoration pay tribute to the great devotion of Quebecers to St. Joseph. The decoration of the nave is dedicated to the glorification of St. Joseph while that of the transept presents important elements of the history of the faith in Canada. In the choir, above the high altar, Guido Nincheri realized his vision of heaven that presents God and the angels that protect St. Joseph who is in the niche.
In the Oratory you can admire exvotos that testify to cures obtained through the intercession of St. Joseph. Even today, people take advantage of their visit to the Oratory during a visit or a pilgrimage to ask for a healing of the body or the soul. They write their vows on slips of paper which are placed in a basket in front of the choir of the chapel. They often light a lantern to accompany their supplication.
Where is it
Saint Joseph’s Oratory in Quebec City is adjacent to the Motherhouse of the Sisters of Saint Joseph of Saint-Vallier, on chemin Sainte-Foy, in Quebec City’s Montcalm district.
To be exact, we are at :
560 Sainte-Foy Road,
Quebec City (Quebec)
Schedule
Opening hours of the Oratory
Monday to Friday
From 8 am to 9:30 am
Saturday
From 8 am to 9:30 am and from 3 pm to 5 pm
Sunday
From 8 am to 11 am