Saint Joseph's Oratory

Saint Joseph's Oratory is the largest church in Canada and one of the most visited religious sites in North America, with close to two million visitors a year, and its massive green-copper dome on the western slope of Mount Royal is one of the defining shapes of the Montreal skyline. It began with Brother Andre Bessette, a humble porter at the nearby Notre-Dame College, whose devotion to Saint Joseph and reputation as a healer drew crowds of pilgrims in the early twentieth century; a small wooden chapel was built in 1904, followed by a crypt church, and the vast basilica above it was built over several decades and completed in the 1960s. Brother Andre died in 1937 and was canonised as a saint in 2010. The visit unfolds on several levels. The Votive Chapel, glowing with thousands of candles and hung with crutches and canes left by pilgrims, is the emotional heart of the site, and Brother Andre's tomb lies beside it. The crypt church is used for daily masses. Above, the basilica's huge, austere modernist nave contrasts with the dome outside, and the terrace in front offers broad views over the west of the city. Brother Andre's original chapel stands on the hillside, and in summer the Garden of the Way of the Cross climbs the slope. In February 2025 the Oratory opened a new welcome pavilion at street level, with a cafe, gift shop, rest areas and glass walls framing the dome, and restored its 62-bell carillon; later phases of a long development project, including public access to a high viewpoint, are still to come. Entry to the shrine is free, it is open daily from early morning until evening, and a small museum, open daylight hours, charges a modest fee. Pilgrims still climb the central wooden stairs on their knees.

The story of Brother Andre is the key to the place. Born Alfred Bessette in rural Quebec in 1845, orphaned young and frail all his life, he joined the Congregation of Holy Cross and spent decades as doorkeeper at a college at the foot of the mountain, receiving visitors and praying with the sick. As reports of healings spread, so did the crowds, and the Oratory grew from his tiny chapel to the vast basilica, funded largely by small donations. His funeral in 1937 drew around a million people over several days, and his canonisation in 2010 made the Oratory a site of international pilgrimage. Whatever your beliefs, the Votive Chapel, with its walls of candles and abandoned crutches, is a moving testament to hope.

How to visit well: allow an hour and a half. Enter through the new welcome pavilion, then take the elevators or the stairs up through the levels: the Votive Chapel and Brother Andre's tomb, the crypt church, the museum, and finally the basilica and its terrace for the view. The site is adapted for wheelchair users, with elevators connecting all levels from the main entrance to the basilica, and wheelchairs can be borrowed free of charge. Visitors are welcome at any time, but be respectful during masses, and dress modestly. Organ recitals and the carillon add music on some days, and the Christmas period brings special celebrations.

Getting there and combining: the Oratory is on Chemin Queen-Mary in Cote-des-Neiges, a short walk uphill from the Cote-des-Neiges metro station on the blue line. Parking on site is paid by the hour, with a short free period. From the Oratory you can walk into Mount Royal Park through the adjoining cemeteries and slopes, or continue to the Kondiaronk Belvedere for the downtown view, making a full morning on the mountain. Note that the long-planned observatory and full redevelopment of the dome area is a future phase and is not yet open to visitors.