{"id":711,"date":"2017-07-05T20:04:59","date_gmt":"2017-07-05T20:04:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.familyhistory.bluenotegarden.com\/?p=711"},"modified":"2019-07-18T17:36:03","modified_gmt":"2019-07-18T17:36:03","slug":"frere-andre-and-loratoire-de-st-joseph","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/frere-andre-and-loratoire-de-st-joseph\/","title":{"rendered":"Fr\u00e8re Andre and L\u2019Oratoire de St Joseph"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<style type=\"text\/css\" data-created_by=\"avia_inline_auto\" id=\"style-css-av-rl4v3-3cddfe2b30aea6bf9b65e3901ca60b3e\">\n.avia-section.av-rl4v3-3cddfe2b30aea6bf9b65e3901ca60b3e{\nbackground-repeat:no-repeat;\nbackground-image:url(https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/Saint_joseph_oratory_montreal_2010t-1500x630.jpg);\nbackground-position:0% 0%;\nbackground-attachment:scroll;\n}\n<\/style>\n<div id='av_section_1'  class='avia-section av-rl4v3-3cddfe2b30aea6bf9b65e3901ca60b3e main_color avia-section-no-padding avia-no-border-styling  avia-builder-el-0  el_before_av_one_full  avia-builder-el-first  avia-full-stretch avia-bg-style-scroll av-minimum-height av-minimum-height-30 av-height-percent  container_wrap sidebar_right'  data-section-bg-repeat='stretch' data-av_minimum_height_pc='30' data-av_min_height_opt='percent'><div class='container av-section-cont-open' ><main  role=\"main\" itemprop=\"mainContentOfPage\"  class='template-page content  av-content-small alpha units'><div class='post-entry post-entry-type-page post-entry-711'><div class='entry-content-wrapper clearfix'><\/div><\/div><\/main><!-- close content main element --><\/div><\/div><div id='after_section_1'  class='main_color av_default_container_wrap container_wrap sidebar_right'  ><div class='container av-section-cont-open' ><div class='template-page content  av-content-small alpha units'><div class='post-entry post-entry-type-page post-entry-711'><div class='entry-content-wrapper clearfix'>\n\n<style type=\"text\/css\" data-created_by=\"avia_inline_auto\" id=\"style-css-av-ksq93-4f09f39a59f6e93cdc84b83af5cc407b\">\n.flex_column.av-ksq93-4f09f39a59f6e93cdc84b83af5cc407b{\nborder-radius:0px 0px 0px 0px;\npadding:0px 0px 0px 0px;\n}\n<\/style>\n<div  class='flex_column av-ksq93-4f09f39a59f6e93cdc84b83af5cc407b av_one_full  avia-builder-el-1  el_after_av_section  avia-builder-el-no-sibling  first flex_column_div av-zero-column-padding  '     ><p>\n<style type=\"text\/css\" data-created_by=\"avia_inline_auto\" id=\"style-css-av-92q4f-cffe1d9ceb7758a75878d797756df3b2\">\n#top .av-special-heading.av-92q4f-cffe1d9ceb7758a75878d797756df3b2{\npadding-bottom:10px;\nfont-size:36px;\n}\nbody .av-special-heading.av-92q4f-cffe1d9ceb7758a75878d797756df3b2 .av-special-heading-tag .heading-char{\nfont-size:25px;\n}\n#top #wrap_all .av-special-heading.av-92q4f-cffe1d9ceb7758a75878d797756df3b2 .av-special-heading-tag{\nfont-size:36px;\n}\n.av-special-heading.av-92q4f-cffe1d9ceb7758a75878d797756df3b2 .av-subheading{\nfont-size:14px;\n}\n\n@media only screen and (min-width: 480px) and (max-width: 767px){ \n#top #wrap_all .av-special-heading.av-92q4f-cffe1d9ceb7758a75878d797756df3b2 .av-special-heading-tag{\nfont-size:0.8em;\n}\n}\n\n@media only screen and (max-width: 479px){ \n#top #wrap_all .av-special-heading.av-92q4f-cffe1d9ceb7758a75878d797756df3b2 .av-special-heading-tag{\nfont-size:0.8em;\n}\n}\n<\/style>\n<div  class='av-special-heading av-92q4f-cffe1d9ceb7758a75878d797756df3b2 av-special-heading-h3 blockquote classic-quote  avia-builder-el-2  el_before_av_textblock  avia-builder-el-first  av-inherit-size'><h3 class='av-special-heading-tag '  itemprop=\"headline\"  >Fr\u00e8re Andre and L\u2019Oratoire de St Joseph<\/h3><div class='av-subheading av-subheading_below'><p>8 February 2017<\/p>\n<\/div><div class=\"special-heading-border\"><div class=\"special-heading-inner-border\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><br \/>\n<section  class='av_textblock_section av-6nx4f-23300df35d59896dff709096a08c4f90 '   itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/BlogPosting\" itemprop=\"blogPost\" ><div class='avia_textblock image-border'  itemprop=\"text\" ><p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/6-4_frere_andre_devant_petite_chapelle_.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-716 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/6-4_frere_andre_devant_petite_chapelle_-253x343.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"253\" height=\"343\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/6-4_frere_andre_devant_petite_chapelle_-253x343.jpg 253w, https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/6-4_frere_andre_devant_petite_chapelle_-222x300.jpg 222w, https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/6-4_frere_andre_devant_petite_chapelle_-768x1040.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/6-4_frere_andre_devant_petite_chapelle_-1108x1500.jpg 1108w, https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/6-4_frere_andre_devant_petite_chapelle_-521x705.jpg 521w, https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/6-4_frere_andre_devant_petite_chapelle_-450x609.jpg 450w, https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/6-4_frere_andre_devant_petite_chapelle_.jpg 1182w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 253px) 100vw, 253px\" \/><\/a>It is difficult to overstate how compelling the life and example of the Holy Cross Brother Andre was to several generations of devoted, Catholic, working families and students. In like manner, the ultimate construction of the St Joseph Oratory on Mont Royal during the 20th century was a defining mission of their lives. Today, the Oratory, standing tall on the mountain that looms over the city, is its most prominent landmark.<!--more--><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/Pepin-Paul_1930.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-718 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/Pepin-Paul_1930-204x343.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"204\" height=\"343\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/Pepin-Paul_1930-204x343.jpg 204w, https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/Pepin-Paul_1930-179x300.jpg 179w, https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/Pepin-Paul_1930-768x1291.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/Pepin-Paul_1930-893x1500.jpg 893w, https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/Pepin-Paul_1930-419x705.jpg 419w, https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/Pepin-Paul_1930-450x756.jpg 450w, https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/Pepin-Paul_1930.jpg 952w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 204px) 100vw, 204px\" \/><\/a>I won\u2019t take time here to re-tell the well-documented life of Brother Andre, a small, slight, humble, and barely-educated school porter. His is one of those stories where no one could possibly have predicted such an outcome from his lack of ambition and impoverished background. Whatever you think of the miracles attributed to him in healing the sick, there is no question but that his quiet influence inspired astonishing results.<\/p>\n<p>Like many of his generation, our father worked as a laborer and craftsman on the construction of the Oratory and chapel, at the same time as he attended classes at St Laurent College and tutored at Holy Cross College across the street, where Brother Andre minded the front door for many years of his life. Almost everyone Paul Emile knew worked at one time or another, in multiple capacities, on the construction, which began in 1914. Construction came to a halt during the most severe downturn of the mid-Depression years but resumed as funds were available; the Oratory was not completed until the middle of the century.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/HM_ARC_002098-001.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-714 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/HM_ARC_002098-001-267x343.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"267\" height=\"343\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/HM_ARC_002098-001-267x343.jpg 267w, https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/HM_ARC_002098-001-234x300.jpg 234w, https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/HM_ARC_002098-001.jpg 449w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 267px) 100vw, 267px\" \/><\/a>Our family heard the most about our father\u2019s work on the dome\u2014laying on his back most of the time to paint its ceiling.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Little of that work is left after a minimalist\u2014some might say brutalist\u2014 refinishing of the central nave in the 1960s. He may also have worked on the crypt and side chapels. On visits back to the city, he took photos at various times of a particular view from the outside and that may be another location of much of his work on the structure as a young man.<\/p>\n<p>We can imagine that families of the time were grateful to have so many of their children drawn to the charisma of Brother Andre. In addition, at a time of rapid modernization, the building of the Oratory would have provided\u00a0 opportunities for their young men to serve apprenticeships on such an immense project. For three generations, the Papin\/Pepin family line of Ovide, David, and Albert had been \u201cforgerons\u201d whose industry and craft largely derived from horsepower\u2014soon to be replaced by electricity and automobile engines. At the same time, demand for construction\u00a0 skills of all types, even in bad times, must have made them seem a reliable career option: There were fewer and slower changes in the building trades so those trades promised security for the longer haul.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/Church._St._Joseph_Oratory_BAnQ_P48S1P04898.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright wp-image-713 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/Church._St._Joseph_Oratory_BAnQ_P48S1P04898.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"220\" height=\"345\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/Church._St._Joseph_Oratory_BAnQ_P48S1P04898.jpg 220w, https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/Church._St._Joseph_Oratory_BAnQ_P48S1P04898-191x300.jpg 191w, https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/Church._St._Joseph_Oratory_BAnQ_P48S1P04898-219x343.jpg 219w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 220px) 100vw, 220px\" \/><\/a>Somehow, however, our father must have also argued successfully for the music and art studies that he also pursued in the College of St Laurent at the same time.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>I think that when we siblings try to describe to other people all the many skills our father learned and employed to make a living, people think we must be exaggerating. But instead, I think that many men of his generation simply saw varied skills\u2014not as too much of a \u201cmixed bag\u201d\u2014but simply as a way to be fully- and self-employed in good times and in bad. In a way, he lived and learned in the twentieth century lessons of self-reinvention that we are re-learning in the twenty-first.<\/p>\n<p>The time of Brother Andre must also have shown the families and students who admired him for his selflessness and vision, how powerful the combination of cause and community could be. Perhaps that is why our father later undertook to establish such large-scale church music programs for young people and adults in Florida. Even today, the children and families our father attracted to those musical and community enterprises marvel how great their impact was on their lives.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/Saint_joseph_oratory_montreal_2010t.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-717 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/Saint_joseph_oratory_montreal_2010t.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1185\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/Saint_joseph_oratory_montreal_2010t.jpg 1600w, https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/Saint_joseph_oratory_montreal_2010t-300x222.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/Saint_joseph_oratory_montreal_2010t-768x569.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/Saint_joseph_oratory_montreal_2010t-463x343.jpg 463w, https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/Saint_joseph_oratory_montreal_2010t-1500x1111.jpg 1500w, https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/Saint_joseph_oratory_montreal_2010t-705x522.jpg 705w, https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/Saint_joseph_oratory_montreal_2010t-450x333.jpg 450w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":717,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-711","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pepin"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/711","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=711"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/711\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1720,"href":"https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/711\/revisions\/1720"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/717"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=711"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=711"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bluenotegarden.com\/familyhistory\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=711"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}