Saturday, November 4, 2023

Montreal Pilgrimage - Day 1

Some of my friends from the Men of St. Joseph group at my church suggested that we take a Pilgrimage to Montreal earlier in the year.  Due to difficulties aligning schedules, several attempts were made but canceled.  This morning, we finally got everyone on the same page (or so I thought) and planned to leave very early in the morning for Canada.  However, Jason slept late so our planned meet-up of 0615 (at my condo) didn't happen.  Instead, he came by to get me at about 0800 and we went to pick up Joe.  We finally departed Lebanon at 0830 and drove north on I-89.  We had a good talk on the way as Jason drove us through light rain.  As we approached Burlington, we started to get Apple Maps messages about road closures - Jason's iPhone eventually switched us to a new route (VT-78, Alburg Springs Road) that took us off the Interstate at Swanton (VT) and across the Canadian Border at Clarenceville (QC).  The border guard there asked us a lot of questions about why we used that crossing and, when we told him about the Apple Maps, he clarified that the other road was actually open.  He then (nicely) warned us not to try to come back the same way unless we arrived before 1600.  From the checkpoint, we drove north to the town of Henryville, where we got on QC-133.  We then drove to the town of Saint Jean Sur Richelieu and crossed the Richelieu River.  Stopping for lunch at an Eggsquis (1215), we ate a delicious meal of breakfast casserole (me), strawberry and chocolate crepes (Jason) and eggs/bacon/potatoes (Joe).  We were finished at around noon and, from there, we drove north on A-35.  We switched to Route 10 and crossed the Saint Lawrence River without incident.  Next, we used A-15 to reach the Mount Royal Area.  Tthere was a bit of traffic over there and, even after we got off at Queen Mary Road, we had trouble with construction near the St. Joseph's Oratory (our destination).  We ended up driving around the area (without success) until we finally found a way into the park (1345).  We did get lucky in finding a parking spot at the top of the mountain and were able to walk right inside the Oratory immediately.  The weather had improved tremendously and we got some amazing views of the western side of Montreal from the front of the building.  Inside, we walked through the Basilica (noting lots of references to Saint Andre Bessette) and checked out the Crypt Chapel, Votive Chapel, Tomb of Brother Andre, Heart of Brother Andre, exhibit on the life of the Saint, Museum and the Original Chapel.  We also visited the gift shop and Joe bought us each a Commemorative Coin from the Pilgrimage site.  I hadn't realized that the Holy Cross Fathers (who I'd first encountered at Notre Dame in South Bend, IN), were the caretakers of the Oratory.  Also, I hadn't realized that Brother Andre had been canonized in 2010.  The Way of the Cross and Garden (along with much of the grounds) were closed for construction so we didn't get to see those.  After a few hours inside the Oratory (1600), we took a walk to the east and entered the Bois Summit (Summit Woods).  The trails over there were really nice and the weather was excellent.  We found a viewpoint on the far east side that provided a wonderful view of the old city of Montreal. Backtracking to the Oratory, we headed down the hill again to check into our lodging (the John XXIII Pavilion).  By 1705, we were in our rooms.  The place was sort of a hostel, with beds and sink in the rooms but a shared bathroom down the hall.  Joe and I had both booked rooms so Jason decided to stay with Joe and I ended up by myself.  After getting cleaned up, we took a walk down Queen Mary Road to Cote des Neiges, where I'd seen a French restaurant called the Duc de Lorraine.  We had a magnificent dinner (Joe and I split a huge burger, salad and fries while Jason ate a huge helping of raviolis) and dessert (some of the tasty pastries they had), along with a Belgian beer, and didn't get done until 1925.  We walked back to our lodging but didn't reach the Oratory property in time us to attend the late Mass at 1930.  That was OK with me and I spent the rest of the night reading in my room.  I found out later that Jason ended up using the chapel in our building for some personal prayer and reflection so that was a nice consolation for missing the service.  Meanwhile, I went to bed at 2200.  Overall, a great day - filled with a lot of amazing experiences.  Looking forward to more tomorrow!