After the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross on September 14th, the Shrine celebrated the 13th anniversary of the beatification of Basil Moreau and the Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows on September 15th, first with Lauds and Mass in the morning, celebrated by Fr. Grégoire Jean-Pierre, csc, former pastor of Our Lady of Holy Cross, and concelebrated by Fr. Paul-Elie Cadet, csc, rector of the Shrine and pastor of the Parish, and Fr. Joseph Gansalvez, csc, vice-rector of the Shrine and vicar of the Parish.

At 5 :30 pm, Fr. Paul-Elie and Fr. Joseph led the Chaplet of the Seven Sorrows, and celebrated Vespers to Our Lady of Sorrows. Joyful day for the Shrine, the Parish and the Congregation of Holy Cross!

“There stood by the Cross of Jesus his mother Mary, who knew grief and was a Lady of Sorrows. She is our special patroness, a woman who bore much she could not understand and who stood fast. To her many sons and daughters, whose devotions ought to bring them often to her side, she tells much of this daily cross and its daily hope” (Constitutions of the Congregation of Holy Cross, 8:120).
When deciding on a patron for the Congregation of Holy Cross, Blessed Basil Moreau selected Our Lady of Sorrows.

Moreau’s original vision was that the Congregation of Holy Cross be one community of priests, brothers and sisters living and working together in imitation of the Holy Family. He consecrated the priests to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the sisters to the Immaculate Heart of Mary and the brothers to Saint Joseph, but he placed the entire Congregation under the patronage of Our Lady of Sorrows.

To prepare for this solemnity, a novena to Our Lady of Sorrows is prayed at mass from September 6th to Spetember 14th.

On September 15th, we’ll also celebrate the 13th anniversary of Basil Moreau’s beatification.