'Something big is happening' at St. Joseph's Oratory

A prayerful phenomenon in the forecourt of St. Joseph’s Oratory on Montreal's Mount Royal continues to grow in size and remarkableness as it surpasses the 175-day mark.

Cyril Azzi, a 32-year-old Maronite Catholic born in Lebanon, founded Renouveau du Québec (Quebec's Renewal), a mission to pray the Rosary for 1,000 straight days to rekindle Catholicism within La belle province. Hundreds of young adults now stand side by side united in this cause each Tuesday starting at 8:30 p.m. local time following 7:30 p.m. Mass and adoration.

Azzi said that while attending Easter Vigil in another house of worship named after Christ’s earthly father — St. Joseph's Cathedral in Rouyn-Noranda — he felt in his heart that “we need to start praying the Rosary for the renewal of the faith in Quebec for a thousand days.”

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It was providential for St. Joseph’s Oratory to eventually emerge as the initiative’s backdrop, as half a lifetime earlier, at age 16, Azzi said he experienced his very first spiritually transformative moment while visiting this minor basilica and national shrine.

A female youth leader approached Azzi and other youth attending the Maronite parish Notre-Dame-du-Liban in Laval, Que., with a pilgrimage opportunity to St. Joseph’s Oratory.

“On this day, nobody wanted to go,” recollected Azzi. “We looked at each other, and we were like, ‘we don't want to go there anyway.’ But we felt bad for the woman. So, we decided to go anyway. The rest was history because on this trip to the St. Joseph’s Oratory, I would say that I had my first conversion, at least. I felt something in my heart, like a huge fire came to me. Ever since this day, I have had this zeal to bring the youth to Church.”

Admittedly, there were periods for Azzi where his fervour for this mission waned, and even moments when he wondered if God was real and if Christianity was the correct path, but the search for truth ultimately rededicated him to this cause. He said God answered his prayerful beseeching for understanding by bringing people into his life to answer his questions.

“Every time I used to receive an answer, (I) had so many more questions to ask,” said Azzi. “After a while, (it) started becoming clear. The more (it) became clear, the more we started gathering young people together for discussions, debates in church basements (and) organizing conferences."

Renouveau du Québec, Azzi’s newest initiative to inspire the youth, softly launched after Easter Vigil on purpose. His desire was for these gatherings to grow organically. It began modestly with just him and a couple of friends. Little by little, the number of participants grew by about five people during each of the first several weeks.

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The movement began to blossom during the summer when hundreds of people would naturally visit the Oratory to watch the sunset. Azzi credits a guitarist named Benoit for generating interest among the visitors as the group began singing the last Hail Mary of every decade, and to start and close out each night. An open invitation was extended to participate in the 1,000-day campaign. Many did return with friends in tow the following Tuesdays.

Azzi is also thankful to Isabel Correa, the Archdiocese of Montreal’s director of evangelization and Christian life, for reaching out to propose a collaborative relationship. Correa oversees Mission Jeunesse Montreal, an archdiocesan entity empowering teenagers and young adults to be at the forefront of Church life.

More young people learned about the weekly Rosary gatherings from Mission Jeunesse. Azzi and his friends, in turn, participated in the organization’s initiative to promote the forthcoming World Youth Day in Seoul, South Korea, by taking a photo of one of the prayer nights.  

They used this photo as the launchpad for an Instagram account called @renouveauduquebec. The day they took the photo, Diana Famintysna, who curates the account @mtlcatholicevents, had attended the Rosary night for the first time. Her media efforts helped expand the Renouveau du Québec’s visibility.

The account jumped from seven followers to more than 250 overnight, and the collaborative video generated over 70,000 views, 1,700 likes and over 125 comments from people expressing an interest in participating.

“We realized that something big is happening,” said Azzi. “We started organizing in order to be able to accommodate the increasing number of people.”

Crowds began doubling week to week from 60 to 125 to 250 and beyond. More social media influencers, including a 17-year-old Catholic named Angelino (@therealangelino), encouraged their followers to participate. Fr. Mark Goring, an Ottawa-based priest who belongs to the Companions of the Cross, also lauded the phenomenon in a Sept. 8 social media video.

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Azzi articulated that the reason why the numbers are “blowing up is not that we are awesome. I think it's mostly because people have a shared desire in their hearts to see Quebec come back to faith. I think that for a long time, Quebec has been losing its faith. But I feel (that) now it's ready for something to happen, a renewal.”

This movement is not just contained to St. Joseph’s Oratory. Similar Rosary groups are sprouting in Quebec City, Trois-Rivières, Gatineau, Joliette, Saint-Eustache, and one is set to launch Oct. 9 in Saint-Hyacinthe.

(Amundson is an associate editor and writer for The Catholic Register.)