Arriving in the beautiful and charming city of Montreal, our first assignment of the day was running to the world famous Saint-Joseph Oratory of Mont-Royal.
Rector Father Grou kindly welcomed our team outside the Pavillon Ste-Croix, and offered his blessings to the torch and runners.
Sonia Rosval, pictured centre beside the Rector, organised the event at The Saint Joseph Oratory. The Oratory was blessed by the presence of Saint Brother Andre, a humble gatekeeper who became world reknowned for his healing powers. Although Brother Andre became so revered, he always gave all credit to Saint Joseph, "It is God and Saint Joseph who can heal you, not I! I will pray to Saint Joseph for you." After his passing in 1937, over one million admirers came to offer their respects to this deeply humble and spiritual man. Brother André was officially declared a saint by Pope Benedict XVI on October 17, 2010.
After receiving a beautiful welcome and blessing, it was time for a tour of the Oratory. We were very grateful that Marianne Connell, our super enthusiastic guide, was chosen for the task.
Marrianne led the team up a steep hill to the original abode of Brother Andre. She claims she never runs, which was a little disturbing for the rest of us as we struggled to keep up with her spirited pace!
There are many beautiful shrines, statues and places of worship to behold. Thousands of visitors from around the world come here to pray and contemplate.
This is the shrine from the original Chapel, that was barely big enough for a handful of people at one time.
The grounds of the Saint Josephs Oratory are also very beautiful.
Many people were interested in out team and happy to have the opportunity to hold the torch. Pictured is one of the garden keepers at the Oratory, who was so inspired that she joined us at our second event later in the day!
Arpan discovers the beauty of Tolerence, one of Sri Chinmoy's inspirational art works on the small cards that we hand out to interested supporters along the way.
We were thrilled that our wonderful guide, Marianne, had the inspiration to ask the resident Carillon player, Andree-Anne Doane, if she would like to play Sri Chinmoy's Peace Run theme song. The Carillon at Saint Joseph Oratory is famous, and comprised of 56 bronze bells that were originally crafted for the Eiffel Tower.
Andree-Anne was only too happy to transpose the music for her to be able to play the Peace Run song. Needless to say, this was a delight to us all. Thank you so much Andree-Anne!!
After leaving the Oratory, we ran over the beautiful Montreal landmark of Mount Royal to our second Ceremony of the day at the prestigious McGill University.
Our Ceremony was in honour of the recent planting of a Peace Tree. Pictured here is the temporary plaque, which will soon be replaced by a permanent bronze plaque.
The Peace Tree is a delightful addition to the grounds of McGill University.
Thank you so much to Brian Karasick, the Physical Planner of Campus and Space Planning at McGill University who was instrumental in the planting and installment of the Peace Tree.
We were delighted that an enthusiastic and very international group of supporters were waiting to greet us.
Anasuya Harding, pictured holding the torch with Brian Karasick, organised the Peace Tree and Plaque dedication and ceremony.
Believe it or not, Anasuya is 80 years old!
Local Peace Run enthusiast, Sugandha, is pictured here. Pictured behind her is long time Peace Run supporter, Kriyavati.
Vidura, one of our Quebec coordinators, is also a very experienced and passionate Peace Runner. He led our team over Mount Royal with much enthusiasm.
Devaki is also one of our local coordinators, and along with her hushand, Vidura, hosted our team in Quebec. Thank you so much to both of them!! Devaki is a McGill University lecturer in the Department of Language and Intercultural Communication at the School of Continuing Studies at McGill University. Devaki invited many of her students, past students and friends to to Peace Tree Inauguration.
The international participants gave their wishes for peace in their own languages. This man pictured is from Morocco.
This man is one of several supporters from Japan.
Maria from Venezuela.
Masashi Usui, a professional saxaphonist from Japan, kindly played Sri Chinmoy's Peace Run song on this beautiful saxaphone. He played very soulfully and perfectly. Thank you so much, Masashi!
Ayako from Japan.
This man is from Bulgaria.
Smahane is from Morocco.
Sissi is from China.
Devaki surrounded by her former International English students from McGill, and the odd Peace Run team member..
Masashi also played the iconic Japanese song, Sakura, in commemoration of the coincidental anniversary of Hiroshima. Here he is pictured spontaneously 'jamming' with Arpan.
Pavaka accompanied him on the ukulele.
Devaki's cousin, McGill Professor Myriam Denov and her daughter Leonie join the team for a photo with the tree.
Thank you so much to all of our old and new friends in Montreal for a beautiful inspiring day!
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How do we love the world? We love the world with our inner peace.
How do we serve the world? We serve the world with our inner joy.
How do we transform the world? We transform the world with our inner faith.
-Sri Chinmoy
