Rejoicing in the Beatification of Blessed Basil Anthony Mary Moreau,

Founder of the Congregation of Holy Cross

   My reflections on this great occasion in our Marianite Congregation are influenced by the memories that I have of the early history of this ecclesiastical procedure. In 1931 the Superior General of the men’s Congregation of Holy Cross, Father James Wesley Donahue, C.S.C took steps in restoring Basil Anthony Moreau to his rightful place in the Congregation that he had founded in 1841. With the exhumation and transfer of the body of Father Moreau from Holy Cross Cemetery to the crypt of the restored Church of Holy Cross, Basil Moreau was again recognized in his Congregation from which he had been driven by opposing views and distressful circumstances.

   Times have changed and so had the sentiments of the members of the Congregation, beginning with those who held positions of authority. The restoration efforts of Father Donahue blossomed under the influence of his successor, Father Albert Cousineau C.S.C. of the Canadian Holy Cross Congregation. Unfortunately the War interfered with Father Cousineau’s efforts to advance this new interest of the Founder, but in 1946 the Superiors General of the three women’s Congregations of Holy Cross met with him at the Generalate of the Marianites in Precigne, France. This historic reunion of the women of Holy Cross with the Superior General of the Priests and Brothers of Holy Cross, in the presence of Bishop Cardinal Grente, resulted in the opening of the informative process of the life and virtues of Father Basil Anthony Moreau.

   This history was present to me as I assisted at the Beatification Ceremonies in LeMans, France on September 15, 2007. Seventy years had passed since the men and women of Holy Cross had made every effort to give back to their Founder the place which was rightly his. The untiring efforts of the Founder to spread the Gospel was the underlying influence of his ministry and the ministry of his sons and daughters in Holy Cross. As a Marianite my heart was deeply touched at the remembrance of those great men and women who so generously took the responsibility of returning their Founder to his rightful place in the Church, in their own hearts, and in the ministries which he had so zealously practiced - in the example that he was and is to the present day to all and each member of the Congregation. The unveiling of his image at the moment of Beatification was most impressive, and my immediate reaction was one of sincere and deep gratitude to those who so generously gave of themselves to instill in their community members the depth of their loyalty and their gratitude to Divine Providence for the great gift and inspiration of the Founder.