Annual Pilgrimage to Our Lady of the Cape 2010
LEGION OF MARY SENATUS OF ONTARIO PILGRIMAGE 31 July -02 August 2010
http://sites.google.com/site/legionofmarysenatusofontario/
On Saturday 31st July, 2010, two buses carrying seventy four pilgrims departed the Ottawa Diocesan Centre en route to four Shrines in the province of Quebec. Father Anthony Hannon the Spiritual Director for the Senatus of Ontario boarded each bus to spiritually prepare us for the 64th annual pilgrimage. During the weekend, pilgrims visited the shrine of the Sacred Heart in Montreal http://www.gcatholic.com/churches/montreal-reparation/index.htm, our Lady of the Cape in Trois Rivieres http://www.sanctuaire-ndc.ca/ , St. Anne’s Shrine at St. Anne de Beaupre http://www.ssadb.qc.ca/ and the Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes in Rigaud http://www.viateurs.ca/sanctuaire/shrine.php .
In previous reports I speculated about how our faith and prayer journey impacts the bus drivers. This year I received an answer. For the first time, I witnessed a driver blessing himself as Father Hannon was blessing the pilgrims. In discussion with this driver over the weekend he described the pilgrims who travel with the Legion of Mary as a great group of people. This statement reminds me of that well known song, They’ll Know We Are Christians by Our Love. I hope Frank Duff is happy with the ‘work’ done.
As is customary, the first order of business on pilgrimage is to recite the rosary, imploring Our Blessed Mother to protect us as we travel to the shrines in Quebec. It could be said that pilgrims ‘sing their way’ to the shrines when we praise and worship God and honour Our Blessed Mother in song. This year we put a strong emphasis on encouraging non legion pilgrims to consider joining the Legion of Mary. We showed a promotional video and distributed legion pamphlets. The pilgrimage is an opportunity to promote membership in the Legion of Mary.
At the Shrine of the Sacred Heart in Montreal, pilgrims enjoyed their lunch and then had the opportunity to enjoy the beauty and sacredness of this holy place. A couple of very fortunate pilgrims were offered home baked muffins prepared by Dorothy Harris (Morning Star Praesidium.) Dorothy will celebrate her 94th birthday this month and 78 years as a legion member. Another very special long time pilgrim who joined us is Sister Cora McKenna. Sister will celebrate her 97th birthday this year.
When we arrived in Trois Rivieres, the staff at the Madonna Hotel greeted us like we were family and could not have done more to make our stay more enjoyable. Immediately following arrival, pilgrims gathered for Mary’s outdoor Stations of the Cross. Following the opportunity to receive the sacrament of reconciliation, and to attend mass on Saturday evening, we experienced the beautiful and sacred candlelight procession at the Cape. Dorothy Harris, although not able to walk in the procession can always be spotted wearing a gorgeous hat and singing from a bench along the route.
Following Sunday morning mass, most pilgrims boarded buses and travelled to St. Anne d’Beaupre. What a wonderful Shrine to honour St. Anne, our heavenly grandmother. This shrine, now over 350 years old is a very special place for many pilgrims. We thank God for the gift of M. Jean Normandin. Jean is a long time friend of our pilgrims and he graciously escorted several pilgrims to the shrine of Blessed Father Frederic on Sunday afternoon. After Sunday dinner, pilgrims gathered in the magnificent Basilica for adoration; we were once again blessed with Father Oulette leading us in sacred songs of praise and worship. A second evening candle light procession followed adoration and as on the Saturday evening, the weather was magnificent. Thanks although from our hearts is hardly sufficient to recognize the beautiful voice of Father Oulette as he led the hymns to Mary our mother.
On Monday morning Mrs. Burns and Father Oulette met with us to thank us for coming and to remind us of the importance of our presence at the shrine. We were briefed us on the history of the shrine and viewed an historic video depicting its history. We enjoyed the celebration of Mass and just prior to departure a healing service was held in the old chapel. During the service the Blessed Sacrament was exposed, we sang hymns of praise and each pilgrim was individually blessed by either Father Oulette or Father Morin. Soon after the healing service pilgrims boarded buses and prepared for departure. As always Father Oulette boarded each bus, to bless the pilgrims and their religious articles.
I wish to particularly thank the bus supervisors Marilyn Montminy, Anne Stewart and Wayne Smith for their dedication in ensuring that the pilgrims experience the joy of being on pilgrimage. Each supervisor spends many hours in preparation for the pilgrimage and takes the responsibility to provide a safe and rewarding weekend for the pilgrims. This year we were blessed in a special way to have Father Morin say masses for us. The Francophones were especially delighted with fathers French speaking ability, considering he introduced himself as a citizen of the US.
Very special thanks to Maureen Ward, Our Lady of Guadalupe Praesidium, for compiling a slide show of the pilgrimage. Maureen spent a great deal of time taking pictures and we are blessed to enjoy the presentation at the following link click here Slide Show of Pilgrimage The slide show is complete with Marian Hymns by Father Oulette. Permission granted
The buses returned to the Ottawa Diocesan Centre at 6:40 PM and thus the 64th annual pilgrimage was completed. Pilgrims made donations to the Shrines of The Sacred Heart, Our Lady of the Cape, St. Anne and Our Lady of Lourdes.
All financial arrangements were managed by Ottawa Valley Tours.
Respectfully submitted,
Jennifer Snell
Pilgrimage Coordinator
