July 23 – Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré, Quebec

Devotion to Saint Anne was very strong among Breton sailors, who placed themselves under her protection before setting out to sea. In 1658, while sailing to New France, they were nearly swallowed up by a violent storm. Holding their course, they called upon Saint Anne for help, promising to build a chapel in her honour if they reached land safely. They kept their promise and built a wooden chapel, Sainte-Anne du Petit Cap, which would later become Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré. In 1668, Father Thomas Morel, pastor of Beaupré, wrote a collection for the faithful entitled Miracles of Saint Anne, describing the special devotion the people of this land had for her.

Cardinal Taschereau later entrusted the shrine to the Redemptorists, as it continued to grow – especially after the arrival of the railway in 1881. Increasing numbers of pilgrims, from the United States and from Indigenous communities, came to pray to Saint Anne, particularly during the novena leading up to her feast on July 26. The church was expanded and rebuilt several times, eventually becoming the neo-Romanesque basilica completed in 1962 that we know today. Built of cut stone and adorned with remarkable mosaics, stained glass, and sculptures, this impressive building welcomes nearly one million visitors and pilgrims each year.

In our highly secularized consumer societies, many people still come to places of pilgrimage such as Sainte-Anne-d’Auray and Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré. They express a deep desire for prayer and spiritual life, a need for peace and silence. Their journey is one of faith – not only of the mind, but of the heart.

They do not simply visit a sacred place; they take part in a sacred history. Local pilgrimages offer many people an opportunity to reconnect with their cultural and spiritual roots, to experience communion and solidarity, and to live in harmony with the rhythm of the seasons and the great feasts of the Church.

Good Saint Anne, support us along our earthly pilgrimage. Help us understand that the true sanctuary toward which we journey is the sanctuary of our own hearts, where God dwells – until the day we see him face to face in the heavenly Jerusalem.