Our Lady of the Cape 2024 - Quebec Life Coalition
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Our Lady of the Cape 2024

Pilgrimages are not only a testament to personal devotion, but also an embodiment of the spiritual values QLC upholds. In order to build a Christian society that respects faith, family, and life from conception to natural death, I want to bring to you today a little testimony of a journey together in prayer and penance. Our Lady of the Cape, known for her miraculous interventions, helps remind us of the sacredness of life in the simple Quebec society of the 19th century. This to me resonates to many of the challenges we face in society today.

The 100 pilgrims set off early on the Saturday morning. They just attended mass, ate a quick breakfast, took down their tents, and were off with the rising sun. They were following the statues of our Lady and of Saint Joseph, and carrying banners and a light backpack for the day.

Photo: Pilgrims leaving early in the morning. Source: A.N.

The Our Lady of the Cape pilgrimage will bring those pilgrims to the site of a Marian apparition, a miracle and several miraculous healings. It is one of the better known and visited pilgrimage sites in the province of Quebec, and attracts a large number of pilgrims. Some of these visitors will visit the shrine after a three-day journey on foot…

Photo: Our Lady of the Cape Statue at the Shrine. Source: Wikipedia

 

This year’s Our Lady of the Cape pilgrimage took part, as it always does, on Labor Day weekend. The pilgrims gathered the previous night, on Friday evening, set up their tents, and pray complines before heading to bed, preparing for the early rise and departure the next day.

On this pilgrimage, the pilgrims are divided into two chapters—English and French. Throughout the pilgrimage, they pray (and sing) through a whole rosary every day, listen to reflections by the priests and pilgrimage leaders, sing pilgrimage songs, have some quiet times, and also have great conversations with each other. The pace is steady, a little on the fast side, but there are regular breaks throughout the day. Priests are available for confessions and for guidance. There is daily mass, often celebrated by priests from the fraternity of Saint-Peter, in the extraordinary form of the Roman rite (Latin mass).

Photo: Walking through a soya field. Source: A.N.

This year, it was wonderful to see several families with children who took part in the pilgrimage. The children were amazing! Some of them walked the whole hundred kilometers and were often found in the front of the chapters, leading the way. Their ease and their positive attitude was encouraging to see. Most of the pilgrimage participants are young. I was one of the older participants. 

Photo: On the road. Source: A.N.

As usual, the logistics team was amazing. To facilitate the walking pilgrims, the organizers have this team of working pilgrims. These wonderful people set up breakfast, bring us water on our breaks, set up chemical washrooms on the breaks where we need them, and encourage us on the way. A registered nurse was available to tend to blisters and any medical need we had, and drivers were available to ferry the injured to the next stop. The organization team has worked for several months in preparation, and run a tight ship. The security team did a wonderful job too, making sure that we followed the rules of the road, always on the lookout for any hazards or dangers, and helping stragglers to keep up.

The meals were simple, reflecting the spirit of the pilgrimage. All pilgrims had to bring for meals is a travel mug and a spoon. Some brought granola bars, fruit and trail mix to complement any dietary needs. I brought apples and Himalayan salt.

Photo: the pilgrims listening to a short presentation on the story of the statue that fell from the church in Yamachiche during the fire. Source: A.N.

This year, the weather was pretty good. Some years, it rains a lot. Some years, it is very hot. This year we have a good mix of rain and sun, hot and cool. The pilgrimage route brought us through corn and soya fields, along beautiful and peaceful rivers and streams, along the banks of the Saint-Laurence river and through beautiful rural Quebec.

On a more personal note, this pilgrimage has always had the ability to allow God to work on me, to stretch me, and reveal things in my life that God wanted me to reflect upon. The physical part of the pilgrimage is hard, especially for those who are not used to long walks and regular exercise, but it is through hardships that we obtain graces from God, penance, conversions, answers to prayer, etc. God can really speak to us through something like this. Doing things that are hard helps us in spiritual growth and fosters a deeper relationship with Jesus. On top of the physical duress of this pilgrimage, I have also found that God works on me, emotionally and spiritually. It must be that the physical hardship helps me open up to God in ways I normally can’t.

I have now been Catholic now for nine years and I have done the pilgrimage every year since then. And I plan on doing my tenth one next year too. Initiatives like this help fortify the faith in Quebec, as well as the family, which is the cornerstone on which all society must be built. Only through faith and family will all life will be respected in our country, from conception to natural death. This is what we strive to accomplish at Quebec Life Coalition. 

Hope to see you there in 2025!


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