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The Inside Scoop on the Martyr Shrine Trip March 16th, 2010!

TUESDAY, MARCH 16TH 2010 - The Feast Day of Saints Brebeuf and Lallemand

7:45am 28 Wayside Academy Students and two teachers gather and depart from Wayside Academy in Peterborough for St. Mary’s Church in Lindsay.

8:45am About 17 Adults and Youth from Lindsay Gather at St. Mary’s Church Parking Lot. It is a warm day for mid-march with the sun shining down and everyone is in high spirits looking forward to the shrine. The Bus arrives with Wayside Students and Teachers at St. Mary’s. Some of the pilgrims from Lindsay board the bus and the remaining drive their cars because of limited space on the bus. The teachers ask if anyone needs to go to the washroom because the washrooms at the Shrine are closed. No one has to go. We depart for Midland Ontario.

Stations of the Cross at the Shrine

11:00am We Arrive at Martyrs’ Shrine and many have to go the washroom. Some take a pit stop at the nearest Tim Horton’s while the remaining meet up with 48 staff and students from Our Lady Seat of Wisdom Academy which is a Catholic University in Barry’s Bay Ontario. Some Sisters of Life, Seminarians from the Oratory in Toronto, and a group of middle school students from the GTA have also come to the Shrine. Everyone takes part in the 14 Stations of the Cross led by a priest from the Oratory. The stations follow a circular path up the side of a hill sheltered by trees. At each station, the group which now numbers approximately 150, kneels and sings loudly from their booklets. We conclude the stations with prayers for the Pope in order to receive a plenary indulgence.

12:00pm Everyone takes a much needed lunch break and we explore the many statues and the wooden tower that overlooks Georgian Bay.

Nice View from Wooden Tower at Shrine

500m Walk to Site of First Mass in Ontario

1:00pm We drive to the concession road on the west side of Penetanguishene near the shores of Georgian Bay stopping by what looks like a muddy tractor lane on a farmer’s field next to a forest. “Well, I guess this is it”, I say to John and Ginette Richie who are riding with me in my car. We begin the small pilgrimage of about 500 meters to the site of the first mass in Ontario. We arrive at the site and are taken in by a large stone cross and monument and a tall wooden cross next to it which looked to be about 30 feet high. John Paul Meenan, a teacher at OLSW, informs us about the history behind the site. It is named Carhagouha which is the Huron/Wendat name for the site of the first Catholic Mass celebrated in Ontario, Canada on August 12, 1615 by Fr. Joseph Le Caron (member of the Recollects order) in the presence of French explorer, Samuel de Champlain, and the Wendat. Each year a Mass is celebrated to mark the anniversary. We were amazed that such a holy and historic site was to be found down a farmer’s lane only marked with a small sign on a fence beside the road.

Wooden Cross marking Site of First Mass

Cross and Monument Marking Site of First Mass

St. Louis: Site of Capture of Sts. Brebeuf and Lallemand

2:30pm From Carhagouha, we retraced our route back to Shrine and continued on east to the site of an old Wendat (Huron) village called St. Louis which is where the Canadian martyrs Jean de Brebeuf and Joseph Lallemand were first captured by the Iroquois. We gathered around the stone pyramid which marked this site as John Paul Meenan recounted the tale of the Martyrs capture and torture. There was barely a whisper as John Paul told us of how the village was warned by survivors in retreat that the Iroquois were coming in great numbers to attack. Many villagers retreated into the woods, but Brebeuf and Lallemand agreed that they would remain with the brave souls that were going to defend the village. The Iroquois’ first attempt was thwarted by the Wendat, but the second onslaught captured the village. Brebeuf and Lallemand were captured and dragged to the nearby site called St. Ignace. We then recited the rosary and quietly said some personal prayers. It left many of us awestruck that this battle and capture occurred right where we were standing 361 years ago.

3:45pm To conclude the pilgrimage we journeyed to the site of the martyrdom called St. Ignace which is a short distance from St. Louis. This is the site to where Brebeuf and Lallemand were dragged to be tortured at the stake for 17 hours. They were mutilated, and burned to death, concluding with acts of Iroquois cannibalism on March 16, 1649. Brébeuf was fifty-five years old. He was admired for his stoic and calm nature during his torture and how he continually prayed for his executioners. Brebeuf’s body was recovered a few days later. His body was boiled in lye to remove the bones, which now are church relics. His flesh was buried, along with that of Lalemant’s, at Sainte-Marie among the Hurons where it can still be seen today. We concluded the pilgrimage with the celebration of the mass by Fr. Tom Lynch on an outdoor altar at this site and music was provided by the students and teachers of Wayside.

Mass at St. Ignace II with Fr. Tom Lynch

Conclusion: What was truly remarkable about this pilgrimage for me was physically being at these holy sites and hearing the stories recounted. I had a sense of the suffering and sacrifice of these saints and of their heroic bravery. This strengthened my faith, but it also humbled me as I compared my trials and tribulations to those of the saints. We did have some trials on this pilgrimage that had to be overcome, such as having a girl faint at the climax of the retelling of the torture and the bus running out of gas on the way back to Lindsay (it was an old fuel gauge). Thankfully the girl was fine after given some water and we were able to restart the bus after getting some diesel from a nearby gas station. These were small trials in the face of what these first saints of Canada underwent, but now I am thankful for the trials as well as the blessings.

Brebeuf and Lallemand, pray for us that we may suffer with great courage and faith as you did. May our sufferings, like yours, bring many others to Christ. Amen.

Rebels for Christ Youth, Wayside Academy and Our Lady Seat of Wisdom Academy

Posted in Events in the Diocese, Events in the Parish, Youth |

Tags: Board The Bus, Brebeuf, Circular Path, Concession Road, Feast Day Of Saints, Georgian Bay, High Spirits, Lady Seat, Lallemand, Lunch Break, Martyr Shrine, Martyrs Shrine, Middle School Students, Midland Ontario, Penetanguishene, Plenary Indulgence, Prayers For The Pope, Scoop, Seminarians, Sisters Of Life, Stations Of The Cross, Tim Horton, Trip March, Wayside Students, Wooden Tower |

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