The History, Significance, and Pilgrimage to the Sainte-Anne-du-Bocage Shrine

On the road to shrines, that of Sainte-Anne-du-Bocage is the “darling” of many in Acadie. It is a founding and gathering place for the diaspora. Symbolically speaking, I place it at the height of the Saint-Charles de Grand Pré church or the Notre-Dame-de-l’Assomption cathedral. Why such enthusiasm for such a modest chapel?

First, this place is steeped in history. It is on this point of land that the first Acadians, fleeing deportation, landed on the shores of the Acadian Peninsula. Alexis Landry and three other families met there in 1757. Upon their arrival, they placed a statue of Saint Anne, patron saint of sailors, on the site. Then a small parish church will be built. We also find at the entrance of the current site the artefacts of the foundations of the church.

In the early years of the settlement, missionaries traveled to the site to confer the sacraments. Between their visits, it was Alexis Landry himself who waved the newborns, blessed the marriages and carried out the burials. These “white masses” are the pledge of the audacious pastoral creativity of our ancestors. In the founders’ cemetery, a monument to the glory of Alexis Landy recalls this heroic gesture.

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The present chapel was built in the middle of the 19th century (probably between 1836 and 1840). Over the years, it has undergone several transformations. In 1909, the chapel at the back was opened to make it an outdoor sanctuary which became an open-air cathedral. With its majestic columns of trees and its immense branches which are the floor of the residence of our ancestors and the vault of our “Sagrada Familia”, this outdoor temple has nothing to envy to the genius of Gaudi.

Over the years, many additions will complete the site’s infrastructure: the staircase leading to the source (1914); the grotto in honor of Notre-Dame-de-l’Assomption (1952); the Stations of the Cross (1954); the entrance arch (1955); the monument to Alexis Landry (1961) and the monument of the Acadian Odyssey (2007). Recently, the cemetery, the rosary arches and the historic chapel have undergone a facelift.

Quickly, the bocage site became a place of pilgrimage. On July 26, 1857, the survivors of a drowning which would have caused 56 deaths on the previous July 22, went to the sanctuary to pray. From 1887, a stop on the train linking Bathurst to Caraquet allowed several travelers to get off to “make their pilgrimage”. Nowadays, the Vélo-route which takes the old railway line passes very close to this enchanting site.

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It is not only in Caraquet that Saint Anne is invoked. By making an inventory of the places of pilgrimage dedicated to the grandmother of Jesus, we realize its importance in New France. From Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré, there is a real string of places on the shores of the great river and our bays: Sainte-Anne-de-la-Pocatière, Sainte-Anne-de-Pointe-au-Père, Sainte-Anne-des-Monts, Sainte-Anne-de-Restigouche, Baie Sainte-Anne, etc.

In these places and in many other places, the novena has been in full swing since Monday. In our three French-speaking dioceses, the faithful are there. In Madawaska, Father Guy Lévesque leads it; in Sainte-Anne-de-Kent, Father Jackson Fabius and in Sainte-Anne-du-bocage, Father Robert McGraw. With the persons in charge of the places and the volunteers, the preachers accompany the pilgrims in their quest for meaning.

The novena is a widespread practice in the Church. In the pages of this diary, one sometimes reads invitations to recite a prayer or adopt a practice for nine consecutive days. Maybe that’s enough time to establish a new habit.

There is no biblical basis for such a practice. On the other hand, several historical data. Rooted in an ancient Roman practice, novenas have been emphasized in Christian piety since the 12th century.

In our French language, the number 9 is a homonym of the adjective nine. It has the same sound and the same spelling. As a qualifier, it signifies novelty. A novena can then be seen as an update: like the child who is born at the end of 9 months of pregnancy.

Every novena is stretched towards what is to come. It feeds on the hope of a change, of a metamorphosis. Often, the fulfillment of the desire comes before the end: the novena transforms our way of seeing and welcoming.

Prayer renews the one who makes it: instead of asking God to become the Servant of his desires, little by little the person praying wants to become a servant of the divine will.

Good novena! Happy pilgrimage! Happy Saint Anne’s Day!