Pilgrimage to Quebec

After coming to New Hampshire, oddly enough I had an opportunity to go on a Pilgrimage to Quebec and I was told it was for young adults; but looking at some of the people on the trip I don’t know; maybe New Hampshire has a different definition of Young. Audrey, who coordinated this trip, kept saying “the young and young at heart.”

Saint Benoit Abbey

Our first stop was at Saint Benoit Abbey where I saw the Monks chant their 12 noon prayers, which sounded beautiful. It was also good to see the breathtaking country side of Canada, I was starting to think that maybe going on this trip wasn’t such a bad idea after all. On the bus we shared the Monk’s home-made cheese and chocolate that we bought at the gift shop. Later when we arrived at Saint Anne de Beaupre, thirty minutes outside of Quebec City, we got to have Mass upstairs in the main Church of the Basilica! Wow what a welcome from Jesus’ grandma! The whole Basilica was lighted up in its glory just for our group of 20; of all my adventures, this will be one I will not soon forget! Everyone was speaking French, so I was nervous about getting around, but after hearing Fr. Rick proclaim the Gospel in French, I knew we had a good tour guide. I spent my first night at the Inn on the Basilica grounds, but I didn’t want to go to sleep! Myself, and my new found New Hampshire friends kept staring at the lit up Basilica across the way trying to take it all in. There was an almost full moon shining to the right of the Basilica with clouds slowly passing. Father Rick mentioned how the moon can represent Mary, a reflection of her son; as the moon is also a reflection of the sun. In the book of Revelation, I recall a passage that states, “. . .a woman clothed with the sun; with the moon under her feet. . .” (Revelation:12:1).

Stations of the Cross on Saint Anne De
Beaupe grounds

Inside Saint Anne De Beaupe

After a good night’s sleep at the Basilica (my roommate didn’t even snore!) we had a good breakfast, except that Pork spread they all love so much—what’s up with that? We had Mass in a slightly more humble chapel downstairs in the Basilica, but it still showcased beautiful stained glass windows and mosaic ceilings. Later I went with Father Rick to pray the stations of the cross. They had life-sized copper replicas alongside a beautiful hill to the left of the Basilica. I was really touched spiritually as we did these stations. I later asked Father Rick the name of the book he used, and he said it was from Medugorje.

Chateau Frontenac

Quebec City

The hiker in me was ready to explore; everyone I had spoken to about Quebec was saying how quaint the city is, and that it’s like Europe. Boy oh boy, were they right! The cobble stone streets, the old multicolored roof-topped buildings, the architecture, view of the St. Lawrence River, the food and cafes, the funicular ride down to the lower city—it was all amazing. Father Rick even gave us a small tour of different churches, a seminary, and a convent within the city. I finished my day with a real authentic French crepe and French onion soup; what could be better. God has brought me on many different adventures; I am really glad I listened to his call to go on this one.

Our Lady of the Cape

Our Lady of the Cape

The second morning I was greeted by the Knights of Columbus. Are these men everywhere?! and how many breakfasts and ham and bean suppers do they host?! I guess they do a lot of good work in Canada too. They made a good hearty breakfast before we departed that morning for Our Lady of the Cape - Canada’s National Shrine to Mary was certainly breathtaking. The beautiful grounds reminded me of Central Park in NYC, but thankfully there were no hotdog venders. We prayed the rosary together alongside the park stream and pond with ducks quaking and trees blowing; being a person who loves to roam outside, this was perfect for me. We couldn’t have asked for better weather. We had Mass in the Old Shrine in which Father Rick gave us the history of this building. The people needed to get across the St. Lawrence River to get the rocks and supplies to build this church, so they needed to wait until winter when the river would be frozen. That winter the river didn’t freeze; so after much prayer to Mary, a small stretch of river froze so they were able to get across to get their rocks and other supplies. Many years later when they needed to build a larger shrine for the vast amount of Pilgrims who came each year, they moved the statue of Mary out of the old shrine and into the new. The next morning, though, the statue was back into the old shrine. This happened a few times so they decided to guard the shrine all night to make sure nobody was moving her, and sure enough she was back in the original shrine!

We departed back to New Hampshire and it was good that I had a feeling of excitement that I was going home. The young adults I met on this trip were great. I’m looking forward to checking out other local young adult events going on throughout the state. I just joined the New Hampshire Catholic Young Adult Network!