Notre-Dame Basilica, Montreal
Just a bit further down the road in Fonda, NY is the National Kateri Tekakwitha Shrine. It honors the place where St. Kateri was baptized and embraced the Catholic faith. The Conventual Franciscan Friars maintain this shrine. We had the opportunity to offer the Mass there while visiting.
All in all, I thought that we had visited places where
ten saints and martyrs (the eight
North American martyrs, St. André Bessette and St. Kateri Tekakwitha) lived
and died trying to bring and spread the Catholic faith to this part of North
America.
However, when I arrived home I
recalled that we had also visited Notre-Dame Basilica (the city’s cathedral) and Notre Dame de Bon Secours Chapel while in Montreal. We could not take pictures in either church
while we were there, and so I went to the internet
to see if I could find some pictures of these beautiful churches.
Lo and behold, when I started
reading about the Notre Dame de Bon Secours Chapel, I discovered that we were in the presence of another saint’s remains without any of us realizing it!
The remains of St. Marguerite Bourgeoys, canonized by Pope John Paul II on October 31, 1982,
were present in the sanctuary of this chapel!
We had mistakenly visited this
beautiful chapel in our search for
the city’s basilica which was a few
blocks away. I relate to you what I read
about the work of this other saint of
Montreal:
The educative and apostolic efforts of Marguerite Bourgeoys continue
through the commitment of the members of the community that she founded. More than 2,600 Sisters of the Congregation de
Notre-Dame work in fields of action according to the needs of time and place -
from school to college or university, in the promotion of family, parish and
diocesan endeavours. They are on mission
in Canada, in the United States, in Japan, in Latin America, in Cameroon, and
most recently they have established a house in France.
On November 12, 1950 Pope Pius XII beatified Marguerite Bourgeoys. Canonizing her . . . Pope John Paul II gives
the Canadian Church its first woman saint.
My retreat and subsequent pilgrimage proved to be grace-filled in so many ways. Realizing how our continent was blessed with remarkable saints who were zealous and selfless in their love for the Catholic faith, helps me to strive to be more compassionate, loving and zealous for the souls in my care. None of us are perfect, but we are called to imitate Jesus Christ in our thoughts, words and actions—despite our human weaknesses.
Our faith is such a precious
gift that was given to us to live,
to cherish, and to hand on to others.
As we begin this Year of Faith, I pray that we may all realize what a gift—the gift of our one, holy, catholic and apostolic faith—we
have been given!
Fr.
Ed Namiotka
Pastor
St. Marguerite Bourgeoys
Notre Dame de Bon Secours Chapel
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