Lac Ste. Anne

I have already gotten a little behind with what I wanted to do. But last Wednesday I came down with a vicious cold and then got a bad throat infection and only now am I really back to normal. Tomorrow I will start posting on the books again, but today I wanted to talk about an experience this afternoon.

I had driven out to Gunn to visit with a friend at the Gunn Centre there. It is located on lake St. Anne or as they call it here Lac Ste. Anne. I knew that there was a Catholic Mission here that has famous pilgrimages so after I was done visiting I drove around the lake looking for it. I almost gave up when I finally found the parish.

It was a stunningly beautiful day. Warm with a brilliant blue sky with thick puffy clouds. At the site there is a large open air shrine for Masses and then a large set of stations of the cross leading down to the water. Then at the waters edge there is a little pavilion and a bench where the water's edge used to be, but it is now about 50 yards out. I was just sitting on the bench praying/ thinking/ just enjoying the day when a white pick up truck drove up with a man who obviously enjoyed talking. It turned out he was the gentleman who helped organize the pilgrimages and was in charge of the security. He was very gracious and told me the story of the lake.

It used to be called Spirit Lake by the Aboriginals who lived there before the Europeans came and was an important place. When the Europeans came the story goes that a priest, a man from the Hudson's Bay company, a metis leader and four others were by the lake edge when St. Anne, the mother of St. Mary appeared to them. Quickly they built a church there and the site became known as a place of healing waters and miracles. People come from all over the world to pray. He told the story of a group of Italians who flew into Edmonton International Airport, drove to Lac Ste. Anne, spent four hours, then went back to the airport and flew back to Italy. He had several other stories. There was the time when nine cardinals (not the birds) came in full robes and went into the water up to their shoulders!

 It is considered sacred ground to the Aboriginal community. The pilgrimage is a celebration of both Catholic faith and Aboriginal faith and culture. Yet he said that whereas the pilgrimages used to be close to 100% Aboriginal, it is no longer. More of a 60/40 mix. It is really drawing more and more people from all cultures from around the world: Asians, Africans, and so on. And like me they are not all Catholic.

While it is not an Anglican place, I was thinking about it in terms of my project. Experiences like this are helping to me see the fascinating juxtaposition that faith in Canada represents. Lac Ste. Anne is a potent mix of place, history and culture. It is an example of where European faith is transformed in a North American context that creates a sacred location that people from all over the world want to experience. It is truly amazing when you think about it. As I read the history of the churches in Canada it is obvious that they are not exactly the same as the ones that left European shores. There is something about the frontier experience that subtly seems to have an effect on the Christian culture. It seems to have a invigorating effect as the faith has to look at itself anew in a different context. I find that I love studying this theme. And I definitely plan to come back to Lac. Ste. Anne when I am in the area.