Natives gather at Lac. Ste. Anne

Collins urges pilgrims to pray for those bound for World Youth Day

By RAMON GONZALEZ
WCR Staff Writer
Lac Ste. Anne

Speaking to about 2,000 mostly native pilgrims at the Lac Ste. Anne Shrine July 21, Collins said Catholics should pray so the 1,000 young people now attending the Toronto event might "come back ready to serve the Lord more faithfully."

He also asked them to pray to St. Anne for families and for vocations to the priesthood and other religious vocations.

The Mass was the Edmonton Archdiocese's concluding event in preparation for World Youth Day, currently taking place in Toronto. Many in the audience were young people expecting to depart to Toronto the following day.

"I really appreciate what the archbishop said at the Mass," said Mike Mitsiza, a lay Church leader from WhaTi, NWT. "He is right on. Praying for the youth and the family is the most important thing today. I feel that we should do that all the time."

Mitsiza, his wife Celine, their 20-year-old son and Celine's 78-year-old mother drove 1,600 km from Yellowknife "just to be with our people and attend Mass" at the shrine.

The Mitsizas have being attending the pilgrimage for the past four years and, like hundreds of other pilgrims, they set up a tent to spend the nights.

"Being here makes me feel at peace," he said. "I feel closer to the Lord." Celine also loves the native atmosphere of the place. "This (event) brings our people together and makes us stronger."

A crowd of at least 30,000, mostly aboriginal people from across Western Canada, the Northwest Territories, Quebec and the United States, were expected to attend the July 20-25 pilgrimage.

Pilgrims come to Lac Ste. Anne to strengthen their faith and to find peace, said Father Camille Piche, provincial superior of the Oblates, the order that started the pilgrimage.

"Some come overwhelmed with problems; here they receive faith, hope and courage to continue with their lives," Piche said following the Mass. "There is a lot of power in this place. A lot of good things happen here. Jesus Christ is present among these people."

Archbishop Peter Sutton of Le Pas, Man., described the pilgrimage as "the best pastoral visit of the year."

Sutton has been attending the event regularly since 1987. Some 1,500 people from his diocese came to Lac Ste Anne this year.

"People come here for encouragement," he said. "The pilgrimage provides them with a little bit of relaxation as well as with an opportunity to pray and to talk and to visit."

People have been trekking to Lac Ste. Anne, 80 km west of Edmonton, for over 113 years. The first Oblate missionaries arrived on the shore of "Devil's Lake" in 1844. The native people gave it that name because they feared the fierce storms that often blew up when they were fishing on the lake.

"I feel close to the Lord here. It's such a sacred place." - Bernadette Black

Father Jean-Baptiste Thibault dedicated the lake to his patroness, St. Anne, mother of the Virgin Mary and grandmother of Jesus. It became the Oblates' first permanent mission west of St. Boniface, Man.

By 1886 there was little growth so the Oblates were ready to abandon the mission. Father Jean-Marie Lestanc made a visit to the shrine of Ste. Anne d'Auray in France and while praying there, a voice challenged his decision to close the mission and he changed his mind.

On his return, he built a new church at Lac Ste. Anne and organized the first pilgrimage of about 100 people in June 1889. He organized a second pilgrimage that summer which gave birth to the annual pilgrimages that have become a major religious event in the West.

The six days are a steady round of Eucharistic celebrations, holy hours, opportunities to receive the sacrament of Reconciliation, veneration of the relic of St. Anne, blessing of the sick and taking of the sobriety pledge.

The blessing of the lake is one of the most meaningful events of the pilgrimage as hundreds of fully-clothed people of all ages wade into the lake to search for healing. They fill containers to take the water home for use throughout the year.

Following the first blessing of the lake July 21, pilgrims waded into the lake and surrounded Oblate Father Andrew Stendzina, who blessed each of them.

Upon receiving her blessing, Bernadette Black of Prince Albert, Sask., filled a jug with the water to take home. "I've been coming here since 1965," she said proudly. "I feel close to the Lord here. It's such a sacred place." What about the water? "It can help you with anything she said. It's blessed."

Alfred Naldzil, his wife Pauline and their adopted son John, 6, also waded into the water for a blessing and submerged themselves fully clothed into the blessed liquid.

"The priest blessed the water. My wife is sick (she has a problem in her hips) and we believe the water is going to help her," Naldzil said. "I have faith that the water will heal her."

Asked how she felt after been in the water, Pauline said, "A lot better."

The Naldzils have been coming to the pilgrimage since 1980. "We come here to pray and to meet some of our relatives," he said. "For us this is a faith and social event."

A group of 35 young people from Wollaston Lake, Sask. used this year's pilgrimage to show the strength of their faith. For two weeks they biked 1,400 km to Lac Ste. Anne to show they are ready to make sacrifices for their faith.

"I did it for God," said 15-year-old Amy Dnechezhe. "Now, I feel complete."

"I sacrificed myself for God," said Martina St. Pierre, 14. "It was my way of showing my faith. I hope it pleases God."

The group was received with a standing ovation at the shrine, where they related their adventure.

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