Last Updated: Friday - 09/24/2010

Pilgrimage pays tribute to Rose Prince

Edmonton woman was witness to supernatural events at death of B.C. native woman in 1949

PHOTO SUPPLIED Pilgrims sing and drum during Rose Prince pilgrimage.

LEJAC, B.C. - Caroline Linitski stayed with Rose Prince on her deathbed 61 years ago, unaware that she would bear witness to a supernatural occurrence.

It was only upon hearing a CBC Radio program last year that Linitski became aware of the religious devotion to Prince that, for the past 20 years, has culminated in an annual pilgrimage.

It was the spark that led the Edmonton woman to learn more about the prayerful, unassuming young woman and to attend this year's pilgrimage July 9-11 in Lejac.

Prince, an aboriginal Dakelh woman, was born the third of nine children in Fort St. James, B.C., in 1915. At age six she went to Lejac Residential School. She was a child of deep faith and outstanding love for God. When her schooling was complete, she chose to work at the school, completing chores such as mending, cleaning, embroidering and sewing.

Prince always sang, celebrating life. She was heard humming and singing as she went about her chores or worked on various artistic projects. Revered for her gentle and devout qualities, she worked at the school until her death in 1949.

At that time a sister of Providence, Linitski, who turns 89 in September and lives in Edmonton, ministered at St. John Hospital in Vanderhoof, B.C., from 1947 to 1949. Prince was a patient there, diagnosed with pulmonary tuberculosis.

"I remember her as patient, gentle, pleasant and there was a serenity about her," said Linitski, now a parishioner at Edmonton's St. Thomas More Parish.

The same day Prince was hospitalized, she began hemorrhaging from the lungs, and Linitski stayed with the woman until her death, about five minutes later. Prince was two days shy of her 34th birthday.

Something was peculiar about Prince's body, however. Her lifeless body did not cool down as one would expect, and rigor mortis did not set in. Doctors checked for vital signs, but none were there. A doctor withdrew blood from her arm, and the blood was black, indicating by the lack of oxygen that she was dead.

At the time, no one suspected that this was a supernatural event.

ROSE REDISCOVERED

"In between 1949 when she died and last year, I thought of her a number of times, but not often by any means. But the memory of what she was like after she died has stayed with me. Then when I heard a program about Rose on CBC, it really struck me," said Linitski.

Only half listening to the radio program, she heard the name Rose Prince announced. "When they said Vanderhoof, then I realized it was the same Rose Prince that I knew. Then, a couple of weeks later I heard the program again. This time I really paid attention. It was on this program that they mentioned the healings and the pilgrimage," Linitski told the WCR.

Linitski learned Prince's body was buried in a little cemetery, part of the farmyard adjoining the school grounds. In 1951, the graves were relocated to a new cemetery on higher ground.

As Prince's coffin was being excavated, it accidentally broke open. Three startled workers saw that her body was uncorrupted, appearing to them as though she was not dead but merely asleep.

Neither her body nor clothing had decayed, despite the years that had passed since her death.

Sisters at the residential school were notified. Others came to witness the unusual phenomenon.

FLESH FREE FROM DECAY

Some saints, or would-be saints, have uncorrupted bodies after they have died. As a reward for a pure soul, God keeps the flesh free from decay. Also reported with some uncorrupted bodies is the presence of pleasant fragrances about them, such as jasmine and honey.

The only odour eminating from Prince's open coffin was the sweet smell of roses. People, especially those from First Nations communities, visit her gravesite.

In 1990, Father Jules Goulet, called for a pilgrimage to Lejac, near Fraser Lake, B.C. Although only 20 people gathered the first year, awareness has grown. In 1995, 1,200 people made the trip. Miracles have been attributed to Prince related to visiting her grave and taking earth from her grave.

OFF ON THE PILGRIMAGE

Upon hearing the story of Prince's uncorrupt body, Linitski's unforgettable experience six decades ago at the hospital made sense. Hearing the radio program, she felt compelled to make the pilgrimage to Lejac.

Caroline Linitski

"The atmosphere at the pilgrimage the whole time was very reverent. Of course, as the last person to be with Rose alive, the people there recognized me. But it had nothing to do with me, really. It had to do with representing the last contact with Rose when she was living," said Linitski.

This summer marked the 20th Rose Prince Pilgrimage. More than 1,000 people came to pray, seek favours and acknowledge spiritual healings at the event. Father Vince James organized the event and Bishop Gerald Wiesner celebrated the closing Mass.

The pilgrims came from the three western provinces, Northwest Territories, Toronto and Montana.

Ramona Johnson, from Prince George, B.C., is a second cousin to Prince. She attended the first pilgrimage in 1990 and has gone to many others since with her family and friends.

A TRUE SAINT

"She was a true blessing for all who attended Lejac Residential School. From what I was told she was a true saint by helping others in their time of need," Johnson told the WCR.

For Johnson, personal highlights of the pilgrimage include meeting people from all over Canada, including the lieutenant general of B.C. and his wife, enjoying the scrumptious food and meeting the priests.

"For me, the pilgrimage means healing and the comfort of being around my elders from Fort St. James as they go every year as well.

"It means healing for me from my own addiction problem of alcohol," said Johnson.

The pilgrimage, she said, is a yearly reminder of God's presence in her life.

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