Pilgrimage to take place in St. Malo

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This article was published 10/08/2023 (797 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The annual pilgrimage to the St. Malo grotto will have a fresh look this year as the statues will receive a fresh coat of paint.

“This year we have the young artist who did such a good job with St. Bernadette we asked for him to do some repairs on the statues we have at the grotto and the church,” said Leo Roch, one of the organizers for the pilgrimage. “He’s fixing up every statue that we have so by the time the pilgrimage is on most of the statues will be repaired. What he won’t have time to do this summer he will try to do it this fall or early spring. The statues are repainted, so they look really sharp.”

Last year, someone stole the statue of St. Bernadette that sits in the Our Lady of Lourdes Grotto in St Malo. A Winnipeg artist, John Millar, offered to replace the statue charging only for materials.

St. Bernadette was only 14 when she saw an apparition of the Virgin Mary on Feb. 11, 1858 in a grotto at the Massabielle rock on the banks of the Gave in France. Seventeen apparitions of the Virgin Mary would appear there to Bernadette until July 16, 1858. At age 35, Bernadette would die of tuberculosis and was canonized in 1933. The grotto where she saw the apparitions and its waters have been credited as having performed 70 miracles where people have been cured of an illness.

There are replicas of the Lourdes Grotto all over the world. In 2015, copies were recorded at more than 765 sites in France and 321 in the rest of the world, according to the Lourdes Tourism website. One of those grottos is in St. Malo.

Construction of St. Malo’s grotto began in 1896 by Father Abel Noret who had arrived from France and noticed a remote wooded spot by Highway 59 and the provincial park that reminded him of the grotto in Lourdes. By 1902, the previous chapel was replaced by an actual grotto which was built with fieldstones. In 1906, Archbishop Langevin of St. Boniface presided over a pilgrimage and blessed a new chapel on the site.

“It’s a very old place it’s been in existence for over 100 years. It’s been updated once in awhile. We’re doing quite a bit of work this year. We’re reinforcing some of the stonework, applying some new mortar, and we’re painting the statues. There’s always maintenance to be done,” said Roch.

Roch said the grotto is very important and popular for Catholics in Manitoba and that it is becoming very popular with people from all over the world who come to view it.

“The place is getting to be better and better known because of the internet and we get travelers coming in on a daily basis especially the two summer months from all over. In January, I had some people here from England who came to visit the grotto even though the road is closed so it’s getting to be so popular.”

Five years ago, the journey to the St. Malo parish became a diocesan pilgrimage meaning that all Catholics in Manitoba are invited.

“People throughout the diocese are invited to gather for that special day,” said Archbishop Albert LeGatt.

“It’s always the Sunday closest to the 15 of August. Which is the feast of the assumption of Mary. Of Mary being taken up to heaven.”

This year’s pilgrimage will take place on Aug. 13.

While the grotto in Lourdes has recorded miracles, the St. Malo grotto has its share of miracles as well, healing people in its early years and most recently the re-establishment of the St. Bernadette statue.

“For (Millar) to happen on the scene just like that we call that a small miracle because the odds of it happening are extremely, extremely rare. It’s unbelievable,” said Roch.

The pilgrimage will host two masses: a French mass at 9 a.m. and an English mass at 11 a.m. Between the two masses there are about 1,200 people who come, according to Roch.

“It’s mostly the older generation who comes to the grotto, but more and more we’re starting to see young families coming,” he said.

LeGatt noted there are people from all different races, cultures, and countries that come to the pilgrimage and mass.

The homily that will be presented by LeGatt will focus on Mary, her place in the Catholic faith, and asking for her prayers. Global issues will also be presented and their interconnection with Christianity.

“And also I usually pick up facts or what’s happening in the world presently and link that up. Sometimes it’s around indigenous non-indigenous relationships within the church and within our society. Sometimes it’s the respect of life and the respect of the dignity of a human being. How to translate in very concrete practical ways our faith with Mary as an example into our daily lives,” said LeGatt.