Pilgrimage grotto, St. Laurent,
September 1950.
A devotional practice which has become a tradition for many Saskatchewan Catholics and their families over the years is participation in a pilgrimage during the summer months. Pilgrimages usually take place at a church or shrine, where pilgrims gather for the day or in some cases camp for a few days, around the time of a special feast day. Pilgrimages usually involve a journey of some sort, with some pilgrims walking for long distances to the pilgrimage site, then praying and singing together, receiving the sacraments of Reconciliation and Anointing of the Sick, celebrating Eucharist, participating in candlelight rosary processions or the Way of the Cross, hearing talks or homilies on religious topics, and sharing food and stories with relatives, friends and fellow pilgrims. Most of the shrines and pilgrimage sites are dedicated to the Virgin Mary, although some are dedicated to saints or local holy people.
Some Saskatchewan shrines and pilgrimage sites, with the year each was established or the first pilgrimage was held:
Our Lady of Lourdes, St. Laurent, 1879
Our Lady of Sorrows, Cudworth, 1911
Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Yorkton, 1915
Our Lady of Lourdes, Kronau, 1917
Sacred Heart Shrine, Lebret, 1919
Our Lady of Lourdes Redemptorist Shrine, Yorkton, 1921
Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Carmel, 1922
Our Lady of La Salette, Forget, 1922
St. Therese of the Child Jesus, Wakaw, 1925
St. Therese of the Child Jesus, Lisieux, 1930
Our Lady of the Holy Rosary, Reward, 1932
Calvary Shrine, Candiac, 1934
Our Lady of Sorrows, Ponteix, 1934
Our Lady of Sorrows, Blumenfeld, 1936
Our Lady of Lourdes, Rama, 1941
Our Lady of Lourdes, Kaposvar, 1942
Mary, Queen of All Hearts, Lestock, 1942
Immaculate Conception, Ile-à-la-Crosse, 1944
Our Lady of Lourdes, Lake Lenore, 1947
Our Lady of Lourdes, La Loche, 1954
Our Lady of Lourdes, Cochin, 1955
Our Lady of Lourdes, Battleford, 1957
Our Lady of Lourdes, Dillon, 1957
Our Lady of Lourdes, Yorkton, 1958
Our Lady of Good Counsel, Saskatoon, 1965
Our Lady of Lourdes, Wollaston Lake, 1981
Our Lady of Lourdes, St. Walburg, 1981
Mary, Mother of God, Cole Bay Mission, 1981
Our Lady of the Prairies, Saskatoon, 1982
Blessed KateriTekakwitha, File Hills, 1983
Margaret Sanche