Ste. Anne de Beaupré, Montmorency Falls, and CHYZ Radio, with reflections from Benji and Ethan
Today we visited two sites that were both large and impressive in different ways. First, we traveled to the Basilica of Sainte-Anne de Beaupré, the oldest Catholic pilgrimage site in North America. The site is visually striking and can be seen from far away (we saw it across the river from Ile d'Orléans yesterday). The church was originally built in the mid-17th century but was rebuilt in the 20th century after being destroyed by fire in 1922. About half a million pilgrims visit the site each year. On the way to the shrine we brushed up on some religious history, reviewing who Anne was (the maternal grandmother of Jesus) and her role in Catholicism. Considered the patron saint of unmarried women or childless couples, some believers pray to her in the hopes of finding love or becoming pregnant. Praying at the Sainte Anne de Beaupré shrine in particular is believed to have the potential for healing. Just inside the entrance to the basilica, we saw displays of canes, walkers, and other aids left behind by worshippers. By the end of our visit the church was beginning to fill up for mass - Saint Anne's holy day is tomorrow so the number of pilgrims and worshippers is higher this week.
On our way back to Université Laval (our home base) we stopped at Montmorency Falls, a famous landmark about 100 feet higher than Niagara Falls. We had time to get close enough to feel the mist from the falls, and some of us climbed a LOT of steps to the first observation tower.
Returning to campus, we paid a brief visit to the Université Laval radio station, CHYZ (listen live here). Two of our students are involved with WLMC at Landmark College, so they took a special interest in this visit, but we were all impressed with the technologically advanced broadcasting booth setup. The station's director gave us a tour and talked about how they run the station. We learned about the government requirements to play a certain percentage of Canadian artists, but that the community-oriented station also has plenty of English-language content, as well as a few Spanish-language shows and also indigenous music shows.
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Reflections from Benji
Today we went to Sainte Anne de Beaupré. I thought that it was amazing. It was easily the biggest church I have seen in my entire life. I took many pictures of all the statues and architecture that was right there. Even when I was basically done with the main floor, there was still more to explore. In addition, there was also a downstairs level. This level was easily just as impressive as the one above; it had very intricate architecture. Going to the church was an experience I will never forget.
We also went to the radio station on campus. They were very gracious to us. I also thought that their radio station was very impressive. It was more impressive than Landmark's radio station because had more resources to work with. Not only that, they just had more things to report on. For instance, they had a massive football stadium that Landmark College just does not have. This means that there are so many more things to report on that you can't as easily do at a smaller campus.
Both experiences were amazing in my opinion. I will say of the two I think the church will stick with me just because of how massive and larger than life it was. I still definitely liked having those two experiences, and I cannot wait for more experiences like that in the future (which I am sure that we will definitely have very very soon.) Here it comes!
Photos from Ethan
Catholic Church of Saint Anne Ceiling, showing Anne’s entire story:
Church altar with cross, statues and multicolored glass windows behind:
Basement chapel with statue of Anne herself:
Montmorency Falls and the surrounding landscape:
