Basilica of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré

The Basilica of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré (Basilique Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré) is a basilica set along the Saint Lawrence River in Quebec, Canada, 30 kilometres (19 mi) east of Quebec City, and one of the six national shrines of Canada. It has been credited by the Catholic Church with many miracles of curing the sick and disabled. It is an important Catholic sanctuary, which receives about a half-million pilgrims each year. Since 1933 they have included members of the Anna Fusco Pilgrimage from Connecticut. The peak period of pilgrimage is around July 26, the feast of Saint Anne, the patron saint of sailors.

The basilica in Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré was initially a shrine to honour Saint Anne. On March 8, 1658, settler Étienne de Lessard donated two frontal acres from the west end of his property to the Catholic Church, so that a chapel could be built. This chapel eventually became the site of the modern-day basilica. The chapel was built to provide a place of worship for the new settlers in the area and to house a miraculous statue of St. Anne. The first reported miracle at the site happened during the shrine's construction. A man named Louis Guimont was hired to help build the shrine even though he suffered from rheumatism. After placing three stones upon the shrine's foundation, Guimont was cured of all his ailments. This was followed by other testimonies of healed people, and the shrine soon grew in popularity. Many pilgrims came to the shrine hoping to receive a miracle while others, like Anne of Austria, wife of Louis XIII and Queen of France, supported the shrine from a distance. Because of the popularity of the shrine, the building was enlarged several times to accommodate all the pilgrims. In the late nineteenth century, a basilica was constructed around the shrine. In 1876, the first basilica opened for worship.

Church data from Wikidata (CC0). Summary from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).