The Basilica of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré (french: Basilique Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré) is a

basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica is a large public building with multiple functions, typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek East. The building gave its nam ...

set along the

Saint Lawrence River The St. Lawrence River (french: Fleuve Saint-Laurent, ) is a large river in the middle latitudes of North America. Its headwaters begin flowing from Lake Ontario in a (roughly) northeasterly direction, into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, connecting ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirte ...

, Canada, east of

Quebec City Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the metropolitan area had a population of 839,311. It is t ...

, and one of the eight national shrines of Canada. It has been credited by the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

with many miracles of curing the sick and disabled. It is an important

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

sanctuary A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred place, such as a shrine. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This secondary use can be categorized into human sanctuary, a sa ...

, which receives about a half-million

pilgrim A pilgrim (from the Latin ''peregrinus'') is a traveler (literally one who has come from afar) who is on a journey to a holy place. Typically, this is a physical journey (often on foot) to some place of special significance to the adherent of ...

s each year. Since 1933 they have included members of the Anna Fusco Pilgrimage from Connecticut, United States of America."Shrine trip a 75-year family affair"
''Catholic Transcript'' Online, 01 March 2010 The peak period of pilgrimage is around July 26, the feast of

Saint Anne According to Christian apocryphal and Islamic tradition, Saint Anne was the mother of Mary and the maternal grandmother of Jesus. Mary's mother is not named in the canonical gospels. In writing, Anne's name and that of her husband Joachim come o ...

, the

patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, or Eastern Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or perso ...

of sailors.

History

The basilica in

Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré is a town in La Côte-de-Beaupré Regional County Municipality, Quebec, Canada, along the Saint Lawrence River, north-east of Quebec City. The population was 2,803 according to the Canada 2006 Census. Major religiou ...

was initially a

shrine A shrine ( la, scrinium "case or chest for books or papers"; Old French: ''escrin'' "box or case") is a sacred or holy space dedicated to a specific deity, ancestor, hero, martyr, saint, daemon, or similar figure of respect, wherein they ...

to honour

. 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 Rheumatism or rheumatic disorders are conditions causing chronic, often intermittent pain affecting the joints or connective tissue. Rheumatism does not designate any specific disorder, but covers at least 200 different conditions, including ar ...

. 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

s came to the shrine hoping to receive a miracle while others, like

Anne of Austria Anne of Austria (french: Anne d'Autriche, italic=no, es, Ana María Mauricia, italic=no; 22 September 1601 – 20 January 1666) was an infanta of Spain who became Queen of France as the wife of King Louis XIII from their marriage in 1615 unt ...

, 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. Saint Anne de Beaupré Maçonnerie 002

This was destroyed in a fire on March 29, 1922. The present-day basilica was built in 1926 on the site of the prior church. Architects Maxime Roisin, Louis N. Audet and Joseph-Égilde-Césaire Daoust collaborated on the project from 1923 to 1931. After the end of the Great Depression, work on the interior resumed in 1937, and was finally completed in 1946. Pilgrims are attracted from across Canada and the United States. Miracles are still believed to occur at the basilica. Two pillars near the entrance are filled with racks of crutches, canes, braces, and other signs of disabilities. Each item has been left by a pilgrim who reports being healed at the basilica. Chapelle commémorative, Sainte-Anne, Québec

Chapelle commémorative, Sainte-Anne, Québec

The wooded hillside next to the basilica has a memorial

chapel A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common type ...

and a Way of the Cross, with life-sized

Stations of the Cross The Stations of the Cross or the Way of the Cross, also known as the Way of Sorrows or the Via Crucis, refers to a series of images depicting Jesus Christ on the day of Crucifixion of Jesus, his crucifixion and accompanying prayers. The station ...

. Higher up the hill the Convent of the Redemptoristines can be found. Built in 1906 and declared a historic site in 2001, it no longer operates as a convent and has essentially been abandoned in the early 21st century.

Architecture

The total length of the building is long, and wide; with a transept width of . The height of the building's steeple is .

Interior

Joseph-Émile Brunet Joseph-Émile Brunet (1893–1977) was a Canadian sculptor based in Quebec. His output includes more than 200 monuments in bronze. Many of his sculptures depict national figures and events in Canada. He was born in Huntingdon, Quebec in 1893. He ...

designed twenty-four capitals (1948) for the Basilica of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré, which depict 52 religious subjects reflecting the life of Jesus. He sculpted 14 "

" lining the walls of the cathedral, with stone statues of

and Saints at the entrance of the cathedral.

also created the fountain in front of the Basilica and the 7' 6"-high stone sculpture in niches that can be seen on entering the basilica, " Marie de L'Incarnation", "

Saint Joseph Joseph (; el, Ἰωσήφ, translit=Ioséph) was a 1st-century Jewish man of Nazareth who, according to the canonical Gospels, was married to Mary, the mother of Jesus, and was the legal father of Jesus. The Gospels also name some brothers ...

", "The Virgin with Jesus", "" François de Laval", and "St.

Joachim Joachim (; ''Yəhōyāqīm'', "he whom Yahweh has set up"; ; ) was, according to Christian tradition, the husband of Saint Anne and the father of Mary, the mother of Jesus. The story of Joachim and Anne first appears in the Biblical apocryph ...

", in addition to a bronze sculpture of

Kateri Tekakwitha Kateri Tekakwitha ( in Mohawk), given the name Tekakwitha, baptized as Catherine and informally known as Lily of the Mohawks (1656 – April 17, 1680), is a Catholic saint and virgin who was an Algonquin– Mohawk. Born in the Mohawk village ...

, 6' 4" high.http://www.lhaywardcollection.com/index_files/Page887.htm

Legend

St. Anne is believed, by the pious, to obtain miracles through her intercession. People from all around the world come to visit the basilica. Pillars in the front entrance are covered in crutches from people who are said by the parishioners to have been miraculously cured and saved.

References

External links

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Google 3D warehouse
{{DEFAULTSORT:Basilica Of Sainte-Anne-De-Beaupre

St. Anne According to Christian apocryphal and Islamic tradition, Saint Anne was the mother of Mary and the maternal grandmother of Jesus. Mary's mother is not named in the canonical gospels. In writing, Anne's name and that of her husband Joachim come o ...

Catholic pilgrimage sites Roman Catholic national shrines in Canada Buildings and structures in Capitale-Nationale Tourist attractions in Capitale-Nationale Heritage buildings of Quebec Romanesque Revival church buildings in Canada Saint Anne