Saint-Sylvestre is a municipality in the Municipalité régionale de comté de Lotbinière in

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 thirtee ...

, Canada. It is part of the

Chaudière-Appalaches Chaudière-Appalaches () is an administrative region in Quebec, Canada. It comprises most of what is historically known as the "Beauce" (french: La Beauce; compare with the electoral district of Beauce). It is named for the Chaudière River and ...

region and the population is 989 as of 2009. It is named after

Pope Sylvester I Pope Sylvester I (also Silvester, 285 – 31 December 335) was the bishop of Rome from 31 January 314 until his death. He filled the see of Rome at an important era in the history of the Western Church, yet very little is known of him. The acco ...

The Saint-Sylvestre "Miracles"

In 1948-1949, the Bélanger family of Saint-Sylvestre found fame in performing "healing

miracle A miracle is an event that is inexplicable by natural or scientific lawsOne dictionary define"Miracle"as: "A surprising and welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is therefore considered to be the work of a divin ...

s." Visitors from Canada and the United States came to be cured by one of the four Bélanger children, aged 8 to 12. The children allegedly acquired healing powers after having seen their deceased sisters dressed like

angels In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God. Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles incl ...

and escorted by the

Holy Virgin Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother o ...

. Visitors would leave money to the children for their curing deeds, and they received the support of Reverend Emile Bourassa, from neighbouring

Saint-Patrice-de-Beaurivage Saint-Patrice-de-Beaurivage is a municipality in the Municipalité régionale de comté de Lotbinière in Quebec, Canada. It is part of the Chaudière-Appalaches region and the population is 1,054 as of 2009. It is named after Saint Patrick, as ...

. The priest of Saint-Sylvestre, Reverend Edmond Pelletier, preached against these "miracles" and in 1949, Archbishop

Maurice Roy Maurice Roy (January 25, 1905 – October 24, 1985) was a Canadian Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Quebec from 1947 to 1981, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1965. Early life Roy was born in Queb ...

, in the name of the

Archdiocese of Quebec The Archdiocese of Québec ( la, Archidiœcesis Quebecensis; french: Archidiocèse de Québec) is a Catholic archdiocese in Quebec, Canada. Being the first see in the New World north of Mexico, the Archdiocese of Québec is also the primatial s ...

, ruled the affair as a hoax. The Bélanger home was closed to visitors soon after.

Royal Canadian Air Force Station St. Sylvestre

From 1953 to 1964, Saint-Sylvestre hosted a

Pinetree Line The Pinetree Line was a series of radar stations located across the northern United States and southern Canada at about the 50th parallel north, along with a number of other stations located on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic and Pacific coasts. ...

Radar station Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance (''ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, wea ...

located on Mont Saint-Marguerite, just five miles southeast of the Village. Construction starting in 1952, the Station opened on 15 September 1953, as RCAF Station Ste-Marie, being renamed RCAF Station St. Sylvestre, in 1955. The Station closed in 1964.Marie-France St-Laurent, En passant par le rang Beaurivage: Saint-Sylvestre. See: http://www.sphslotbiniere.org/Municipalites/Documents/Article-Rassembleur-Saint-Sylvestre.pdf Accessed 21.04.2016

References

Commission de toponymie du QuébecMinistère des Affaires municipales, des Régions et de l'Occupation du territoire

{{authority control Municipalities in Quebec Incorporated places in Chaudière-Appalaches Designated places in Quebec Lotbinière Regional County Municipality