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

basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica (Greek Basiliké) was a large public building with multiple functions that was typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek Eas ...

set along the

Saint Lawrence River The St. Lawrence River (, ) is a large international river in the middle latitudes of North America connecting the Great Lakes to the North Atlantic Ocean. Its waters flow in a northeasterly direction from Lake Ontario to the Gulf of St. Lawrenc ...

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

, Canada, east of

Quebec City Quebec City is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Census Metropolitan Area (including surrounding communities) had a populati ...

, and one of the six 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 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

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 List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

sanctuary A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred space, sacred place, such as a shrine, protected by ecclesiastical immunity. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This seconda ...

, which receives about a half-million

pilgrim The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a heraldic star. Computer scientists and mathematicians often vocalize it as ...

s each year. Since 1933 they have included members of the Anna Fusco Pilgrimage from

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

."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 apocrypha, as well as Christianity, Christian and Islamic tradition, Saint Anne was the mother of Mary, mother of Jesus, Mary, the wife of Joachim and the maternal grandmother of Jesus. Mary's mother is not named in the Bible's Gosp ...

, the

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

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 religious ...

was initially a

shrine A shrine ( "case or chest for books or papers"; Old French: ''escrin'' "box or case") is a sacred space">-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ...: ''escri ...

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 a ...

. 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 (; ; born Ana María Mauricia; 22 September 1601 – 20 January 1666) was Queen of France from 1615 to 1643 by marriage to King Louis XIII. She was also Queen of Navarre until the kingdom's annexation into the French crown ...

, 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. 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 The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

, 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. The wooded hillside next to the basilica has a memorial

chapel A chapel (from , a diminutive of ''cappa'', meaning "little cape") is a Christianity, Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. First, smaller spaces inside a church that have their o ...

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 Via Dolorosa, Way of Sorrows or the , are a series of fourteen images depicting Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ on the day of Crucifixion of Jesus, his crucifixion and acc ...

. 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 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. Joseph-Émile Brunet 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, Saint " Marie de L'Incarnation", "

Saint Joseph According to the canonical Gospels, Joseph (; ) was a 1st-century Jewish man of Nazareth who was married to Mary, the mother of Jesus, and was the legal father of Jesus. Joseph is venerated as Saint Joseph in the Catholic Church, Eastern O ...

", "The Virgin with Jesus", Saint "

François de Laval Francis-Xavier de Montmorency-Laval, commonly referred to as François de Laval (; 30 April 1623 – 6 May 1708), was a French Catholic prelate who served as Apostolic Vicar of New France from 1658 to 1674 and as Bishop of Quebec from its creat ...

", and "St.

Joachim Joachim was, according to Sacred tradition, the husband of Saint Anne, the father of Mary, mother of Jesus, Mary (mother of Jesus), and the maternal grandfather of Jesus. The story of Joachim and Anne first appears in the Gospel of James, part of ...

", in addition to a bronze sculpture of Saint Kateri Tekakwitha, 6' 4" high. Joseph-Émile Brunet

References

External links

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Google 3D warehouse
{{DEFAULTSORT:Basilica Of Sainte-Anne-De-Beaupre 1946 establishments in Quebec Roman Catholic churches completed in 1946

St. Anne According to apocrypha, as well as Christian and Islamic tradition, Saint Anne was the mother of Mary, the wife of Joachim and the maternal grandmother of Jesus. Mary's mother is not named in the Bible's canonical gospels. In writing, Anne's na ...

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 Burned buildings and structures in Canada