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For the last few years on the feast of the Canadian Martyrs, September 26th, the staff of St. Joseph’s House have been canoeing to Mass down the Madawaska River—a distance of about one mile.

Our parish church is called “Canadian Martyrs” and sits on the banks of a river that formed part of the water route on which these seventeenth century Jesuits traveled in order to evangelize the native people of Huronia near what is now Midland, Ontario.

This year Loretta Fritz got a bright idea: why not do a parish canoe and kayak pilgrimage down the river? She talked about this with Fr. John Lacey, our pastor, and he was very enthusiastic. He decided to move the feast from a weekday to the Sunday so that more of the parishioners could take part.

The pilgrimage started from Combermere Beach at 8 a.m., where two of our staff, Loretta Fritz and Beth Scott, joined several other parishioners. One of them, Rod Minns, led the group in prayer and did a reading by one of the martyrs, St. John de Brébeuf.

Then they launched their canoes and kayaks. It was quite a moving experience for the canoeists and kayakers, surrounded by mist and the sun shining through as they prayed to the saints who had paddled that way before them.

We, the rest of the parishioners, were all gathered at the dock in front of the church awaiting them. It was a beautiful and touching sight to see the canoes as they paddled up the river, a sight that brought tears to some eyes. As they approached, we cheered and clapped and some of us even waved white Kleenex.

After the welcoming and thanking of our pilgrims, the acolytes, the cross and candle bearers, and the bearer of the Gospel Book lined up. The pilgrims followed, and then the parishioners. As the bell tolled, we all processed back into the church and began Mass.

Fr. John’s homily spoke of the history of the parish and how the faith, generosity, and hard work of many people have gone into the making of what we enjoy today. That same generosity was demonstrated when two pilgrims had to leave mid-liturgy. They are volunteer firefighters who had received an emergency call.

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