Prayer site on the prairies

In the Lajord Municipality there is a shrine to the Blessed Virgin Mary based on a shrine in France. Shrines to the Virgin Mary aren’t unheard of in Saskatchewan, so what makes this one different? It’s located in a giant man-made grotto, the first in the archdiocese.

The Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes and grotto was built in 1917 by the residents of St. Peter’s Colony. The shrine and the grotto where it sits are part of a recognized Municipal Heritage Property that also includes St. Peter’s Church and falls under the Archdiocese of Regina. In Catholicism, an archdiocese is a geographical area where all the parishes are overseen by the same archbishop.

The entrance is marked by a large brick wall with a blue plaque on the front. The plaque displays an outline of St. Peter’s Church and claims the settlement, originally named Rastadt, was established in 1896 by German and Russian Catholic settlers.

St. Peter’s Church, built in 1903, sits at the end of the colony’s one main road. A stone archway to the right indicates in bold lettering that the shrine is down the hill. The site is bordered by stone markers, each displaying tiles carved with Catholic iconography. There are over a dozen rows of long white pews, more than enough to seat a few hundred people. The pews face an altar and the shrine: two statues that depict the Virgin Mary appearing to St. Bernadette.

The Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes at St. Peter’s Colony, North-East of the town of Kronau, Saskatchewan is also the site of a Catholic pilgrimage. The Archdiocese of Regina hold the annual pilgrimage on the second Sunday of August. The first pilgrimage took place in 1917. In 2021 there were over 300 pilgrims in attendance.

Our Lady of Lourdes refers to a specific apparition of the Virgin Mary. In 1858, the Virgin Mary allegedly appeared multiple times to a then 14-year-old Bernadette Soubirous by a grotto near Lourdes, France. In these apparitions, the Mary figure requested that a chapel be built by the grotto.

The Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes in Lourdes, France, contains a church as well as the grotto and shrine. The original site is the destination of roughly six million pilgrims each year.

The Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes at St. Peter’s Colony, North-East of the town of Kronau, Saskatchewan is also the site of a Catholic pilgrimage. The Archdiocese of Regina holds the annual pilgrimage on the second Sunday of August.The first pilgrimage took place in 1917. In 2021 there were over 300 pilgrims in attendance.

According to an email from Chair of the historical society in Kronau, Christina Herauf, the shrine attracts pilgrims of all ages, “from Regina, Balgonie, Vibank, Sedley” and the surrounding areas. For the pilgrimages that took place during COVID-19 “There were limits on the size of the crowd, masking, no anointing of the sick, [and] no supper after mass” said Herauf.

Stephanie Vukman, a vice-president of St. Peter’s Heritage Society, reflected on the 2021 pilgrimage in a piece she wrote for the St. Peter’s Heritage website.

“Archbishop Bolen spoke to us about Mary and how she can teach us to let God take leadership in our own lives… in assuming Mary into heaven He assured us that we will also make that journey” Vukman wrote.

Vukman had also written
on the 2020 pilgrimage for the Archdiocese of Regina website.

“We were forced to raise the unfortunate question of if we would have to cancel the Annual Pilgrimage for the first time in 102 years. Fr. Chinh Vu promptly assured us that if the provincial government would allow it, we would undoubtedly host the Pilgrimage following any necessary restrictions. He encouraged us with a gentle reminder that if even one pilgrim attends the mass that it will be worth it.”

One participant in the 2020 pilgrimage was a “93-year-old guest, who [had] attended each Annual Pilgrimage since 1927.”

Pilgrimage is an opportunity for Catholics to practice their faith and focus on their relationship with God. The Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes at St. Peter’s Colony is an accessible pilgrimage site for Saskatchewan locals who want a spiritual journey.

Herauf said participants of the Saskatchewan pilgrimage attend for “tradition, religion, [and] being [in] nature.”

On the hill to the left of the shrine there sits a large bell and the grave of Father Henri Metzger

Father Henri Metzger is buried on the property between the grotto and the church. His headstone reads “Here rests
in God, Rev. Rather Henri Metzger, First Priest Of The Parish Of Kronau”.

Metzger was an immigrant born in 1876 in Alsace, France who died in Kronau in 1949 after many years of serving the Church. He was an artist as well as a priest and was the one responsible for the construction of the Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes.

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