Canadian Canoe Pilgrimage 2017

The long awaited Canadian Canoe Pilgrimage 2017 was launched on July 21, 2017 from Martyrs' Shrine, Midland, Ontario. Fr Peter Bisson, SJ, the provincial of English Canada, presided over the commissioning Mass at the Shrine church. Deacon Roshan Kiro, SJ served as the deacon on the occasion. The canoeists followed the routes of the first Jesuit missionaries and other voyagers who travelled by canoes from Montreal, Quebec to Midland, Ontario. The Canoe Pilgrimage covered over 850 kms for 26 days until August 15^th, the feast day of the Assumption of Our Lady, to reach its destination at Kahnewake, Quebec. The thanksgiving mass was held at the church at Kahnawake where St Kateri Tekkakwitha’s tomb is laid.

The Canadian Canoe Pilgrimage is organized once in fifty years. It meant that the last Canoe Pilgrimage was organised in 1967. The Canadian Canoe Pilgrimage 2017 also marked the 150th birthday of Canada. About 30 young and old, men and women, Jesuits and non-Jesuits, indigenous and non-indigenous paddlers took part from beginning to the end. It comprised the core group of the paddlers. Many other interested paddlers joined and dropped on different stages on the way. The pilgrims were welcomed by hundreds of indigenous and non-indigenous peoples along the way. The paddlers enriched their companionship by sharing their joys and sorrows with one another. They also developed a new bond of love for one another as they prepared and shared food in turns. The act of sharing and caring for one another provided glimpses of reconciliation. The paddlers became aware how vulnerable they were before nature as they paddled through on the rough water of the Georgian Bay. They realized they needed to respect nature and follow the course of water when they were in water. ‘Water is powerful––if it can give life; it can take life as well,” warned Small Cook from Wikwemkong.

The Sisters of St Joseph’s at North Bay generously opened the doors of their Motherhouse for the pilgrims and welcomed them with the sound of music and celebration. The sisters and people from Nipissing First Nations organized a number of programs on the feast day of St Ignatius of Loyola on July 31^st. Fr Eric Oland, SJ, the provincial of French Canada, presided over the feast day mass, while Deacon Roshan Kiro, SJ served as the deacon on that auspicious day.

Some of the main purposes of the pilgrimage were: to bring different cultures together, to encourage the skills needed for dialogue and reconciliation, to build a new relationship, to increase awareness around Canada's Truth and Reconciliation Commission and its Calls-to-Action, to build on our rich and varied traditions, and to foster a deeper respect, immersion and connection with all of creation around us.