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 15th, 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 31st. 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.
