'Largest spiritual Indigenous gathering' to return during Pope's visit to Alberta
'Largest spiritual Indigenous gathering' to return during Pope's visit to Alberta
Rev. Garry LaBoucane remembers going to Wakamne -- or God's Lake -- during the Lac Ste. Anne pilgrimage as a boy.
"It was always a family tradition," the 74-year-old said in an interview from Vancouver, where he's a Metis priest at Sacred Heart Parish.
He remembers sleeping in a pup tent near the cemetery with his grandfather, attending Latin church services he didn't understand and meeting people from all walks of life.
"It was a social time, visiting with family," LaBoucane said before the Vatican announced a visit to the sacred lake west of Edmonton would be part of Pope Francis' planned trip to Canada next month.
"It's a pilgrimage, a time to pray, a time to be with other nations. It's the largest spiritual Indigenous gathering in North America."
The annual pilgrimage had grown to about 40,000 people in 2019 -- the year before it shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It's to resume in person this year from July 26 to 29.
The papal visit is set to start in Edmonton on July 24, move on to the Quebec City area on July 27 and end in Iqaluit on July 29. It is to include public and private events with an emphasis on Indigenous participation.
Before the Pope's plans were confirmed, Rev. Les Kwiatkowski said in an interview that there was a lot of talk about a potential visit from the pontiff.
"Many people are very excited, but also this could bring even more healing and more reconciliation," he said.
Lac Ste. Anne has been considered sacred for many generations and has become known as a place of healing.
The oral history from the Alexis Nakota Sioux Nation suggests a chief from the southeast followed his vision and led his people to the shores of the lake.
An annual pilgrimage was organized by a priest in 1889 and has continued annually during the week of July 26, which is the feast day of St. Anne, mother of the Virgin Mary. The grandmother figure is said to have strong importance within Indigenous culture.
The pontiff is to celebrate an open-air mass at Commonwealth Stadium, home to the Edmonton Elks football team, that day and travel to Lac Ste. Anne in the early evening.
Kwiatkowski, who has attended the pilgrimage every summer since 1990 when he moved from Poland, said he has heard from many people across Western Canada who are excited to come this year.
"People need that, there's no doubt," he said. "It's not only spiritual, it's also social.
"They come to worship, they come to pray, they come for healing. They also come to spend time together."
Half of those who attend, he said, come from isolated communities and that's the only time they get to see their friends and relatives.
"It's a beautiful spirit," said Kwiatkowski.
He has heard stories about family traditions and about miracles.
"Every day when doing the pilgrimage, someone will come to you and say, 'It helped me to forgive, it helped me to heal from the past, it helped me to understand things more,"' said Kwiatkowski.
"Healing is more than physical healing. It's the whole being. For people who come -- sometimes very far they have to travel to get here -- it's a special time of healing, of finding themselves."
LaBoucane said it's also known as a place of physical healing -- even featuring spots where people have left their crutches.
His parents had a similar experience when he was a child.
"I had eczema really, really bad," said LaBoucane, who hasn't had any problems since that visit.
Kwiatkowski agreed it's a special place, especially the lake's water.
"It has huge significance for Indigenous people," he said. "People take gallons of this water, they take it home. They use this water for many different reasons -- for strength and for healing.
"It has huge significance."
At a news conference Thursday alongside Edmonton's archbishop, LaBoucane said he welcomed news of the Pope's upcoming visit with great joy.
"People are looking forward to being with him, praying with him at Lac Ste. Anne."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 26, 2022, with files from Brittany Hobson
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Medical investigator rules Baldwin set shooting an accident
The fatal film-set shooting of a cinematographer by actor Alec Baldwin last year was an accident, according to a determination made by New Mexico's Office of the Medical Investigator following the completion of an autopsy and a review of law enforcement reports. The medical investigator's report was made public Monday by the Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office along with numerous reports from the FBI on the revolver and ammunition that were collected following the shooting.

Canadians favour metric system despite often using imperial measurements: poll
While many Canadians don’t support moving away from the metric system of measurement, many continue to use imperial measurements in their daily lives, according to a recent online poll.
'We've been abandoned': Man dies in B.C. town waiting for health care near ambulance station
For the second time in less than a month, a resident of Ashcroft, B.C., died while waiting for health care after having a heart attack mere metres from a local ambulance station.
Economists predict a 'mild recession,' but what would that look like in Canada?
With inflation on the rise and central banks poised to increase rates, CTVNews.ca speaks with experts on whether Canada will experience a recession, and if so, what it would look like.
Minister asks Canadians not to fake travel plans to skip passport application lines
Minister of Families, Children and Social Development of Canada Karina Gould is discouraging people from making fake travel plans just to skip the line of those waiting for passports.
'I have to fight for myself': Quadriplegic man says N.S. government told him to live in a hospital
A diving accident at 14-years-old left Brian Parker paralyzed from the chest down. Now at age 49, he's without the person who was caring for him full-time until just last week, after his 68-year-old mother was diagnosed with breast cancer.
Bryce Dallas Howard says she was paid less than Chris Pratt for 'Jurassic World' films
Actress Bryce Dallas Howard said she was paid 'so much less' than her co-star Chris Pratt for their work in the 'Jurassic World' films.
'This is our land': Wet'suwet'en hereditary chiefs, pipeline opponents rally in Vancouver
Opponents of the Coastal GasLink pipeline currently under construction in Northern B.C took to the streets of Vancouver Monday, briefly blocking north-bound traffic on the Cambie Street Bridge.
'Nightmare without end': Action needed to address rights abuses against Afghan women and girls, advocate says
The international community needs to step up to hold the Taliban accountable for human rights abuses in Afghanistan, a year after the militant Islamist group took control of the country and limited the rights of women and girls, according to Heather Barr, associate director of the Women's Rights Division of Human Rights Watch.