A Pilgrimage for Central Canada to Kaposvar, Saskatchewan
Father Gerard Rusak

The Idea of a Pilgrimage

This summer saw in our Central Canadian Mass Centres spanning from Dryden, Ontario to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan the formation of two youth groups: The Altar Scouts for boys and the Girl Guides of Mary Immaculate for girls.  These Traditional Catholic organizations have for goal the spiritual good of our young people through wholesome and Catholic activities.  The Altar Scouts enjoyed and profited from a summer camp in Dryden, Ontario from July 15^th to July 20^th.  Nothing had yet been done for the girls, when the idea of a pilgrimage was brought forth during conversations with some of our families in Saskatchewan.  In fact, it is in the nature of the Catholic Girl Guide to make pilgrimages.  A pilgrimage fits in the spiritual goal a Guide ought to have as well as with her love of sacrifice.  What is more, Central Canada did not yet have an annual pilgrimage, while the faithful in Quebec, Southern Ontario, Alberta and B.C. all had theirs.

The Place

The next step was to find a place of pilgrimage.  The majority and the main organisers of our Girl Guides live in Saskatchewan and are members of our parish in Welwyn.  Therefore, it seemed logical to look for a place of pilgrimage in that area.  Among other names, the name of the shrine of Kaposvar came up.  It just so happened that this shrine was within three days walking distance, that is, about 70 kilometres from our chapel in Welwyn.

What is Kaposvar?  Kaposvar is an abandoned Hungarian village where there stands a beautiful stone church in honour of the Assumption of Our Lady as well as a grotto to Our Lady of Lourdes.  What better place could we find to set as a goal for our Girl Guides of Mary Immaculate?  In this venerable parish where Hungarian Catholics first settled in 1886, devotion to the Blessed Virgin was a heritage of their native land with its shrines and sanctuaries.  This devotion was preserved through the years and transmitted to the new Canadian generation of children of these pioneers. 

The old stone church was built in 1906-07 by the two Pirot brothers who were stone masons from Belgium.  The stones were hauled, with great sacrifice, by stoneboats.  These boats did not float on water, they were land boats.  Besides hauling stones from their surrounding farms, the Hungarian settlers all assisted in the construction of the church.  In 1942, a stone grotto honouring the Virgin Mary was constructed by the parish youth.  So spontaneous and universal was the response to the first public pilgrimage in 1954 that some 2,500 pilgrims attended.

In 1961 the parish amalgamated with Our Lady of Victories Roman Catholic Church as there were no longer enough farmers to maintain the upkeep of the church.  During this time Kaposvar was made a mission and used for weddings, anniversaries, or special request masses.  Presently, it is still used for such occasions.  It is now an historical site.  We asked the lay members of the association who take care of the church to use it for our Pilgrimage Mass and our request was accepted.

The Pilgrimage itself

The Pilgrimage was held on Labour Day weekend.  Our six Girl Guides were there in full force from as far as Dryden, Ontario, and Winnipeg, Manitoba, joining those from Yorkton and Rocanville, Saskatchewan.  The Altar Scouts were present also and even more numerous from the same cities.  Six came from Dryden, Ontario, eight hours away by car.  The Pilgrimage began with a Mass in Our Lady of Fatima Church at Welwyn.  After breakfast, Father blessed the pilgrims.  They began walking in two groups.  The first group consisted of the Girl Guides and women, the second of the Altar Scouts and men.  During the walk they sang or recited the prayers of the Rosary, and chanted other Catholic hymns.  Father heard confessions, directed one group and then the other and sometimes gave a talk or meditated a decade of the Rosary with them.

The first day was a 28 kilometre hike under sunny skies on flat and mostly paved roads.  The pilgrims passed before the great oil can of Rocanville.  They ate lunch at a place which resembled a Casino, but turned out to be part of the Rocanville museum.  The walkers arrived early at the Green Residence, transformed into a campground, where they were well received for the night.  We were especially thankful in this day’s hike as the other days to the Mr. and Mrs. Green and those other faithful who chose not to walk but to serve us through the meals, water, washroom facilities and other tasks.  They made their own pilgrimage and probably a more meritorious one.

The second day, Sunday, Mass was celebrated in a garage (prepared for the occasion by the Green’s and our sacristan).  The march continued about another 28 kilometres that day, but the terrain was much different.  Instead walking on paved road the pilgrims started walking through the fields.  They went around a slough while being fiercely attacked by mosquitoes, and then shortly they came to the breath-taking view of the Qu’appelle valley into which they were to descend.  Down in the valley, many pilgrims chose to remove their shoes to cross Scissors creek.  Then on gravel roads they followed the Scenic Qu’appelle valley route through the town of Tantallon all the way to our stopping point for that day.  It had been decided to return to the Green Residence for the night as this seemed to be more convenient.

After rain showers during the night, the third day, Monday, dawned with ghastly clouds on the horizon.  Nevertheless the pilgrims were more desirous than ever of making the final walk.  They got into the vehicles to return to the place they had left off the day before.  As they entered the Qu’appelle valley, they saw the clouds had been dispersed and the sky had taken on the colour of mantle of Our Lady.  Certainly she was smiling upon them.  Nonetheless, she didn’t want them to have it too easy.  As they got out of the vehicles they met with a stiff 50 – 100 kilometres wind against which they had to walk.  And walk they did, for another 15 kilometres, including a long seemingly never-ending hill.  Who said Saskatchewan was flat?! 

At last we all arrived at the church.  The custodians were waiting for us and very kindly received us.  All had been prepared for Mass by our sacristan except we realized that the Altar Missal had been forgotten!  Fortunately, we found in the old sacristy an Altar Missal for our use.  Therefore we were able to proceed with a beautiful sung Mass in honour of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.  Sixty-seven persons were in attendance including the two custodians.  One of these came in tears to Father at the end of Mass in the sacristy, thanking him for coming and celebrating this Latin Mass.  The other is said to have wept during the Mass.

After Mass, on the tranquil side of the church outside in the bright sunshine, our indefatigable cooks provided a copious dinner.  Some recreation was provided in which one of our vociferous Altar Scouts was soundly defeated in a foot-race by a respectable gentleman from Winnipeg.  At last, Father visited the church with the Girl Guides and Altar Scouts and gave a final blessing to all the faithful who had come.  All went home with joy in their hearts happy to have made this pilgrimage in honour of our Blessed Mother, a first for the Traditional faithful of Central Canada.