Pilgrimage in Alberta – in honour of St. Joseph
Jean-Louis De Vriendt

On a lovely Sunday afternoon during one summer of the 1940’s, a little girl, Mary Bauman, happily strolled with her sister in a small wooded hillside of Alberta, not far from the Rocky Mountains. She was admiring the melodious singing of a little bird when suddenly she had an inspiration: she had the thought that one day, the land where she was standing would be a site of devotion to St. Joseph, and that a crowd of faithful coming from everywhere would fill this undergrowth, so tranquil now.

Sixty years later, Mary was no longer there to see the realisation of her inspiration, but an immense crowd of Catholics piously assisted at the High Mass sung in a beautiful oratory, hidden in the midst of this same beautiful woodland where Mary and her sister formerly strolled.

On the three days preceding the great feast of Pentecost of the year of grace 2002, there took place for the 3^rd consecutive year the annual pilgrimage in Alberta in honour of St. Joseph, from Rocky Mountain House to Sundre. During these three days of prayer and penance, Catholics faithful to Tradition renewed the pious act accomplished by the first Christians who, in a spirit of penance and of Faith, travelled on foot over the paths of Europe to arrive at Jerusalem, the holiest of places, where Our Lord Jesus Christ died for our sins and rose again; or at St. James of Compostella in Spain, or at Rome, centre and cradle of Christianity, etc... Here, in western Canada, where the Christian civilisation is much more recent, if it had ever existed, there was a need to create a similar place of devotion and of pilgrimage, and who would be better than Saint Joseph, Patron of Canada, to receive the humble homage of the faithful of western Canada? It was thus that a little wooded area near the bottom of the Rocky Mountains, a piece of land given to the Society by generous benefactors, saw the arrival one day of a group of men to clear the land and then of a group of builders, to see at last standing in the midst of the great fir trees a beautiful chapel of unfinished wood.

The idea began in 1999, when Father Belisle, at that time prior of the “parish” of Calgary, with the help of “The Saint Joseph League” which he had founded, decided to make a small oratory in honour of St. Joseph which could serve as an annual gathering place for families of Tradition scattered throughout Alberta. The spot which was chosen is near Sundre, a little village halfway between Calgary and Rocky Mountain House, the two principal centres of the Society in Alberta.

Volunteers cleared a piece of land and what resembled a pathway, and built a wooden niche to shelter the statue of St. Joseph. The first year, the Mass thus took place under a tent in the clearing, which was already called in a premonitory manner the Oratory of St. Joseph. The Mass in honour of St. Joseph was followed by a parish picnic and games.

The following year, Father Ockerse told himself that to have a true pilgrimage, one must use ones shoes a little! And why not walk the 96 kms separating Rocky Mountain House from Sundre? This, a dozen of courageous faithful undertook in the spring of the millenial year, guided by their valorous leader, Father Ockerse, who was not on his first pilgrimage! Three consecutive days, with 8 hours of walking per day, sleeping under the tent (for the men only) which they found covered with ice when they arose the next morning, which certainly doesn’t compare to the pilgrimage to Jerusalem of our ancestors, but isn’t a picnic either. Numerous faithful, because of their familial and professional obligations, not being free to participate all three days, joined the group in the middle of the walk, so that 45 pilgrims finished the march, and more than 180 faithful were present the next day for the high Mass and the parish picnic, which consisted of a pig cooked in a hole in the ground.

The following year, Father Ockerse, thinking that the Good Saint Joseph deserved more for a shelter than a tent and a few tree branches, organised the planning, the financing and the construction of a true oratory, on the same spot of the original clearing. The result, finished just in time for the 2001 pilgrimage is, one must say, magnificent: an impressive work in unfinished wood, open at one side, 30 feet high at the rooftop and which constitutes the choir sheltering the altar of the Holy Sacrifice, and of course the statue of St. Joseph, who alone knows the number of hours and the amount of sweat that it cost the faithful who built this oratory! In fact, the workers were still putting on the covering of the roof when the pilgrims were marching in the village of Sundre! Pilgrims who that year not only had to brave the fatigue of the walk, but also the caprices of the Albertan springtime: rain, snow, wind, cold, normal occurrences in this alpine climate.

This year, 2002, the pilgrimage took place from May 16^th to 19^th, and ended on the Sunday of Pentecost, with a solemn Mass in the oratory, which is now finished. Five priests, three brothers and a seminarian were present, among whom was Fr. Violette, the superior of the district of Canada, who gave us a beautiful sermon on the virtues of St. Joseph. The number of pilgrims who started the first day had risen to 22, the third day to 55, and 260 faithful were counted at the arrival, who assisted at the Mass and at the picnic. There were some faithful from British Colombia and even a family came from Post Falls, Idaho, to participate in the pilgrimage! Which proves that the pilgrimage is beginning to take on international proportions! This time the picnic consisted of a pig turned in a roaster which was specially fabricated for the occasion. Brother Guy from Quebec, Brother Marcel from Winona and several parishioners spent the entire night in cooking the animal, to be able to offer to the famished pilgrims of the meat of succulent pork.

This year the innovation in the games was a cage where one could imprison the victim of his choice, in return for a certain amount of money which went to replenish the accounts of the parish. The first victim was Fr. Angele, the new prior of Calgary, since there were not enough valid men to overpower Father Violette... Afterwards, the children disputed to be able to pass a little moment “in prison”, which found itself quickly filled up to capacity! Hopefully, this will not give them ideas for later on! Another very popular game was the tossing of a rolling pin for the men and women who were married. After this excellent meal and much enjoyment with the innocent amusements, the people began to gather their belongings and take the road to their homes, keeping in mind the next year’s rendez-vous for another pilgrimage in honour of Good Saint Joseph.