This year marks the 75th anniversary of the 1947 Marian Congress, and Canada is celebrating in style.The Marian Devotional Movement (MDM) has organized a cross-country tour of three replica statues of Our Lady of the Cape.
Our Lady of the Cape
Our Lady of the Cape is a title given to the Blessed Mother in Cap-de-la-Madeleine, Quebec. Marian devotions in the region began as far back as the 17th century, but it was in the 19th century that the statue, which depicts Mary as she is said to have appeared to Catherine Laboure in 1830, came to Canada.
Since then several miracles have been attributed to Our Lady of the Cape. In 1879, a warm winter created obstacles in the construction of a new church in Cap-de-la-Madeleine. The congregation intended to use an ice bridge to carry stones across the river, but the water was too warm to freeze.
Praying for intercession from the Holy Mother, the congregation soon witnessed large chunks of ice floating downstream. The ice gathered in front of them and within a few days an ice bridge formed that was sturdy enough to safely transport the stones. The bridge became known as the Bridge of Roses and the occurrence, attributed to Marian intercession,was called the Miracle of the Ice Bridge.
Documentary
This miraculous event, along with an 1888 occurrence where two priests and a parishioner witnessed the Our Lady of the Cape statue open her eyes, are recounted in a new documentary Bridge of Roses: The Story of Our Lady of the Cape, which the MDM encourages all pilgrims of Our Lady of the Cape to view. The trailer is featured above.
In an interview with The Catholic Register, Kevin Dunn, the Catholic filmmaker responsible for the documentary, said:
“Praying the Rosary truly offers all of us a bridge to the Lord, who is calling us to step out in faith and work together to build bridges that will bring the Catholic faith back to Canada,” he said.
The tour
The Pilgrim Statue Tour of Our Lady of the Cape will spend several months traveling across Canada, concluding the Northern tour around Canada Day, July 1. The trip doesn’t end there, however, as it will dip across the border to tour several U.S. states. These include New York, New Jersey, Florida, Massachusetts, and Nevada. For a complete list of tour stops, click here.
The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops has already voiced its support for the tour. In a statement, the CCCB wrote:
“The Marian Devotional Movement is visiting various dioceses in Canada in 2022 as it spearheads pilgrim statue tours of Our Lady of the Cape to provide opportunities for Canadians to venerate Canada’s National Madonna, to promote consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary and to promote enrollment in the Confraternity of the Most Holy Rosary.”
Click here for more information on the Pilgrim Statue Tour of Our Lady of the Cape.
Click here to learn how to watch the documentaryBridge of Roses: The Story of Our Lady of the Cape
And today we celebrate...