We Journey Together

Sept. 1, 2024

Knights host a pilgrimage for Indigenous Catholics to Québec’s Shrine of St. Kateri Tekakwitha

By Cecilia Engbert

Sept. 1, 2024

Grand Chief Norman Sylliboy of the Mi'kmaq Nation, left, and former Supreme Warden Graydon Nicholas visit the National Shrine of St. Kateri Tekakwitha in the Kahnawake Mohawk Territory, Québec. — Grand Chief Norman Sylliboy of the Mi'kmaq Nation, left, and former Supreme Warden Graydon Nicholas visit the National Shrine of St. Kateri Tekakwitha in the Kahnawake Mohawk Territory, Québec, on June 29. (Photo by Paul Haring)

Nearly 100 Indigenous Catholics from eastern Canada visited the tomb of St. Kateri Tekakwitha in Kahnawake Mohawk Territory, near Montréal, June 29.

Members of the Eskasoni Mi'kmaq First Nation in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, and the Kingsclear and Maliseet Wolastoqey First Nations in New Brunswick participated in the pilgrimage, which was hosted by the Knights of Columbus. It took place the day before First Nations Sunday, a longstanding annual celebration that brings together thousands of First Nation Catholics to honor St. Anne, the mother of Mary and grandmother of Jesus, at the Basilica of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré in Québec.

Former Supreme Warden Graydon Nicholas and Supreme Director Daniel Duchesne helped organize the pilgrimage, extending an invitation to groups who were already traveling to the basilica, northeast of Québec City, to also journey southwest to Canada’s National Shrine of St. Kateri Tekakwitha. The shrine is built on the banks of the St. Lawrence River, in St. Francis Xavier Mission. St. Kateri, who was born in what is now Fonda, New York, moved to the mission in 1677 after converting to Christianity. She died there in 1680 at age 24 and was canonized in 2012.

The pilgrims prayed the Stations of the Cross in the Mi'kmaq language at the Basilica of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré before making the 314-kilometer (195-mile) bus ride to St. Kateri’s shrine. The Knights provided food for the pilgrims, who were able to tour the site, visit the museum and pray at St. Kateri’s tomb.

Madeline “Sugar” Poulette became emotional as she visited the tomb, reflecting sadly on the dual loss of Mi'kmaq culture and Christian faith in her community. She sees St. Kateri as the ideal intercessor for Indigenous Catholics and a model for how to cultivate both faith and cultural traditions.

First Nation Catholics pray the Stations of the Cross on the grounds of the Basilica of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré on June 29. — First Nation Catholics pray the Stations of the Cross in the Mi'kmaq language on the grounds of the Basilica of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré on June 29. (Photo by Paul Haring)

“She’s just part of us,” Poulette said. “I think about all of our children. We need somebody for them to look up to, for them to pray to, to have faith. I think with Tekakwitha, it’s a little closer, it’s easier to see how our Catholic faith and our tradition go together.”

Graydon Nicholas, a member of the Maliseet First Nation, hoped the pilgrimage would contribute to the reconciliation between Indigenous peoples and the Church that Pope Francis prayed for during his apostolic visit to Canada in 2022. Meeting with First Nation, Métis and Inuit groups, the pope apologized for the Church’s role in running residential schools for Indigenous children in Canada and the abuses suffered there. The government-sponsored school system separated children from their families and sought to expunge aspects of Indigenous culture, language and religion.

“A lot of the early evangelizers were oppressive to our people,” Nicholas said. “They didn’t welcome our culture. But now that is starting to change.”

Nicholas said the Knights of Columbus has been part of that reconciliation process, especially through the Order’s Native Solidarity Initiative, launched in 2019. In addition to providing support for the Pope Francis’ apostolic visit in 2022, the Supreme Council has encouraged local councils to become more engaged with Catholics living on reservations and tribal lands. At the 141st Supreme Convention last year, delegates approved a resolution recommitting to building relationships among Native American and First Nations communities through charitable and catechetical programs, as well as developing strategies of reconciliation that recognize the valuable history and culture of Indigenous peoples.

The day after the St. Kateri pilgrimage, more than 2,000 people, many dressed in the traditional regalia of their Indigenous community, filled the Basilica of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré for First Nations Sunday. Devotion to St. Anne has been an important part of the Catholic faith for the Indigenous people of Canada since the first missionaries arrived in the 17th century.

Procession during Mass on First Nations Sunday at the Basilica of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré in Québec on June 30. — Tim Nicholas, front left, financial secretary of St. Anne’s Council 8405 in Victoria, New Brunswick, walks in procession during Mass on First Nations Sunday at the Basilica of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré in Québec on June 30. (Photo by Paul Haring)

“In our culture, the matriarch had a lot of power over our people; they had a lot of say. So grandmothers have great significance for our society,” explained Tim Nicholas from Tobique First Nation. Financial secretary of St. Anne’s Council 8405 in Victoria, New Brunswick, he has been making the pilgrimage to the basilica for years. “I carry the statue of St. Anne year after year in the processions, because St. Anne carries me all through the year, and this is my one chance to help carry her.”

Graydon Nicholas and Supreme Director Daniel Duchesne, a past state deputy of Québec with Indigenous ancestry, participated in the procession alongside representatives of several First Nations.

Duchesne said he was honored to assist in organizing the pilgrimage to the Shrine of St. Kateri Tekakwitha and to take part in the celebration at St. Anne’s the next day.

“I feel very proud to participate in an event like this, since it gives us a great chance to see that we are not alone, that for the First Nations, the Catholic faith has long been part of their journey,” Duchesne said.

The First Nations pilgrims had a similarly meaningful experience, thankful for the opportunity to visit St. Kateri’s shrine.

“The response was overwhelming,” Nicholas said. “They were very grateful that the Knights covered the cost of the meals, and upon their return they shared with other people what a wonderful and spiritual journey it was.”

*****

CECILIA ENGBERT is a content producer for the Knights of Columbus Communications Department.

Students and staff members of Holy Innocents School stand before custom-printed fencing screens donated by Msgr. John Cawley
Council 3629 in Lakewood, Calif., in 2022. The screens provide much-needed privacy to the playground of the school, which is
located in a busy urban neighborhood in Long Beach.

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