For the first time in at least 140 years, the Shrine of Saint Anne du Bocage will not receive pilgrims in 2020 for the novena dedicated to Saint Anne, due, of course, to the pandemic. The novena will still take place, but virtually, from the parish church.

It was in order to appease the parishioners at the top of the parish for having lost the parish church, which was moved further down to the east, that the small chapel was built on the site around 1836.

According to tradition, it was dedicated to Saint Anne in 1858 after a sea storm claimed fifty-six lives in the Caraquet area on July 22 of that year. It is said that on July 26, the survivors went to thank Saint Anne for saving them, and since then, the chapel has been associated with Saint Anne.

According to some sources, the novena has been held at this site in its current form since 1880. Numerous accounts of healings have sustained belief over the years, and the site’s popularity has never waned. The Eudist Fathers are responsible for landscaping the hedgerows and constructing the spring. The Redemptorists and Capuchins each managed the site in turn, while today this task falls to a diocesan committee.

The site is always open to visitors. For cyclists, either of the two exits from the Sainte-Anne district will take you to the sky, or almost!

Bernard Thériault, historian