Basilica of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupre

One of the most famous Roman Catholic basilicas in Quebec is the Basilica of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupre.  It started as a simple shrine to Ste. Anne to provide a place of worship to the new settlers flooding the region.  During the construction, the first miracle of the church was performed.  One of the workers walked with crutches, but after placing 3 stones on the altar, he was able to walk freely again.  As news of this and other miracles spread, more and more pilgrims flowed into the region for healing.

The current basilica, after remodeling.

In 1876, the shrine was expanded to a full basilica to accomodate the mass amounts of worshippers.  This original basilica was burned down, but was compeletely rebuilt in 1926.  Ste.-Anne-de-Beaupre is still widely visited for miracles and healings and receives about half a million pilgrims each year, peaking around July 26th, the feast of St. Anne.  Pillars near the entrance of the church are covered in crutches, braces, canes, and other signs of disability that have been discarded after miracles.

Interior of the Basilica

Dog Sledding

I mentioned in my Quebec post that we’ll be going dog-sledding while we’re there.  We’ll each get a chance to drive the sled for a while, which I think will be incredibly exciting.  So here’s a bit on the history of dog sleds:

Dogs have been used for transport in arctic regions since the 10th century.  It’s believed that without such means, we never could have explored or inhabited such snowy climates.  They’ve been used to transport everything from people to mail and medicine, and other supplies.

The first recreational dog race was believed to have been held sometime in the mid-to-late 1800s.  In the 1920s, gold miners brought dog sledding back to New England, where it boomed with popularity.  By 1932, dog sledding was a demonstrational sport in the Winter Olympics of that year.  It was featured again in 1952 at the Oslo Olympics.

Since then, interest has seemingly waned, but every year, many dog sled races are held across the world.  The Iditarod, for example, is a grueling 1150 mile sled race across the wilderness of Alaska which draws worldwide attention.