By Kiply Lukan Yaworski, Catholic Saskatoon News

A memorable celebration of 100 years of pilgrimage on the sacred hill at Mount Carmel was interrupted by a thunderstorm Sunday, July 17, resuming after the rain stopped.

The morning began with hundreds filling the side of the hill under the statue of Our Lady of Mount Carmel to pray the Rosary, sing hymns and begin the celebration of Mass with Saskatoon Bishop Mark Hagemoen, Abbot Peter Novecosky, OSB, of St. Peter’s Abbey, and a number of priests from throughout the region.

As a prairie storm rolled in from the west bringing lightning, wind and a downpour of rain, a temporary “pause” of the celebration happened after the homily to permit the pilgrims gathered on the hill to find shelter. A somewhat reduced number resumed the celebration some 45 minutes later, concluding the Liturgy of the Eucharist once the storm had passed.

The Mount Carmel choir, led by the choir of St. Scholastica Parish, Burr, provided music ministry throughout the event – including during the wildest moments of the storm.

Before Mass began, local educator and author Norman Duerr of Humboldt presented a brief history of the Mount Carmel pilgrimage in St. Peter’s Colony.

“A special place and a special time – we are blessed to be here today,” Duerr said, welcoming pilgrims to the event. “One hundred years ago on Sept. 10, 1922, this Mount was dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary.”

“Today we pay tribute to the Benedictines who had the vision and the foresight to set aside this Mount as a place of pilgrimage and prayer to Our Lady of Mount Carmel,” Duerr said.

He urged those in attendance to appreciate the beauty, the view, and the sacredness of the site – a sacredness that extends back many generations. “The hill we stand upon today has been here for some 9,000 years,” born at the end of the last ice age, he noted. “Today, I think, it is also appropriate to recognize that this Mount was also a sacred site for the Indigenous People…. A place for them where heaven and earth could meet, and the human and the divine could symbolically touch hands.”

In his homily, Bishop Mark Hagemoen began by reflecting upon the Gospel account from Luke of Martha and Mary. “We have Martha, who is busy doing many good things that she knows and thinks that the Lord is calling her to….  yet in the midst of the way of Martha, we have the way of Mary,” he said, adding that the Mount Carmel pilgrimage is about “the way of Mary” — the way of Mary the sister of Martha as well as the way of the Blessed Virgin Mary — a way focused firmly on Jesus Christ.

“On this 100th anniversary it is good to pause on this mountaintop and think about what is truly important,” Hagemoen said, thanking the Benedictines and all those who have worked to create this place of pilgrimage. “We are sustained by what it means to truly be a people of the covenant, a people called to be the disciples of Jesus.”

The bishop noted that the 100th anniversary celebration comes at a “prophetic and providential time,” with Pope Francis about to arrive on this land on a penitential pilgrimage of reconciliation and healing. The issues that the Holy Father will address during his visit to Canada will be a message for the entire world, said Hagemoen, especially given the sinfulness and strife that have so often been part of the encounter of cultures and the meeting of Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples in every nation.

“This is a time when our religion and our spiritual life can be called into deeper and ongoing conversion,” Hagemoen said, describing how this involves moving away from pride and triumphalism “to a place where the faith is made fully manifest” in the humility of the cross. “So let us on this day be renewed in what it means to be on the place of the ultimate fruitfulness, the place of the cross.”

In his apology April 1 to the Indigenous delegation that travelled to Rome, Pope Francis spoke about the call to be in relationship, Hagemoen said. “He recognized the Indigenous history and culture that connects with respect for one another, respect for the Creator, respect for the land and all creation. All of this is given by God and we are in relationship… let us never forget that call to relationship and the call to honour the gift.”

Mass concluded with Bishop Hagemoen carrying the Blessed Sacrament to the top of the hill to bless the surrounding fields and countryside. After Mass, pilgrims came forward for special blessings, with those in attendance invited to spend time in adoration of the Blessed Sacrament as well as to pray the Stations of the Cross around the base of the hill.

History of the Mount Carmel site:

Sept. 10, 1922 – The pilgrimage site is dedicated with some 3,500 in attendance from throughout St. Peter’s Colony.

1928 – An Italian-made white carara marble 2.5-metre-high statue of Mary holding the child Jesus  was erected and blessed. The statue’s pedestal was struck by lightning in 1937 and 1950.

1938 – Stone mason and architect Antonion Molaro constructed the chapel from local stone.

1939 – Stations of the Cross, designed by Antonio Molaro, were canonically erected.

2019 – Lightning pole replaced and solar-powered light installed.

Photo gallery

Video of Mass

 

From the Archives:

A report about the first pilgrimage held on Mount Carmel in 1922

The following account of the first pilgrimage made at Mount Carmel on Sept. 10, 1922 appeared in the St. Peter’s Bote, a German language newspaper published by the monks of St. Peter’s Abbey in Muenster, and translated by the late Sr. Celine Graf, OSU, entitled “Mount Carmel now a holy hill.” Some 3500 attended that first pilgrimage in 1922, which featured a make-shift chapel.

“Last Sunday, Sept. 10 (1922), nearly all the priests of St. Peter’s Colony and thousands of people from all areas of the diocese took part in a most imposing celebration on Mount Carmel, the heart of St. Peter’s Colony.

The weather was favourable. The hill was blessed and dedicated to Mary, the Mother of God, under the title “Our Lady of Mount Carmel.” At the same time, Mary Queen of Heaven, was openly acknowledged by all present as patron and protectres of St. Peter’s Colony.

From now on, the Sunday after the feast of Our Lady of the Scapular, which the Church celebrates on July 16, a festive Mass will be celebrated annually on Mount Carmel to express publicly our appreciation and thanks to our dear Mother of God for her great intercession for us before the throne of God. Next year this feast will be held on July 22 (1923).

The day before (the first pilgrimage in 1922), the men and women of the Carmel parish prepared the Mount for this beautiful celebration. Under the leadership of their zealous pastor, Fr. Matthew Michel, they erected a temporary chapel and altar and decorated the hill with trees.

On Sunday morning in the various churches of the colony, an early Mass was celebrated to make it possible for people to attend the 11:00 am celebration of Mass on the hill. Thus, the good people came in throngs to show their love and attachment to our Mother of Mount Carmel and to receive from her hands blessings for themselves and their loved ones.

From all directions came hundreds of cars: from Muenster and St. Gregor, from Annaheim and Lake Lenore, from Dead Moose Lake and Pilger, from Fulda and Willmont, From Humboldt and parishes from the south, from Bruno and Dana, from Leofeld, Bremen, Cudworth, St. Benedict, and St. Leo. From everywhere they came, feeling themselves fortunate to be able to take part in this memorable celebration.

Already long before the opening of the festive celebration, the hill began filling with people who were enthralled at the view from the summit. Everyone wanted to spot their church, their elevator, or this or that village. At the foot of the hill, in all directions, were parked the cars and other means of transport. It was a glorious sight.

High Mass began at 11:00. Abbot Michael Ott was vested in his pontifical robes, as were all his assistant prelates….

The first action was to bless Mount Carmel. Through this blessing the hill was dedicated to the most Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God. Abbot Michael prayed in Latin as he walked around the hill, accompanied by all the priests, and sprinkled it with holy water.

The men’s choir of St. Peter’s Church, under the direction of Mr. Pitzel and Mr. Schaeffer of Humboldt, vigorously sang the Magnificat, Mary’s song of praise. This was followed by two Marian hymns in German.

After blessing the hill, Abbot Michael preached a festive sermon in which he reminded pilgrims of the significance of the feast and admonished them to remain firm in their love for the Mother of God, and to followe her example. Mary, among all the creatures who came from the hand of God, is the richest in love and a mighty helper in all our needs and petitions. Here on this hill, he said, we want to greet our Mother annually; we want to thank her for all the blessings she obtains for us, and we want to beg her for continued favours and help. That she will continue always to look graciously upon the people of St. Peter’s Colony, we now want to consecrate ourselves to our heavenly Queen forever and take her as our patron and protectress.

The abbot then knelt down with the whole assembly of about 3,500 people and prayed the blessing in German. This was followed by the litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary. After this, Abbot Michael gave a short talk in German to complement what he said previously in English.

At the end of Mass, the Annaheim choir accompanied by horns and drums, sang the Te Deum with great enthusiasm.”  – St. Peter’s Bote, Muenster, SK

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