Pilgrims gather at Holy Rosary Church and Shrine, Reward, SK, for pilgrimage in the Jubilee Year of Hope

By Kiply Lukan Yaworski, Catholic Saskatoon News

“Pilgrims of Hope” is the theme of the Jubilee 2025 year – and hope was the message that Bishop Mark Hagemoen brought to pilgrims who gathered July 13 at Our Lady of the Holy Rosary Shrine at Reward, SK.

“We need hope more than ever,” said Hagemoen in his homily during the outdoor pilgrimage Mass, noting the challenging times and situations of conflict, war, and division plaguing our world.

The hope of Christians — like the faith and hope of those who established the pilgrimage to the Holy Rosary Shrine 93 years ago — is grounded in the hope of Christ’s death and resurrection, stressed the bishop. “There is only hope because of the Lord’s Passion, the Way of the Cross, and the rising of Christ.”

A view of Holy Rosary church and the pilgrim tent for outdoor Mass from a statue of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary (right). (Photo by Kiply Lukan Yaworski, Catholic Saskatoon News)

The annual Reward Pilgrimage again included a procession of banners from parishes across the historic St. Joseph Colony in the western part of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Saskatoon (including those now closed). In addition to participants from throughout the district, in this Jubilee 2025 year, a bus was also organized to bring pilgrims from Saskatoon.

Parish representatives placed banners from many faith communities along the pilgrimage site as Mass started. (Photo by Kiply Lukan Yaworski, Catholic Saskatoon News)

Pilgrimage events began with children’s activities in the afternoon, followed by confessions and praying of the Rosary.

Once again the bells peeled from the steeple of the historic Holy Rosary Church, to mark the start of the pilgrimage Mass at 4 p.m. Children led the opening procession from the historic church building to the outdoor altar, scattering flowers along the way, with prayer stops at a statue of Our Lady and at the cemetery.

Children prepare to join the procession at the start of Mass at the annual Reward pilgrimage, carrying baskets of flower petals to spread along the way. (Photo by Kiply Lukan Yaworski, Catholic Saskatoon News)

Music ministry was provided by choir members from parishes throughout the area. (Photo by Kiply Lukan Yaworski, Catholic Saskatoon News)

Leading the Rosary during the annual pilgrimage to Our Lady of the Holy Rosary Shrine at Reward July 13, 2025. (Photo by Kiply Lukan Yaworski, Catholic Saskatoon News)

Celebration of Mass

Mass was celebrated by Bishop Hagemoen and pastors of parishes throughout the area: Fr. Matthew Ramsay (Unity, Tramping Lake); Fr. Rinesh Menambadath Chacko, VC (Wilkie, Handel, Leipzig), Fr. Edward Gibney (Biggar, Landis), and Fr. Santhosh Thekkekulam, VC (Macklin, Denzil, St. Dontus).

Hagemoen also introduced two diocesan seminarians who were serving at the altar during the Mass — Matthew Witzaney and John Paul Wasan.

Priests from throughout the area celebrated Mass with Bishop Mark Hagemoen at the 2025 Reward Pilgrimage. (Photo by Kiply Lukan Yaworski, Catholic Saskatoon News)

A Jubilee Year is a renewal of our baptism, the bishop noted in his homily. “We are called to put on Christ in a renewed way. We are called to ask ourselves: ‘Lord, how am I doing in my relationship with you? Do I know you? Do I know your heart? Do I spend time with you in relationship, so that when I am called to act – let alone when I am called to face the world of difficulty and even crisis – I have your hope and I know your hope?’”

Hagemoen reflected on three areas of challenge, where followers of Christ are invited to “a deepening of mind and heart.”

The first example he cited is when changing demographics and population lead to the closure of a parish, and people must wrestle with what that means for their faith. “In those circumstances, how are we called to not just continue to live our faith, but to live it even better?”

Secondly, he reflected on the 10th anniversary this month of the conclusion of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the beginning of the Calls to Action.

The TRC is “a profound commitment — not just of our country but of our Church — to the journey of truth and reconciliation with our Indigenous brothers and sisters,” he said. He described a recent gathering in Saskatoon of the national Our Lady of Guadalupe Circle of Catholic Indigenous and religious leaders, that coincided with the 10th anniversary. The list of tasks in the Calls to Action are “only the beginning of building right relationship with our brothers and sisters,” said the bishop.

Bishop Mark Hagemoen gives his homily at the 2025 Reward Pilgrimage. (Photo by Kiply Lukan Yaworski, Catholic Saskatoon News)

Finally, Hagemoen noted the message from Pope Leo XIV about the fifth annual celebration of the World Day of Grandparents and the Elderly to be held on July 27.

“I say to the elders here… can you look forward to your future, let alone your present, with great hope and great thanks for the life that God has given you? Though you don’t have the capacity you used to, you have a new capacity – and that’s the capacity to be an elder and to be able to hold, as we approach the sunset of life, a view and an attitude and a thankfulness that young people need to see.”

The bishop also called on those who are younger to value and honour the elderly. “We wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for the faith of those who have gone before us,” he noted. “They have paved a pathway of faith and life. For that they need to be honoured and continue to be sought out and also comforted, especially if they move through times when they are not feeling good about themselves because they don’t have the mobility or ability they once did.”

Noting that we are only at the halfway point of the Jubilee Year, the bishop concluded by saying there are many opportunities to continue to deepen “the eyes and ears of hope.”

“May God bless you in this year of hope, and may we continue to walk this journey of hope and of deepening faith together.”

Pilgrims from throughout the district and beyond came to Our Lady of the Holy Rosary Church and Shrine for the annual pilgrimage July 13. (Photo by Kiply Lukan Yaworski, Catholic Saskatoon News)

History of the Reward Pilgrimage

The Roman Catholic parish at Reward has its beginnings in the heart of Saint Joseph Colony, which was established by German-Russian settlers in 1905.

The Holy Rosary Church building was constructed on ten acres of donated land in 1918 for $12,000, replacing a smaller structure. The “church on the hill” is a designated historic site, and features 15 large paintings completed in 1928 by Count Berthold Von Imhoff, depicting the Mysteries of the Rosary.

In 1932 the annual pilgrimage in honour of the Blessed Virgin Mary was initiated for St. Joseph’s Colony, with the Holy Rosary Church at Reward chosen as the colony’s pilgrimage site because of its central location. A wooden outdoor grotto was built as the shrine in 1936, with the present shrine altar built in 1966.

Although the parish is now closed, volunteers continue to care for the building and pilgrimage site with the help of donations, and parishes throughout the colony continue to assist in holding the annual pilgrimage.

During the summer, weekend Mass will also be celebrated on every second Saturday, with upcoming celebrations on July 19, Aug. 2, Aug. 16, Aug. 30, and Sept. 13.

Parishes and missions of St. Joseph Colony (many of which are now closed) and the dates they were established include: St. Pascal, Leipzig (1905); St. Charles, Revenue (1905); Our Lady of Assumption, Kerrobert (1906); St. Henry, Salvador (1906); Assumption of the Blessed Virgin St. Mary, Handel (1906); St. Michael, Tramping Lake (1906); St. Anthony, Grosswerder (1907); St. James, Wilkie (1909); Sacred Heart, Denzil (1909); St. Joseph, Scott (1909); Our Lady of Holy Rosary, Reward (1910); St. Francis/Sacred Heart, Broadacres (1910); St. John Nepomecene, Salt Lake (1910); St. Mary, Macklin (1910); Holy Family, Ermine (1910); Our Lady of Fatima, Landis (1910); St. Peter, Cosine (1914); St. Donatus, Cactus Lake (1914); St. Peter, Unity (1914); Immaculate Conception, Major (1914); St. Eugene de Mazenod, Luseland (1915) and St. Elizabeth, Primate (1916).

Volunteers and donations

Before Mass, pilgrimage committee member Leanne Clarke described how fund-raising and ongoing volunteer efforts help to maintain the church building and shrine site.

“Thanks to everyone who helps to keep this place functioning in many different ways, because it takes many hearts and many hands,” she said.

Committee member Leanne Clarke offered acknowledgments and thanks to all who support the maintenance of the shrine site and the annual pilgrimage. (Photo by Kiply Lukan Yaworski, Catholic Saskatoon News)

Acknowledging the contributions of volunteers and shrine committee members, Clarke also thanked all those in attendance for journeying as “pilgrims of hope” and deepening their relationship with God and with others.

Donations to assist with the maintenance of the historic church and shrine site can be sent to: Holy Rosary Shrine, Box 1536, Unity, SK, SOK 4L0.

Mass was followed by a barbecue supper, fellowship, and a soccer game.

Volunteers at the supper barbecue that followed the pilgrimage Mass. (Photo by Kiply Lukan Yaworski, Catholic Saskatoon News)

Next pilgrimage opportunity in the diocese – Mount Carmel on July 20

The pilgrimage at Reward is one of several summer pilgrimages held throughout the province. In the Roman Catholic Diocese of Saskatoon, the next pilgrimage will be celebrated at the Shrine of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, west of Humboldt, on Sunday, July 20.

Bishop Mark Hagemoen will preside at Sunday Eucharist at 10:45 a.m. July 20 Mount Carmel with other events including Marian devotions and confession starting at 10 a.m., lunch (concession available) and Eucharistic Adoration, and then after lunch, Stations of the Cross and blessing with the Blessed Sacrament.

The Mount Carmel pilgrimage site is located on a high point of land about 5.2 km north of Carmel, SK (west of Humboldt).