By Jon Perez, Catholic Saskatoon News
Hundreds of pilgrims gathered at the Shrine of Our Lady of Mount Carmel July 20, 2025, to celebrate the annual pilgrimage to the sacred site west of Humboldt.
Braving rainy weather, parishioners from throughout the area attended the Sunday morning Mass on the hill, celebrated by Saskatoon Bishop Mark Hagemoen, along with diocesan pastors serving in the area, and a number of Benedictine monks from St. Peter’s Abbey, which first established the pilgrimage more than a century ago.
Music ministry was again provided by the Mount Carmel choir, which includes past and present parishioners of St. Scholastica Parish in Burr and St. Augustine of Canterbury Parish in Humboldt.
The annual pilgrimage included opportunities for the Sacrament of Reconciliation, prayer devotions before and after Sunday morning Eucharist, and the traditional blessing of the fields with the Blessed Sacrament from the top of Mount Carmel hill, beneath the statue of Our Lady and the Child Jesus.
Despite the light drizzle, pilgrims still flocked to the annual Mount Carmel Pilgrimage July 20, 2025. (Photo by Jon Perez, Catholic Saskatoon News)
The Mount Carmel choir again provided music ministry for the annual pilgrimage. (Photo by Jon Perez, Catholic Saskatoon News)
Martha and Mary: Service and Contemplation
In his homily, Bishop Mark Hagemoen reflected on the Gospel from Luke 10:38-42, and Christ’s words to his beloved friends Martha and Mary, sisters of Lazarus.
The gospel describes how Martha welcomes Jesus into her home, relating how Mary “sat at the Lord’s feet and listened,” while Martha is busy serving.
Martha asks Jesus to tell Mary to help with the work, but he answers: “Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken from her.”
Noting that there are many reflections and commentaries about this gospel passage, Hagemoen said some maintain that Martha represents the active ministry in the world by those proclaiming Christ and God’s Kingdom to others, while Mary represents the contemplative aspect of prayer and faithfulness to our Lord in the world. However, the bishop stressed that in all vocations and walks in life, we are called to both the contemplative and the active in embracing and living the mission of Christ.
The bishop pointed to the Benedictine spirituality of the monks of St. Peter’s Abbey at Muenster, which combines both action and contemplation, work and prayer.
“It’s interesting: the Benedictines, they do all things. They have prayer, they have work, and of course, all of this is rooted in a rule which immerses itself in prayer and the Word of God,” said Hagemoen.
“They have an active ministry. Many of their priests built up this region at a time when it wasn’t the diocese of Saskatoon, but rather the Abbacy of Muenster,” said the bishop. “Now, we benefit from that faith and work of the Benedictine community to establish the faith that brings us to this day.”
Saskatoon Bishop Mark Hagemoen presided at Mass for the annual pilgrimage. (Photo by Jon Perez, Catholic Saskatoon News)
Seminarian reflection
Diocesan seminarian Huy Le, who is serving at St. Augustine Parish in Humboldt this summer, was instituted to the Order of Lector during the Eucharistic celebration at Mount Carmel.
Being instituted as a lector gives Le the ability to now officially read the Word of God and instruct people through catechism at the parish level.
After his summer of serving at St. Augustine Parish, Le will return to Christ the King Seminary in Mission, B.C., for his fourth year of theological studies, as he continues to study and discern his call to priesthood. The next step would be ordination to the transitional diaconate.
Diocesan seminarian Huy Le kneels with the Bible as Bishop Mark Hagemoen installs him to the Order of Lectors. (Photo by Jon Perez, Catholic Saskatoon News)
Reflecting on Bishop Hagemoen’s homily in an interview after Mass, Le agreed that Martha and Mary do not represent opposing paths. “What touched me was how the bishop emphasized that Martha and Mary are not opposites. It’s not like we’re called to be one or the other. We’re called to do both,” said Le.
Le stressed that the first and most important thing is to find Jesus in Holy Scripture, through moments of prayer, reflection, and to attend Mass to receive our Lord profoundly in the Eucharist.
“When you come to Mass, you’re spiritually replenished. Your soul is fed. From there, you’re sent — sent to work, to serve, to love. Active and contemplative. It’s not a matter of choosing between the two,” said Le.
“It’s about letting both flow from the love of Christ. It’s not like we’re called to be Catholic and we have to either be active or contemplative to pray or to do the work in the world. We’re called to do both. And how do we do both as Catholics depends on our vocations.”
He said that being replenished spiritually will help you in your vocation, whether in the priestly ministry, as a religious, a married lay person, or a single person in blessedness, whether as Martha, Mary, or both.
“As we continue to meditate on the Word of God, remember that it’s not a polar opposite, active and contemplative. It’s both. Both are rooted in the love of Christ, in the Word of God, the Scriptures, and the Eucharist,” said Le.
Bishop Mark Hagemoen with the family of diocesan seminarian Huy Le at the Shrine of Our Lady of Mount Carmel. (Photo by Jon Perez, Catholic Saskatoon News)
Jubilee Year pilgrimages
There is a particular focus on pilgrimages during the Jubilee Year, which has the theme “Pilgrims of Hope.”
The Mount Carmel pilgrimage site, located on a high point of land about 5.2 km north of Carmel, SK (west of Humboldt), is one of the Jubilee 2025 sacred sites identified by Bishop Mark Hagemoen where visitors who fulfill the conditions laid out in Catholic teaching can obtain a Jubilee Indulgence this year.
To mark the Jubilee Year, an additional event is planned on Sunday, Aug. 17, when pilgrims will be invited to undertake a walk to the Shrine of Our Lady of Mount Carmel.
Pilgrims will walk to the Mount Carmel shrine, leaving St. Augustine Church in Humboldt at 9 a.m. Aug. 17 (a 23-km walk), or from St. Bruno Parish at 11:30 a.m. (a 12-km walk) or from the Gaudet Farm at 3:30 p.m. (a 1-km walk; call 306-281-2013 for details).
The walks to the Mount Carmel shrine will include praying of the Rosary, praise and worship, and fellowship. Those unable to walk are invited to drive to the Mount Carmel shrine site to take part in events that include confessions at 4 p.m., with celebration of Mass at 5 p.m., followed by testimonials and more praise and worship. The Sacrament of the Sick will be celebrated immediately after Mass. (For more details, please contact St. Augustine of Canterbury Parish in Humboldt at 306-682-2106 or staugustine@sasktel.net. )
In the Roman Catholic Diocese of Saskatoon, other local pilgrimages have been held at sacred sites identified at Blumenfeld, Grosswerder, and Reward in the west, with other nearby celebrations also being held at sites in the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy and the dioceses of Prince Albert and Regina.
Pilgrimages during the Jubilee Year in and around the diocese – LINK
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.
Photos from the Mount Carmel pilgrimage:
A marker indicates the year the land for the Mount Carmel shrine site was donated to the Benedictine monks of St. Peter’s Abbey. (Photo by Jon Perez, Catholic Saskatoon News)
Fr. John Abban-Bonsu — pastor at Lake Lenore, Annaheim, and St. Gregor — reads the Sunday Gospel during the Eucharistic celebration during the Mount Carmel Pilgrimage July 20. (Photo by Jon Perez, Catholic Saskatoon News)
The statue of Our Lady of Mount Carmel stands at the top of the Mount Carmel hill. (Photo by Jon Perez, Catholic Saskatoon News)
Bishop Mark Hagemoen calls on Seminarian Huy Le to be installed to the Minor Order of Lector. (Photo by Jon Perez, Catholic Saskatoon News)
Pilgrims were ready for the weather with their raincoats and umbrellas. (Photo by Jon Perez, Catholic Saskatoon News)
Pilgrims listen to the homily by Bishop Mark Hagemoen. (Photo by Jon Perez, Catholic Saskatoon News
Pilgrims brave the Sunday rain to attend the annual Mount Carmel Pilgrimage. (Photo by Jon Perez, Catholic Saskatoon News)
The faithful line up to receive Holy Communion. (Photo by Jon Perez, Catholic Saskatoon News)
Bishop Mark Hagemoen holds up the Blessed Sacrament to bless the fields that surround Mount Carmel during the annual pilgrimage to the Shrine of Our Lady of Mount Carmel west of Humboldt, praying for a bountiful harvest. (Photo by Jon Perez, Catholic Saskatoon News)
Bishop Mark Hagemoen blesses the fields surrounding the Mount Carmel shrine. (Photo by Jon Perez, Catholic Saskatoon News)
Returning to the altar after blessing of the fields at the conclusion of Sunday Mass during the annual pilgrimage. (Photo by Jon Perez, Catholic Saskatoon News)
Pastors from throughout the area and priests from St. Peter’s Abbey concelebrated the pilgrimage Mass with Bishop Mark Hagemoen. (Photo by Jon Perez, Catholic Saskatoon News)
Diocesan seminarian Huy Le, who is serving at St. Augustine Parish in Humboldt this summer, follows Bishop Hagemoen at the annual Mount Carmel pilgrimage. (Photo by Jon Perez, Catholic Saskatoon News)
Bishop Mark Hagemoen greets a pilgrim and his child. (Photo by Jon Perez, Catholic Saskatoon News)
Priests bless pilgrims after the Mass. (Photo by Jon Perez, Catholic Saskatoon News)
Bishop Mark Hagemoen greets the family of diocesan seminarian Huy Le. (Photo by Jon Perez, Catholic Saskatoon News)
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Reporter Jon Perez is a parishioner at the Cathedral of the Holy Family, Saskatoon.
Communications and Catholic Saskatoon News is supported by gifts to the Bishop’s Annual Appeal: dscf.ca/baa