Basilica of Notre-Dame-du-Cap, Trois-Rivières, Quebec

Notre-Dame-du-Cap grew from a modest New France parish into one of North America's most important Marian shrines through three centuries of devotion, two reported miracles, and the institutional stewardship of the Missionary Oblates.

The story begins with a pig. In the mid-19th century, Father Luc Desilets found a pig chewing a rosary inside his parish church at Cap-de-la-Madeleine. The sight moved him to vow himself to the Blessed Virgin and revive the Marian devotion that Father Paul Vachon had planted in 1694. When his growing congregation needed a larger church, Desilets planned to use stones from across the St. Lawrence, but the river refused to freeze during the mild winter of 1878-1879. He vowed that if the stones could be transported, he would preserve the old chapel as a shrine to Mary. In March 1879, ice floes from upstream formed a solid bridge across the river. It held for exactly one week, from the Feast of St. Joseph to the Feast of the Annunciation. Parishioners hauled stones across on horse-drawn sleds. Desilets kept his promise. Nine years later, on the evening the chapel was formally dedicated as a Marian shrine, Desilets, Franciscan friar Frederic Janssoone, and Pierre Lacroix saw the statue of the Virgin open her eyes. The event lasted five to ten minutes. Bishop Cloutier of Trois-Rivieres later recognized its supernatural character. From that evening forward, Notre-Dame-du-Cap was a pilgrimage site.