Sainte-Anne-de- Beaupre, << boh PRAY, >> is a Roman Catholic shrine in Montmorency County, Quebec. It is a place where many miracles are said to have been performed. Hundreds of thousands of ill and disabled men and women have made pilgrimages to the shrine. Hundreds have left their crutches in the church as tokens of their healing.
An old legend tells how the first chapel was built there during the early days of French settlement in Canada. A boatload of Breton sailors was being tossed about wildly by the waves on the St. Lawrence River. The sailors prayed to Saint Anne, the patron saint of sailors. They promised to build a chapel in her honor if they were saved. After the storm, they landed where the Ste.-Anne du Nord River joins the St. Lawrence near Quebec. There they built a chapel in 1658.
In 1661, a church was built on the site. In 1876, a new church was built nearby. It was later designated a basilica by the pope. A fire destroyed the structure in 1922. But a priest aided by parishioners saved the relic of Saint Anne and the statue of the saint. The basilica has since been rebuilt and is now the largest pilgrimage center in Canada.
