In 1658, a crippled workman named Louis Guimont was hired to help build a small chapel dedicated to St. Anne on the shores of the St. Lawrence River. After placing just three stones upon the foundation, Guimont found himself suddenly and completely healed of the rheumatism that had plagued him for years. Word of this miracle spread rapidly through New France, and within decades, Indigenous peoples were journeying from across the continent to venerate the saint they called Grandmother in the Faith.
The basilica that rose from that humble foundation is today one of the most visited pilgrimage sites in North America. Nearly half a million pilgrims make the journey each year. Two pillars near the entrance hold thousands of crutches, canes, and braces — votive testimonies left by those who report healings received through St. Anne's intercession, a practice stretching back to Guimont's three stones. The grandmother of Jesus has drawn the faithful to the rocky north shore of the St. Lawrence, known as the Côte-de-Beaupré, across successive centuries and across the full breadth of Christian life in Canada.
📜 History & Spiritual Significance
Devotion to St. Anne traveled to New France on Breton ships. In the provinces of Brittany and Normandy, Anne was venerated as the grandmother of the Lord long before Canada was colonized — she was the patroness of Breton sailors, who credited her with protection on the treacherous Atlantic passage. The fishermen and settlers who came ashore along the St. Lawrence in the early 17th century carried that devotion with them. On March 8, 1658, a settler named Etienne de Lessard donated a parcel of his land on the Côte-de-Beaupré so that a small chapel could be raised in her honor. The site was consecrated under the authority of Monseigneur François de Laval, the first Bishop of Quebec, who took a personal interest in the emerging shrine.
The healing of Louis Guimont during construction established the chapel's reputation immediately. Within a generation, pilgrims were arriving by canoe, on foot, and on snowshoe. By the early 18th century, Indigenous Christians from the interior were making annual journeys to venerate the Grandmother in the Faith, integrating her into existing traditions of seeking the holy through long travel across the land.
What followed was not a single shrine but a sequence of seven successive structures, each larger and more durable than the last, each marking a new chapter in the site's growth. The first wooden chapel of 1658 was replaced by a stone church built slightly farther from the river, away from the spring floods, around 1660–1662. That church was enlarged in 1676, then wholly rebuilt as pilgrim numbers exceeded its walls. A major stone church standing from the later 17th century was itself eventually succeeded by a grand wooden basilica in 1872, built to receive the enormous crowds drawn by the arrival of significant relics and the formal recognition of the shrine by Rome. Tragedy ended that era: on the night of March 29, 1922, fire consumed the wooden basilica entirely, leaving only the stone Memorial Chapel, which had been built in 1878 on the foundations of the old third church, and the Scala Santa on the hill behind.
Construction of the present basilica began almost immediately after the 1922 fire. The architects Maxime Roisin, a Parisian, and Louis-Napoléon Audet designed a monumental structure in the French Romanesque Revival style — a deliberate choice evoking both the medieval pilgrimage churches of France and the Breton heritage of the shrine's founding community. The twin spires rise 91 meters above the Avenue Royale. The interior fills with light through more than 240 stained glass windows crafted by French ateliers, while mosaics depicting the life of St. Anne line the upper nave. Cardinal Maurice Roy consecrated the completed basilica on July 4, 1976.
The relics at Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré are central to its identity as a pilgrimage destination. In 1670, Monseigneur de Laval obtained a relic — a bone fragment of St. Anne — from Carcassonne in France, first exposed for public veneration on March 12 of that year. This acquisition drew pilgrims who might otherwise never have journeyed to the remote St. Lawrence shore. In 1892, Pope Leo XIII donated a further relic from the Roman basilica of Sant'Anna: a fragment of the saint's forearm, known at the shrine as the Grande Relique. The arrival of this gift from Rome transformed the shrine's status. Leo XIII had already elevated the church to the rank of minor basilica in 1887; the donation of the relic confirmed Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré as a site of international Catholic significance rather than merely regional devotion.
A column inside the basilica, known informally as the Pillar of Crutches (Pilier des Béquilles), stands as the shrine's most visceral testimony. Hundreds of crutches, walking canes, prosthetics, and back braces have been left here by pilgrims over the decades — a material archive of votive gratitude. The shrine does not formally certify these as miracles, but preserves the objects as testimonies of faith, beginning with the tradition inaugurated by Louis Guimont's three stones in 1658.
Pope John Paul II visited Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré on September 10, 1984, during his first pastoral journey to Canada. He addressed a gathering that included delegations of Indigenous peoples, speaking of their place in the history of the Church in North America and their centuries-old relationship with this shrine. The visit drew international attention to a site that Canadians had long regarded as their own.
☩ Pilgrimage Sites in Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré
Basilique Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré
Basilique Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré
The present Romanesque Revival basilica, consecrated in 1976, is the sixth church to stand on this site and the largest. Its twin granite spires, each rising 91 meters above the Avenue Royale, are visible across the St. Lawrence on clear days. Inside, the nave stretches beneath barrel-vaulted ceilings lit by more than 240 stained glass windows produced by French ateliers in the 20th century. Mosaics along the upper walls depict scenes from the life of St. Anne, rendered in the warm ochres and gold of Byzantine workshop tradition. The Grande Relique — the forearm fragment donated by Pope Leo XIII in 1892 — is enshrined for veneration. At the Pillar of Crutches near the entrance, hundreds of walking aids, braces, and prosthetics hang from floor to ceiling, a tactile record of healing testimonies offered since the 17th century.
Scala Santa
Scala Santa
The first Scala Santa built in North America was completed in 1891 on the wooded hillside rising behind the basilica. Its 28 steps reproduce those in Rome which, by tradition, Christ ascended at the Praetorium of Pontius Pilate. Pilgrims ascend on their knees, pausing at each step in prayer. The structure also shelters a small chapel dedicated to the Blessed Sacrament, lit by candlelight even when the outer stairs are empty of pilgrims. The combination of penitential movement and the scent of pine from the surrounding Quebec forest gives the climb a quality unlike its Roman counterpart.
Chapelle Commémorative
Chapelle Commémorative
Built in 1878 on the stone foundations of the third church (itself dating to 1676), the Memorial Chapel is the oldest surviving structure on the shrine grounds. When the wooden basilica of 1872 burned on March 29, 1922, the chapel's stone walls and older steeple were untouched. The interior is spare: a low ceiling, unpainted stone, the smell of cold masonry and beeswax, a silence distinct from the basilica across the road. Pilgrims who seek a more contemplative atmosphere often find it here rather than in the grandeur of the main building.
Chemin de Croix
Chemin de Croix
Life-sized bronze statues mark the fourteen Stations of the Cross along a hillside path that ascends through birch and spruce behind the basilica. Cast in the 20th century, the figures are mounted on rough-hewn stone plinths that weather naturally into the Quebec landscape. The path rises steeply enough that the final stations offer a view across the basilica roof toward the St. Lawrence, gray and vast in all seasons. Pilgrims typically walk the route in silence, pausing at each station to read or pray.
Cyclorama de Jérusalem
Cyclorama de Jérusalem
Across the Avenue Royale from the basilica stands a circular building housing one of the largest panoramic paintings in the world. Completed in Munich in 1878 by a team of European painters and installed at Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré in 1895, the canvas depicts Jerusalem on the day of the Crucifixion. The painting measures 14 meters in height and 110 meters in circumference; visitors standing on the central platform are enclosed by the scene on every side, with sculpted figures and real sand in the foreground dissolving the boundary between painting and space. The Cyclorama operated as a devotional attraction for over a century and was a fixture of the pilgrimage experience at the shrine throughout the 20th century.
🕯️ Annual Feast Days & Celebrations
Novena to St. Anne — July 17–25
The nine days preceding the feast of St. Anne constitute the shrine's great annual gathering. Pilgrims arrive from across Quebec, the Maritime provinces, New England, and farther afield, swelling the population of the Côte-de-Beaupré for the better part of two weeks. Liturgies are celebrated in French and English throughout each day, and the Grande Relique is exposed for veneration across the full nine days. The novena tradition at Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré reaches back to the 17th century, making it one of the longest-running organized novenas in North America.
Feast of St. Anne — July 26
The feast day itself is the theological and devotional center of the shrine's year. Solemn liturgy, the blessing of the sick, and veneration of the relic mark a day that draws the largest single-day crowds in the shrine's calendar. The Italian-Canadian community of Quebec has maintained a tradition of processing to the shrine on this feast, arriving as a group from Notre-Dame-du-Cap in a pilgrimage that links two of Canada's most important Marian and apostolic shrines. The day closes with what the shrine calls a Celebration of Light, a torchlight gathering echoing the great evening processions at Lourdes and Fatima.
First Nations Pilgrimage — Late July
Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré has attracted Indigenous pilgrims since at least the early 18th century. The Huron-Wendat, Innu, Mi'kmaq, and Mohawk peoples — among others — identified St. Anne with their own traditions of reverence for grandmothers as bearers of spiritual wisdom and community memory. The annual late-July gathering of First Nations pilgrims at the shrine continues a tradition of several centuries, bringing Indigenous Catholics from across Quebec, Ontario, and the Maritime provinces to pray at the Grande Relique and celebrate Mass together. This pilgrimage was among the groups Pope John Paul II specifically addressed when he visited the shrine in September 1984.
Nativity of Mary — September 8
The feast of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary, daughter of St. Anne, draws its own pilgrim gathering in the calmer weeks following the July peak. The theological connection is immediate: without Anne, no Mary; without Mary, no Incarnation. The September feast at Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré invites reflection on the full lineage of grace — grandmother, mother, and Son — that the shrine embodies in its dedication and its relics.
🛏️ Where to Stay
Quality Suites - 3-star hotel on the shores of the St. Lawrence River, an 8-minute walk from the basilica. 47 air-conditioned rooms with kitchenettes, free WiFi, continental breakfast included. Website - Reserve this hotel
Auberge La Camarine - 3-star inn at the foot of Mont-Sainte-Anne, 3 km from the basilica. 31 rooms with garden or river views, shared kitchen, terrace. Popular with pilgrims and skiers alike. Website - Reserve this hotel
Motel Bellevue - Budget-friendly motel just 700 meters from the basilica. Clean, simple rooms ideal for pilgrims seeking affordable accommodation within walking distance of the shrine. Reserve this hotel
🚗 Getting There
Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupre lies 35 kilometers northeast of Quebec City along the scenic north shore of the St. Lawrence River on the historic Cote-de-Beaupre.
By Air: Quebec City Jean Lesage International Airport (YQB) is 45 km away, approximately 40 minutes by car or taxi. Montreal-Trudeau Airport (YUL) is 280 km away with connecting flights and ground transportation options.
By Bus: Intercar operates daily service from Quebec City's Gare du Palais station. The journey takes approximately 30 minutes.
By Car: From Quebec City, take Route 138 East (Avenue Royale) along the scenic riverside route, or Highway 440/40 East for a faster highway option. The drive takes about 30 minutes. Free parking available at the shrine.
By Train: VIA Rail connects Montreal to Quebec City (3.5 hours). From Quebec City's Gare du Palais, transfer to Intercar bus or taxi for the final 35 km to the shrine.
🔗 Useful Links
Sanctuaire Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupre - Official shrine website with Mass schedules, pilgrimage planning, and novena information.
Quebec City Tourism - Visitor information for the shrine and surrounding region.
Intercar Bus Service - Public transportation schedules from Quebec City to Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupre.
🧭 Nearby Pilgrimage Destinations
Notre-Dame-du-Cap (130 km) - Canada's National Shrine to the Blessed Virgin Mary at Trois-Rivieres, site of the Miracle of the Eyes in 1888. The annual walking pilgrimage connects these two great Quebec shrines.
Saint Joseph's Oratory (280 km) - The largest church in Canada, founded by St. Andre Bessette on Montreal's Mount Royal. Two million pilgrims annually climb its 283 steps to venerate the foster father of Jesus.
Quebec City (35 km) - The cradle of French civilization in North America, home to the Basilica-Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Quebec, the oldest parish church on the continent, and numerous historic churches and convents.
🪶 Closing Reflection
"You represent the first inhabitants of this immense region of North America. For centuries, you have marked it with your imprint, your traditions, your civilization."
— Pope John Paul II, Address at the Shrine of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré, September 10, 1984
