Santa Ana del Lago (Lac Ste. Anne)

Marian vocation of Lac Ste. Anne (Gunn), Alberta
Recognized by the Church

The shrine of Lac Ste. Anne (Lake of Santa Ana), near Gunn, in Alberta, is dedicated to St. Anne, the grandmother of Jesus. Es un National sanctuary and one of the largest indigenous Catholic pilgrimage centres in Canadaespecially for peoples crea and metis. The annual pilgrimage brings together thousands of people on the shores of the lake, whose waters are associated with prayer for health and healing.

Main data

Origin and history

The shrine of Lac Ste. Anne (Lake of Santa Ana), near Gunn, in Alberta, is dedicated to St. Anne, the grandmother of Jesus. Es un National sanctuary and one of the largest indigenous Catholic pilgrimage centres in Canadaespecially for peoples crea and metis. The annual pilgrimage brings together thousands of people on the shores of the lake, whose waters are associated with prayer for health and healing.

As in Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré, it is not a Marian advocation in the strict sense, but a cult of the mother of the Virgin; it is included here because of its close relationship with the figure of Mary in popular piety.

The image and the sanctuary

The sanctuary, by the lake, is place of national pilgrimage dedicated to Santa Ana. Although its headline is not the Virgin, the popular piety intensively integrates the figure of Mary, invoked with images adapted to the art and spirituality of the original peoples. The place is key to the mariology lived First Nations and Métis.

Sponsorship and coronation

El titular es Santa Ana, great patron of the indigenous pilgrimage of the western Canadian. No consta a Marian canonical coronation, for the sanctuary is not Marian in a strict sense; Mary's presence is indirect, through her mother.

Party and devotion

The great annual pilgrimage is celebrated around 26 July, party of Santa Ana and San Joaquín. For several days, thousands of pilgrims - largely indigenous - camp by the lake to participate in mass, processions and the blessing of the waters.

Link to the Rosary

In these pilgrimages, the Rosary He accompanies community prayer, often prayed in indigenous languages. To honor Santa Ana del Lago is to remember the chain of faith that, from Ana to Mary and Mary to Christ, the Rosary contemplates; and to join the uncultured Marian prayer of the peoples of Canada.