Our Lady of Lourdes (Mission Grotto)

Marian Award of Mission (Fraser Valley) (British Columbia)
Recognized by the Church

La Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes Mission, in the Fraser Valley, is linked to the old St. Mary’s Mission, Catholic mission founded by the Oblates of Mary Immaculate in the 19th century for the indigenous peoples and settlers of the region. The grotto, inspired by that of Lourdes (France), rose on the hill near the mission as a place of Marian prayer and pilgrimage. The exact chronology of its construction (year, promoter, first processions) no consta with precision in accessible sources; it is usually located between the end of the 19th century and the first decades of the 20th century. There is no record of apparitions or revelations: this is a devotional imitation of Lourdes, typical of Oblate missions in Canada.

Main data

Origin and history

La Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes Mission, in the Fraser Valley, is linked to the old St. Mary’s Mission, Catholic mission founded by the Oblates of Mary Immaculate in the 19th century for the indigenous peoples and settlers of the region. The grotto, inspired by that of Lourdes (France), rose on the hill near the mission as a place of Marian prayer and pilgrimage. The exact chronology of its construction (year, promoter, first processions) no consta with precision in accessible sources; it is usually located between the end of the 19th century and the first decades of the 20th century. There is no record of apparitions or revelations: this is a devotional imitation of Lourdes, typical of Oblate missions in Canada.

The image and the sanctuary

Es una Marian grunt of outdoor pilgrimage, con imagen de la Virgen de Lourdes, figura como lugar de patrimonio local y de romerías anuales, documentada por la diócesis y por la municipalidad de Mission. El lugar está ligado a la memoria de los niños indígenas internados en la antigua St. Mary’s Residential School.

Sponsorship and coronation

It is invoked as Our Lady of Lourdes for the indigenous peoples and settlers of the Fraser Valley, and has become a devotional focus of reconciliation and memory. No consta canonical coronation, formal decree of patronage or recognition as national sanctuary.

Party and devotion

The feast of Our Lady of Lourdes is celebrated 11 Februarywith pilgrimage and Mass around that date; the exact calendar varies each year. In recent times, there has been the organization of vigililias and liturgy of forgiveness, with the presence of descendants of former students from the residential school and local indigenous communities. There is no officially investigated miracle.

Link to the Rosary

In devotional practice the Rosary is often prayed in the grotto, especially in May and October and at the feast of Lourdes; many pilgrimages include procession and prayer of the Rosary. Local tradition reminds people to go up to the grotto pray the rosary for family members and for the memory of the victims of residential schools. There is no formally erected Rosary fellowship.