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ANGELS AND MINISTERS OF GRACE 255
St. Anne, the dearly-loved patron saint of their native province, at the spot where they should first come to land.
St. Anne was regarded in French Canada as the patroness of eeafarers
and hence a large number of those who frequented her shrine were
seafaring people. However, even more were attracted by the report of
the marvellous cures of all kinds of diseases which were said to have
taken place there. Pilgrimages to this shrine continue to be made at
the present time; indeed, the number of those who thus testify to their
belief in the power of the saint has increased rapidly during the past
thirty years. In 1880 the pilgrims numbered 36,000 ; in 1900 the record
showed 135,000, and in 1910 the number had increased to 188,266, a
proof that the devotees are more and more convinced that St. Anne's
relics are the sources of great healing virtue.
All
of the numerous relics of St. Anne exhibited in Canada and elsewhere
are said to have come originally from the town of Apt in France, where,
according to Catholic tradition, her body was found by the Emperor
Charlemagne in 792, and it is related that when the reliquary
covering the holy body was opened a fragrance as of balsam emanated
from the interior. How the body was transferred to Apt from its resting
place in Palestine is a mystery not solved even in tradition, although
some believe that it was brought thither by St. Auspicius, known as the
Apostle of Apt. The Basilica of Beaupré contains five of these precious
relics ; one of them was brought to Canada from the Cathedral of
Carcasonne, in France, about the year 1662, at the instance of
Monseigneur de Laval, first bishop of Quebec, and founder of Laval
University. This is the first joint of the middle finger of the saint.
The devotees at the shrine first saw this precious gift March 12, 1670;
it is adorned with two intersecting rows of pearls, forming a cross.
Another relic of peculiar importance is that given in 1892 by the
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