The paddlers of Canadian Canoe Pilgrimage, traveling along the Ottawa River to the St. Lawrence River, near their final destination in Montreal, Quebec, Aug. 15. At the end of the pilgrimage is a stop at the Shrine of St. Kateri, Khanawake Mohawk Territory, a First Nations reserve on the south shore of the St. Lawrence River in Quebec.
This is one of the oldest images of St. Kateri Tekakwitha, painted by Jesuit Father Claude Chauchetière in 1696. (Thanks to Wikimedia Commons i for this public domain image.
The Canadian Canoe Pilgrimage was inspired by Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission with the hope of encouraging intercultural and inter-religious dialogue and learning. Participants, both Indigenous and non-Indigenous, were immersed in each other’s customs and traditions to foster deep respect, trust, dialogue and hopefully friendship, the building blocks for reconciliation and a path of healing.
