Chaplaincy Students Walk in the Footsteps of the Canadian Martyrs

On Saturday, October 3, 2026, a large group of students from the Archdiocese’s university and college campus ministries travelled to the Martyrs’ Shrine for a walking pilgrimage. They were joined by students from the Catholic chaplaincies at Trent University and King’s College at Western. This inter-chaplaincy event has become an annual tradition, uniting students in prayer and fellowship at the beginning of each school year.

This year’s pilgrimage featured a visit to Ste. Marie Among the Hurons, where Fr. John O’Brien, SJ told the group about the lives of both the Jesuit missionaries and the Wendat people in the 17^th century. Students toured key sites at Ste. Marie  and prayed in St. Joseph’s Chapel at the gravesite of St. John de Brebeuf, before their pilgrimage walk to St. Ignace II, the site of the death of Sts. John de Brebeuf and Gabriel Lalemant. Retracing the footsteps of the Jesuits who went to St. Ignace and discovered the bodies of their martyred confrères, the group found this year’s walk especially meaningful. On arriving at St. Ignace, students listened to the martyrdom account of the two saints and spent time in prayer before the large wooden cross, reflecting on the deep love for God and for the Wendat people that led the martyrs to give their lives.

The group then went to the Martyrs’ Shrine where they had an opportunity to tour the site and receive the sacrament of Reconciliation before attending Mass in the Shrine Church. Homilist Fr. Edmund Lo, SJ, spoke about one of the Canadian martyrs, St. Noël Chabanel, whose life seemed marked by failure but was faithful to the end, giving an example for all to imitate.

The day ended with a pizza dinner, deep conversations and fellowship as students shared their pilgrimage experience with each other.