Hundreds pay visit to Beaver Lake

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For more than 50 years, the Sacred Heart Church on the Beaver Lake First Nation has been the site of a religious pilgrimage that draws people from near and far.

With Father Roy from Lac La Biche's St. Catherine's Catholic Church presiding over the gathering, more than 500 people were drawn to the activities, prayers and blessings held throughout the three-day celebration that got underway Aug. 25.

The popularity of the event has grown steadily over the years. For the Sunday morning service, the small church was no match for the crowds of people who attended.

"There was no way the church would have held them in here," said St. Catherine's parishoner and pilgrimage helper Celine Berlinguette. "We had to have the Mass outside."

Sunday afternoon saw almost 30 people take part in the annual sacrament of baptism.

The pilgrimage also marked the end of Fr. Roy's five-year stay in the Lac La Biche area.

After the morning mass he likened his time in the community to that of a Royal Canadian Mounted Police member. Like the police, he told the crowd, he serves five years in a community and then moves to another area.

He even joked that RCMP could stand for Roman Catholic Missionary Priest.

Father Roy will be heading to Cardston. His replacement will be Father Ryszard Hanaczewski.