Taken from the Booklet, Welcome to Notre Dame by Thomas F. Murphy Nihil Obstat and Imprimatur, 1963 The Start of the Shrine There came to the Cape at this time a man who was to leave his mark and influence on the whole place. This man was Father Frederic Jansoone de Ghyvelde, a Franciscan Friar, who was newly arrived from the Holy Land. This holy priest was very humble and his advice and help were greatly appreciated by Fathers Desilets and Duguay. The meeting between Father Desilets and Father Frederic was the meeting of two men whose lives and ministry were devoted to God and His Wonderful Mother. Father Frederic was a great preacher and people flocked to the church to hear his sermons and to see his obvious piety and devotion which was always evident. It would seem that again Our Lady had chosen another link in the chain of events that was leading to the fulfillment of Her wishes. Father Desilets and Father Duguay, though both were learned and pious men, were far from experienced in the handling of crowds and the organization of pilgrimages which now were growing larger every day. On the other hand, Father Frederic had great experience in this field and we may be sure that his advice on these matters was greatly appreciated by the two priests. We do not have any record of their conversations, but we can readily presume that Father Frederic and Father Desilets gave great consideration to the practical side of running a shrine, as well as the spiritual side. We can also presume that these two men discussed the spiritual matters very deeply as they both belonged to the same spiritual level. A Crypt for Father Frederic Father Frederic had a tremendous influence on the Cape. What is very interesting is the fact that he was such a saintly and holy man that his Cause for Canonization is now being considered in Rome. His body lies in a Crypt in Three Rivers and no visit to the Cape is complete without calling to see this Crypt and the Museum of Father Frederic. If he is raised to the Sainthood, and we sincerely hope that this is God's will, he will be the first canonized traveling salesman, because that was his career before he became a priest. He believed that a salesman must have faith in his product in order to sell and that is what Father Frederic had when he went from door to door bringing the love of God and His Mother to the people. He could sell because he believed. In 1883, the Bishop of Three Rivers gave his full encouragement to the Shrine and arranged that a pilgrimage should go to the Cape. These groups had been growing larger and larger each year and now these would be larger still since the Bishop had given his support. (Later, in 1892, an indulgence from Rome was granted by Pope Leo XIII.) It would seem that the time was now ripe for Father Desilets to have the day of dedication of the Shrine in fulfillment of his vow. Already the large groups coming to the Cape had signaled this but with the official encouragement being received he could no longer postpone the day. Also reports of cures and favours received were beginning to pour into the Shrine. Now all was ready and Father Desilets decided that the Shrine would be formally dedicated in June, 1888. The church of Saint Mary Magdalen had been finished and dedicated and now the old stone church had been scrubbed clean, repainted and repaired as needed. Father Desilets wanted to have just a formal ceremony with no outward show but, even so, the people from all round the district flocked there that morning. Now the small church was filled to overflowing, yet in this same church but twenty-one years previously, Father Desilets stood forlorn, alone, neglected and unwanted by these same parishioners. The wheel had turned full cycle and Our Lady had changed the lukewarm into ardent and fervent followers of Her Rosary. The Dedication June 22, 1888 Father Desilets sang the High Mass and Father Frederic preached the sermon. If Father Desilets was reticent and slow to move, Father Frederic was the opposite. Publicly, Father Frederic made a prophecy and a request. His prophecy is notable in its exactness and worthy of repeating in its entirety: "In years to come, this will be the Shrine of Mary; pilgrims will come from all the families of this parish, from all the parishes of this Diocese and from all the dioceses of Canada. Yes, this little house of God will be too small to contain the crowds that will come to invoke the power and the bounty of the sweet Virgin of the Most Holy Rosary". Above all, Father Desilets wanted some sign that he was following Our Lady's wishes in dedicating the church under the title of Our Lady of the Most Holy Rosary. Surely the crowds that now thronged the church was sign enough? Being so cautious by nature, Father Desilets sought further affirmation. As he preached, Father Frederic publicly asked Our Lady to give a sign that this was what She wanted, perhaps by curing some of the invalids who were present. But no cripple walked; no blind person was restored to sight. In fact, just nothing. A Sign From Our Lady The three priests spent the day among the people who had come for the ceremony. Towards evening, after the priests had eaten their dinner, a cripple came to the rectory and asked to be brought into the new Shrine of Our Lady. Father Desilets and Father Frederic brought the cripple, Pierre Lacroix, to the church and put him sitting on a chair in front of the High Altar and beneath the statue of Our Lady. The priests knelt at the Altar rails one on each side of Pierre, but not blocking his view. They all prayed silently for a while and THEN IT HAPPENED. The cripple looked up at the statue and then he saw that the eyes of the statue were opened in a lifelike manner and the colour of life was coursing over its face. Father Desilets and Father Frederic had seen the same thing happening and now Father Desilets could restrain himself no longer. He rose and went over to Father Frederic and said to him: "Do you see what I see, do you see it?" "Yes," said Father Frederic, "the statue has opened its eyes, hasn't it?" Pierre made known that he had seen the very same thing but the two priests were still not satisfied. They moved around before the Altar to make certain that they were not being subject to a hallucination and that they were not just imagining the whole thing. They went to various parts of the church, but the phenomenon was still obvious. No matter where they moved they could still see the Statue with the eyes open, looking lovingly, yet sternly but full of majesty, looking as it were, at the future years and the crowds who were to come in pilgrimage to this very spot and kneel and pray at the feet of this very statue. Here was the sign that the priests had looked for earlier in the day. Here it was when all was quiet and the crowds had gone home. How often it happens that there is no public miracle, no public demonstration. As had happened so often before, Our Lady had made Herself known to but just a few. At a large number of Her apparitions, the children were the only ones privileged to see Her and talk with Her. At others, it was to the saintly nun in the cloister or the ascetic priest with whom She conversed, but here at the Cape, She made exceptions that were remarkable. Firstly, there was no verbal message, no admonitions to prayer and penance. Next, She did not make a full appearance but used the inanimate statue to signify Her pleasure that this shrine had been dedicated to Her under the title of the Queen of the Most Holy Rosary. Then, there was a cripple present with the two priests; one of the priests was to die soon, the other was to work on for years giving glory to Our Lady; and the cripple, he must surely have been chosen to show that here to this spot would come those whose vocation is so dear to the heart of God and His Mother, the sick and the crippled and the handicapped. E-MAIL HOME---------------MARY'S INDEX www.catholictradition.org/Mary/ducap2-3.htm