By Rosalind Russell – It was a full house at the Anishinabe Spiritual Centre late last week for the Relics Tour that is making its way across Northern Ontario.
Bishop Thomas Dowd of the Diocese of Sault Ste. Marie officiated the Mass and Veneration of the Relics with Father John O’Brian and the Indigenous ceremonials were hosted by Wiikwemkoong Elder and Centre Board Chair, Rosella Kinoshameg.
It was an opportunity to view and share prayers with the relics of Canadian Martyrs, including the skull of St. Jean de Brébeuf and bones of St. Charles Garnier and St. Gabriel Lalemant, and the relic of St. Kateri Tekakwitha, the first indigenous North American saint, who was canonized in 2012.
Officials say the three Jesuit saints are among the eight French missionaries who first brought the Gospel to Canada, and were martyred during the Huron-Iroquois Wars of the early 1600s.
The purpose of the tour is to bring the relics to people who can’t easily get to visit the Martyrs’ Shrine and will be in Moosonee today.
The relics have resided principally at the National Shrine to the Canadian Martyrs in Midland, Ontario for the past hundred years.
The Mass and Veneration also included members of the St. Jude Parish choir in Espanola and St. Gabriel’s parish in Whitefish River First Nation.
It opened with the singing of the Huron Carol, which was written by St. Jean de Brébeuf and concluded with the Lily of the Mohawk in dedication to St. Kateri Tekawitha.
There was also a Smudge Ceremony and the Lighting of Candles.
Following the formal part off the evening, attendees also took in a light luncheon.
The tour continues.
Jan 19, 2026 Christ the King Cathedral – Moosonee, ON
Jan 21, 2026, Paroisse Jean-Baptiste – Longlac, ON
Jan 22, 2026, Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish – Aroland, ON
Jan 23, 2026, Paroisse Immaculée Conception – Kapuskasing, ON
Jan 24, 2026, Pro-Cathedral of the Assumption – North Bay, ON
Jan 25, 2026, St. Patrick’s Church – Sudbury, ON
Jan 26, 2026, Return to Martyrs’ Shrine – Midland, ON
Photos by Rosalind Russell
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