St.Anthony’s Hermitage, Lac-Bouchette
100 years of bringing hope!
As is often the case with great achievements, St. Anthony’s Hermitage has humble origins. 100 years ago, in 1907, Abbé Elzéar Delamarre laid the foundations of the Hermitage in Lac-Bouchette. The story really began in 1906 when Abbé Delamarre, who was visiting his brother Charles in Lac-Bouchette, acquired a piece of land situated on the shores of nearby Lake Ouiatchouan.
The following year, in 1907, he had a house built there and with it, a small chapel dedicated to Saint Anthony of Padua. He was particularly devoted to this saint and gave his chapel the charming name of “San’Tonio hermitage”.
A few years later, in 1912, he discovered a cave on the site, which reminded him of the grotto at Lourdes. He immediately installed a statue of the Virgin so that she could bestow favours on those who prayed there.
For Abbé Delamarre, the hermitage was first a place for rest and prayer but it quickly became a sanctuary dedicated not only to Saint Anthony but also to Our Lady of Lourdes. Just as on the shores of Lake Tiber in Galilee where our church had its modest beginnings, so it was with St. Anthony’s Hermitage. On the shores of Lake Ouiatchouan, it has become, in its tranquil landscape, the perfect place for prayer, meditation and repose.
Thousands of pilgrims flock here today: they come to express their hopes and fears and those of their families, their children and the world. Here, they find comfort for the mind and body, peace, joy, a quiet moment far from the world and its distractions.
“We should give thanks for so many favours. Don’t you think so?
A warm welcom e to all!”
>Father Michel Gagné
Chairman of the centenary celebrations