Chronological Events of
Our Lady of the Cape Shrine
1634 - September 8th, is the arrival of Father Jacques Buteux, Jesuit, at Trois-Rivières. He is considered the founder of Cap-de-la-Madeleine along with Jacques de La Ferté of France. Father Jacques Buteux was martyred on May 10th, 1652. He is not one of the canonized North American Martyrs, but three of them were in the area from 1625 to 1649, namely Fathers Jean de Brébeuf, Antoine Daniel and Gabriel Lalemant
1636 - On January 15th, land measuring approximately 50 X 100 km, (31 X 62 miles), is granted to Jacques de La Ferté, priest, abbot of Sainte-Marie-Madeleine de Châteaudun, France
1651 - March 20th, the parcel of land comprising of the Cape of Trois-Rivières was granted to the Jesuits by Jacques de la Ferté Abbot of Sainte-Madeleine. This is the founding of Cap-de-la-Madeleine, name taken from the Abbot of Sainte-Madeleine, Châteaudun, France
-The Jesuits established residence at Cap-de-la-Madeleine
1659 - The very first church: a small wooden structure 9 X 5 meters (30 X 16 ft.) is bought from Pierre Boucher, judge provost
1678 - October 30th Canonical erection of Sainte-Marie-Madeleine Parish by Monsignor de Laval (Now Blessed François de Laval)
1680 - Arrival of the Récollets Fathers to minister at Cap-de-la Madeleine but not residing there as Cap-de-la-Madeleine is a secondary mission
1684 - February 26th a modest home, 80 X 60 ft. is acquired as the first rectory
1685 - October 14th, arrival of Father Paul Vachon, diocesan priest; he was also ministering to many other parishes and missions at the same time
1692 - September 18th, Father Paul Vachon becomes the first resident Pastor of Sainte-Marie-Madeleine
1694 - May 11th Perpetual Permission for the Confraternity of the Rosary is granted by a patent document signed by Father Autonin Roche, Master General of the Dominican Order. Three years later, on October 14th, 1697, Monsignor Jean de St. Vallier, Bishop of Quebec, set his seal of coat of arms to the document that is kept at the Shrine of Our Lady of the Cape
1714 - Second church; inaugurated in 1720; this church made with fieldstones is now the Shrine of Our Lady of the Cape, Queen of the Most Holy Rosary
1729 - March 7th, Death of Father Paul Vachon leaving the parish without a resident pastor for 115 years during which time Mass is celebrated sporadically on an average of once every 4 to 6 weeks
1762 - Sacristy is added to the stone church of 1714
1842 - March 6th, the Holy See grants all indulgences and privileges to the Confraternity of the Rosary
1844 - Arrival of Father Tourigny, diocesan priest
1845 - July 5th Father Tourigny re-establishes the Confraternity of the Rosary; but the devotion is not long-lived. After the departure of Father Tourigny in 1949, four different priests assume the duties of the parish until the arrival of Father Luc Desilets
1854 - Mr. Zéphirin Dorval, a parishioner, donates a statue of Our Lady to the parish; this statue will eventually be the miraculous statue
1864 - Arrival of Father Luc Desilets who finds the parish in need of a spiritual renewal
1867 - On the eve of the feast of Ascension, Father Desilets finds a small pig chewing on a rosary in the church
- November 5th, Father Desilets consecrates himself to Our Lady of the Rosary and takes the solemn engagement to spread her devotion with all his might. The Brotherhood of the Rosary is again re-established
1879 - At the end of winter, in mid-March, the miraculous formation of the ice bridge on the Saint Lawrence River commonly referred to as the Rosary Bridge
1880 - October 3rd solemn blessing of the new church (Sainte-Marie-Madeleine), constructed with the stones carried over the Saint Lawrence River on the ice bridge
1883 - May 7th, first public pilgrimage registered in the Archives organized by Canon Sévérin Rheault of Trois-Rivières consisted of the Sisters of Providence, the orphans and others numbering approximately 150 persons. This pilgrimage was made on foot
1888 - Friday, June 22nd, the stone church of 1714 is dedicated as a shrine to Our Lady, Queen of the Most Holy Rosary
- Around 7:00 pm, June 22nd the opening of the eyes of the statue witnessed by Father Luc Desilets, Father Frederic Janssoone (now Blessed Father Frederic), and Mr. Pierre Lacroix
- August 30th, death of Father Luc Desilets at age 56
- Father Louis-Eugene Duguay becomes the new pastor
- Father Frederic Janssoone O.F.M., becomes the first pilgrimage director of the Shrine
1892 - Founding of the Annals by Father Frederic; testimonies of cures
1902 - Arrival of the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate
1904 - Construction of the Oblates’ residence
- On October 12th, Pope Pius X confers to the miraculous statue of Our Lady of the Cape, the signal favour of coronation. It was the first Crowning of the statue. In the presence of the Apostolate Delegate and a multitude of priests each bishop of Canada consecrates his province or territory to Our Lady of the Cape who now becomes the Queen of Canada. Our Lady of the Cape Shrine is now officially Canada’s National Shrine to Our Blessed Mother; this obtained the unanimous vote of the First Plenary Council of Canadian Bishops in 1909
- An annex (wooden structure) is added to the Old Shrine
- Arrival of ‘Les Petites Soeurs de la Sainte Famille’ (The Little Sisters of the Holy Family)
1906 - Installation of the monuments of the Rosary in the Gardens until 1910
1913 - Installation of the Stations of the Cross monuments in the Gardens from 1913 to 1916
1937 - Inauguration of the Retreat House; later became the Pilgrims’ House; now a resident for retired Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate
1938 - Excavation of St. Mary Lake
1942 - Annals in English until 1981
1947 - Procession of pilgrim statue of Our Lady of the Cape to Marian Congress in Ottawa
1949 - ‘Pilgrim Statue’ of Our Lady of the Cape leaves for a Canadian Tour that will last until to 1954 visiting the Canadian Provinces as far as the Great North, home of the Inuit
- Oblates’ residence is moved to its current site to make room for the new Basilica
1950 - Holy Year and Proclamation of the dogma of the Assumption of Mary by Pope Pius XII
- Rosary Crusade: daily recitation of the rosary in homes by thousands of families
1953 - Beginning of the ‘Perpetual Rosary’ in the Old Shrine, a ‘day-and-night-all-year-round’ devotion that lasted for 25 years
- The Retreat House becomes the Pilgrims’ House
- With the construction of a parish church off the shrine’s grounds, Our Lady of the Cape Shrine is no longer a parish.
- In May, Saint Marie-Madeleine church blessed in 1880 is now named Saint Madeleine Oratory
1954 - August 5th to 15th, Canada’s National Marian Congress held in Cap-de-la-Madeleine and Trois-Rivières
- Grand Arrival of Our Lady of the Cape pilgrim statue from Canadian Tour
- Golden Jubilee of first crowning of the miraculous statue
- August 15th miraculous statue is again ceremoniously crowned in Trois-Rivières by Cardinal Valerio Valeri, representative of Pope Pius XII
1955 - August 5th, ground-breaking ceremony for the construction of Our Lady of the Cape Basilica officiated by Mgr. Georges-Léon Pelletier, Bishop of Trois-Rivières
1957 - On March 25th, Pope Pius XII, in Rome, blessed the four small polished stones that have been inlaid, in the form of a cross, into the cornerstone of the Basilica. These stones blessed by Pope Pius XII are from those transported on the ice bridge in 1879 and used in the construction of Sainte-Madeleine church
- On August 15th, the blessing and laying of the cornerstone of the Basilica
1963 - Demolition of Saint-Madeleine Oratory that had been constructed with the stones carried over the Saint Lawrence River on the ice bridge in 1879
1964 - On August 14th, the new Basilica, raised to the rank of minor basilica by decree of Pope Paul VI, was consecrated by Monsignor Pelletier, Bishop of Trois-Rivières. Monsignor Pelletier also did the blessing and enthronement of Our Lady of the Cape’s statue in the Basilica
- August 15th, solemn inauguration of ‘La Basilique Notre-Dame-du-Cap’ (Our Lady of the Cape Basilica)
1973 - Construction of the present annex of the Old Shrine using stones from St.-Madeleine church, stones that had been transported over the Saint Lawrence River on the ice bridge in 1879
1979 - Hundredth Anniversary of the miraculous formation of the Ice Bridge
1984 - September 10th, Pope John Paul ll came to Our Lady of the Cape Shrine as a pilgrim and he celebrated the Eucharist in front of 75,000 pilgrims.
1987-88 - Marian Year
1988 - June 22nd, centennial of the Shrine (100th anniversary of the opening of the eyes of the miraculous statue)
- September 25th, beatification of Father Frederic Janssoone, O.F.M. (Nov. 19, 1838 – Aug. 5, 1916), by Pope John Paul II
1993 - Inauguration of the new Service Centre
1994 - Tri-centennial of the Confraternity of the Rosary
2000 - Jubilee Year: Our Lady of the Cape Shrine is connected with 14 other shrines throughout the world via television for the recitation of the Rosary with Pope John Paul II in Rome. Over 800,000 pilgrims visit the Shrine that year
2002 - Centennial of the arrival of the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate as guardians of the Shrine
- June 1st, Cap-de-la-Madeleine is amalgamated with the city of Trois-Rivières