THE FRANCISCAN SPIRIT:
ST. FRANCIS OF ASSISI SHRINE,
SKIFF LAKE, NEW BRUNSWICK, CANADA
Story and photography by Joanne Collicott McGuigan
The St. Francis of Assisi Shrine, often referred to as the Skiff Lake
Shrine or the Shrine, is opened once a year on the second Sunday in
August for what is locally known as Shrine Sunday.
The Shrine, surrounded by the lush green forests of rural New
Brunswick, is dedicated to Francis of Assisi, Patron Saint of Animals and
the Environment. Many bears, deer, raccoons, foxes, birds and other
wildlife make their home deep in the nearby stillness of the dense tree
covers. The missionaries and Indians, of years gone by, traveled on this
same gravel road leading past The Shrine to the pristine spring-fed waters
of Skiff Lake; to bath, canoe, fish and fetch drinking water. Although the
shores of Skiff Lake has become peppered with cottages, only a
sprinkling of houses, once full of laughing children, are scattered along
the dusty Upper Skiff Lake Road where The Shrine is located. The big
yellow school bus can still be seen stopping to pick up the few children
now living in this area and busing them to the Canterbury School. This
quaint untouched landscape, with wild flowers, grasses and herbs
growing on both sides of the rolling unpaved road, seems a fitting
location for a shrine dedicated to the Patron Saint of Animals and the
Environment. His message is as relevant today as it was in the thirteenth
century with the many unsettling disasters happening throughout the
present age; to name a few; pollution, hurricanes, melting ice caps and
the disappearing of natural habitants for the animals.
Francis was born in Assisi, Italy (1182-1226?). He died on Oct 3 at
the approximate age of 44. Although coming from a well-to-do family, as
a young man he took a vow of poverty. Francis was founder of the
Franciscan Order; sometimes called Friars Minor, a term which means
“lesser brothers.” Francis was canonized in 1228 by Pope Gregory IX.
October 4 is celebrated as his feast day. Many churches have a service,
for the blessing of animals, on the Sunday nearest his feast day.
This famous quote of St. Francis indicates his love for all creation,
“If you men who will exclude any of God’s creatures from the shelter of
compassion and pity, you will have men who deal likewise with their
fellow men.”
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Francis, around 1209, heard a sermon, Matthew 10:9, that changed his
life. The sermon is about Christ telling his followers that they should go
forth and proclaim that the Kingdom of Heaven was upon them, that
they should take no money with them, nor even a walking stick or shoes
for the road. After hearing this sermon, Francis was inspired to devote
himself wholly to a life of poverty. Clad in a rough garment, barefoot,
and, without staff or scrip, he began to preach repentance.
The St. Francis Shrine at Skiff Lake is situated on ground donated by
Irish immigrants, the Donovan and the McGillicuddy families. The actual
chapel was built on the parcel of land donated by Daniel McGillicuddy
who had emigrated from Ireland in the 1840’s. It is located outside the
village of Canterbury, York Co., New Brunswick, Canada, on what is
called the Upper Skiff Lake Road. A pilgrimage is held there every year
on the second Sunday of August. Most people arrive by car, but in the
spirit of the pilgrimages of old, there is a group who walk from McAdam
to The Shrine. This is a distance of about twenty miles. They start
walking the day before Shrine Sunday and usually spend the night
camped out to await the celebrations.
The parishioners of St. Thomas Catholic Church in Canterbury
maintain the church, grounds and statues of the Shrine. The pilgrimage
to the Shrine is attended not only by local residents but by people, of
every religion, from all over the region and the United States. Many
visitors bring their pets; it is not uncommon to see dogs on leases
walking with their masters around the grounds and at the service.
Besides the celebrating of the mass, there is a healing service and a
special devotion, in their native tongue, by the Indians from the Maliseet
nation. It is quite spectacular with their headdress and traditional attire.
In recent years a sweet grass ceremony has been added.
As a child growing up in this area, I always attended this annual
occasion with my parents and siblings. One memory is of the numerous
apple trees, still standing on the grounds as snarled and twisted guardians,
from an era when this land, allocated to The Shrine, was once a working
farm. As I grew older and left the area, I would always plan my holidays
to coincide with Shrine Sunday. For years I would join in with the
singing while my sister, Rose Collicott, played her guitar for the mass
held there. Rose had been choir director for the Canterbury Catholic
Church all through her high school and college years.
Over the years many wonderful people brought their musical
talents to Shrine Sunday. My first memories of music played at The
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Shrine included Cassie MacDonald* who played the organ while my
friends, Linda Keilty, Anne Murphy, Ruthie Denning and I, aside from
forever giggling, as young girls tend to do, tried to keep up with the rich
deep voice of Lewis Donovan who lead the choir. Over the years, some
of the other gifted people who played music at The Shrine were Vivian
Dionne* and Kathy Cox from Woodstock. Local resident Reginald
Keilty also sang and played guitar. Singing, listening to the music and just
being in the atmosphere of the St. Francis of Assisi Shrine would send
warm tingling across my back and up the spine.
Inside the small chapel I were always mystified at the sight of the
tiny crutches, left near the church alter, by a child who had been healed
on the spot; to say nothing of the wonderful warm vibrations that
seemed to permeate the area.
In recent years many brides have chosen the location of The Shrine to
have their wedding. In July and August, after the grounds have been
mowed and tidied up by the volunteers of the St. Thomas Catholic
Church, aside from the spiritual connotation, the beautiful, natural
landscape makes The Shrine an ideal setting for the ceremony and later
for the wedding pictures.
To me, Shrine Sunday was, and still is, a time of meeting and greeting
old friends, buying some religious medals, eating a picnic lunch and
receiving a blessing at the same time. Upon failing to bring my own
picnic basket, there was a hot dog stand set up where a hot dog and a
soft drink could be bought for a reasonable price. A lot of excitement for
a small village child!
The following hymn, Brother Sun, written by St. Francis, provides
some insight into the mystical soul of the man. It was most likely written
during the winter of 1224-5, while he was at the Church of San Damiano,
in Assisi, Italy and reveals his intimate understanding with the elements
of creation.
This Canticle of Brother Sun was the first work of literature in the Italian
language and first appeared in the historical record of a reference made
by B. Thomas in his Vita Prima, written in 1228.
Brother Sun
(The Praises of All Creatures)
Most high, all powerful, good Lord,
Thine be the praises, the glory, and the honour and every blessing.
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To Thee alone, Most High, do they belong
and no man is worthy to mention Thee.
May Thou be praised, my Lord, with all Thy creatures,
especially mister brother sun,
Of whom is the day, and Thou enlightens us through him.
And he is beautiful and radiant, with a great splendour
Of Thee, Most High, does he convey the meaning.
May Thou be praised, my Lord, for sister moon and the stars.
In heaven Thou has made them clear and precious and beautiful.
May Thou be praised, my Lord, for brother wind,
and for the air and the cloudy and the clear weather and every weather,
through which to all Thy creatures Thou gives sustenance.
May Thou be praised, my Lord, for sister water,
Who is very useful and humble and precious and chaste.
May Thou be praised, my Lord, for brother fire,
Through whom Thou illumines the night,
and he is handsome and jocund and robust and strong.
May Thou be praised, my Lord, for our sister, mother earth,
Who sustains us and governs,
and produces various fruits with colored flowers and green plants.
May Thou be praised, my Lord, for those who forgive for the sake of
Thy love and endure infirmity and tribulation.
Blessed those who endure them in peace
because by Thee, Most High, will they be crowned.
May Thou be praised, my Lord, for our sister, bodily death,
whom no man living can escape.
Woe to those who die in mortal sin.
Blessed those whom she will find in Thy most holy desires
because the second death will do them no evil.
Praise and bless my Lord
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And give Him thanks and serve Him with great humility.
Amen.
The next prayer symbolizes the universal spirit of St. Francis. It is by
an unknown writer; found written on a St. Francis of Assisi prayer card
around 1915. Sebastian Temple, a Secular Franciscan, composed a
popular version of the prayer sung as the hymn, Make Me a Channel of
Your Peace.
Peace Prayer of St. Francis:
Lord make me an instrument of your peace.
Where there is hatred,
Let me bring your love;
Where there is injury, your pardon;
Where there is error, truth;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
And where there is sadness, Joy.
O Master grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled
As to console;
To be understood, as to understand;
To be loved, as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive,
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
And it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
Amen.
The following photographs were taken August, 2007 at St. Francis of
Assisi Shrine.
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Footnotes:
* Cassie MacDonald - The stylish spinster Cassie, and her sister, Lizzie
MacDonald, with rouged cheeks and veiled hats, always sat stoically in
front of me at the weekly mass held at St. Thomas Catholic Church in
Canterbury. In the cooler weather they wore mink stoles with the heads
still attached. As a young child, I found it hard to concentrate on
anything but the faces of those tiny creatures as I knelt, fascinated,
staring eyeball to eyeball with the shiny lifeless eyes on those dead minks
slung around the perfumed necks of the MacDonald sisters. I wondered
if they came alive at night and played in the closet while the sisters were
asleep. Many things are possible in the wonderful imagination of a child!
* Vivian Dionne – Vivian, who I will always remember for her pleasant
manner and glorious snow white hair, was a resident of the town of
Woodstock, N.B. Vivian, like many of the Woodstock residents had a
cottage at Skiff Lake. Her organ music was in constant demand for
funeral, weddings and other church services.
* Joanne Collicott McGuigan currently resides in P.E.I. She wrote on the
Patron Saint of Animals, Francis of Assisi, for the enjoyment of her
Grade 8 catechism class at St. Paul’s church in Sturgeon, P.E.I.
Other books by the author
Child of Danaan
The Dream Mechanism
These books are available from www.amazon.com
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