The Story Behind the Pilgrimage
Our Lady of Knock Shrine, depicting the visitation of the Virgin Mary, Saint Joseph, and Saint John the Evangelist, located within St. Malachy’s Church in Mayo, Québec. © CIMPN-RCPMI 2026.
The pilgrimage honours a miraculous event which took place in the village of Knock in County Mayo, Ireland, in 1879. Local villagers reported to have witnessed a holy apparition of the Virgin Mary, Saint Joseph, and Saint John the Evangelist, alongside a lamb and a cross. Despite residents of Knock leaving their homes to travel across the Atlantic to make new lives in Québec, the story persisted in the minds and hearts of these villagers, who settled in the Outaouais region and named their new settlement ‘Mayo’. After visiting the original shrine to the miracle in Ireland during the 1950s, Father Clement Braceland of Mayo, Québec endeavoured to build a new shrine, which was finally revealed in 1955.
In 1957, the first pilgrimage to the shrine was held, with the tradition holding strong into the twenty-first century. Parishioners enjoyed a special sermon delivered by Archbishop Paul-André Durocher and assisted by Father John Braganza of the parish of St. Malachy.
Rain of Shine, the Pilgrimage Continues
This year, despite the rainy weather, which mirrored the weather reported on the day of the miracle almost one-hundred-and-fifty years ago, parishioners managed to enjoy a picnic-style lunch in the church after the service. Committee organizers reported that they were already beginning to plan for next year’s event, as it would be the seventieth annual pilgrimage to Our Lady of Knock Shrine. Overall, the event was marked by a spirit of profound religious devotion and a dedication to the original settlers of Mayo, Québec, who had carried the stories of their community across the ocean and continued to value them, even in their new homelands.
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