Once popular pilgrimage site brings comfort again during pandemic

As many as 2,500 pilgrims could once be seen flocking to the shrine of Our Lady of Consolation in Ladner, seeking comfort or offering thanks for answered prayers.

That was in the 1950s, and time and weather have done a lot to change the shrine’s popularity and appearance. But Catholics in South Delta still treasure the shrine and have taken up renovations that bring it new meaning.

“In our own time, during this COVID-19 pandemic, it is a reminder for us of God’s presence amidst our troubles and trials,” said pastor Father Francis Galvan, OSA, who blessed the restored shrine June 19.

After public Masses were suspended and churches were closed in an attempt to slow the spread of the novel virus, he noticed many people seeking solace at the local shrine of Our Lady of Consolation. Outdoor, spacious, and surrounded by large trees, the area became a refuge for many people looking for spiritual comfort outside church walls.

“The silence and prayerful environment do something for our souls, especially when we are troubled and we cannot share our internal troubles with anyone,” he said.

Renovations on the outdoor shrine began last fall but were stalled due to heavy rain. They had to be completed this spring – around the time the COVID-19 pandemic hit. Some call that coincidence; Father Galvan considers the timing a work of God.

So does artist Natalie Way, who refurbished the statue and the mural behind it.

“No matter what, if we have to close the church again, there is still a space” to come and pray, she said.

Restrictions on travel and gatherings have been loosening in B.C., but the COVID-19 virus is still around and some health authorities have warned a second wave of serious cases could hit this fall.

“We’re always looking for consolation, and at a time like this when a lot of people can’t be with their elderly family members, I really hope this give a place for people to come,” said Way.

When preparing to renovate the shrine, Way chose the colours and design carefully. Our Lady’s dress is red, a colour usually associated with action and survival, she said. Red also “lingers in your visual pattern the longest,” allowing the image to “last as long as possible” in one’s mind.

The outer robe and the backdrop are blue, a colour that symbolizes “peace, healing, and calm.”

At the bottom of the mural, below Our Lady’s feet, the blue colour is dark, reminiscent of the storms in our lives, but brightens up as it comes up around the statue. Mary holds the child Jesus in her arms. Above her, a banner with the inscription Behold Thy Mother encircles her.

It’s not clear exactly how old the estimated 1,000-pound concrete statue actually is.

The Augustinian Fathers arrived to serve the Catholic community in Ladner in 1943 at the invitation of Archbishop William Mark Duke. They moved into the old location of Seminary of Christ the King, which had been vacant in Ladner since 1939, to serve the needs of Sacred Heart Parish and to open a Marian shrine under the title Our Mother of Consolation.

They transformed part of the former seminary into a monastery, and another part into Our Lady of Consolation school. The school opened in 1944 and was staffed by the School Sisters of Notre Dame. (It was later renamed Sacred Heart School).

The Augustinians also opened a chapel in honour of Our Lady of Consolation, which may have been built as early as 1943 but was dedicated in 1946. An image published in the B.C. Catholic in 1948 shows a visually similar statue to the current one, though it is unclear if it is the same.

By the 1950s, the chapel, with its fine woodwork, was considered by some the “most artistic shrine chapel in Western Canada.”

According to archival records, the “shrine chapel” could seat as many as 125 visitors and could attract several hundred to a few thousand pilgrims each year. In 1953, an archdiocesan pilgrimage drew a record 2,500 pilgrims in one day for a procession, prayers, and the crowning of Our Lady.

Three years later, a new outdoor shrine was built and blessed. It was renovated in the 1970s and Father Galvan said since the latest renovation the statue has remained the same.

Way was honoured to work on the project. “It’s wonderful to be part of the spiritual history of the community,” she said.

“I know that I’m going to come into times of my life when I’m going to come here for times of consolation.”

Parishioner Celine Low, who organized a fundraiser to pay for the shrine renovation, said she felt called to promote devotion to Our Lady of Consolation after a powerful moment of prayer in the Ladner chapel that is named for her.

“She gives consolation to all those who come distressed and needing prayers.”

The Catholic community in Ladner traces its roots back to settler Laurent Guichon, a Catholic who would invite other farmers and fishers to his home when visiting priests would come to the area to celebrate Mass about once a month.

As the community grew, a need for a church was realized. The first Catholic church was built in the Port Guichon area in 1891. The Augustinians have been serving the parish since the 1940s, and still serve there today.

“The title of Our Lady of Consolation has been the principal devotion to Mary within the order of the Augustinians since at least the 17th century,” said Father Galvan, and its origins are traced back to St. Monica and St. Augustine.

According to tradition, he said, a sorrowful St. Monica, grieving the death of her husband and the actions of her wayward son, Augustine, received consolation through a vision of Mary and the Child Jesus.

“Our Lady of Consolation is Our Lady of the afflicted,” then and now, he said.