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Pope Francis concluded his second full day in Canada with a visit to Lac Ste. Anne, the site of one of Canada’s most famous Catholic pilgrimages and a place of spiritual significance for the nation’s indigenous people. The pope celebrated a Liturgy of the Word at the Shrine of Ste. Anne, with a crowd of mostly indigenous people in attendance, estimated at around 10,000. The large, shallow, and muddy lake — about an hour’s drive from Edmonton — has been revered as a place of spiritual significance, and of healing, for centuries. Known as Wakamne, “Lake of God,” by the Nakota Sioux and “Lake of the Spirit” by the Cree people, it received the name “Lac Ste. Anne” from Father Jean-Baptiste Thibault, the first priest to establish a permanent Catholic mission in Alberta, in 1842. Before the liturgy, making the Sign of the Cross towards the four cardinal points — according to indigenous custom — the pope blessed a bowl of the lake’s water, which was brought up to a small wooden structure, shaped like a teepee, overlooking the lake. The pope, after spending a moment in prayer sitting at the water's edge in his wheelchair, later sprinkled the crowds with the blessed water. Commenting on the lake’s reputation for its healing waters, the pope called on Christ’s healing power. Preaching at a Mass celebrated in Canada’s largest stadium earlier that day, Pope Francis reflected on the elderly, who he said should be honored, and who serve as an example to the Church on how to pass on faith in a loving way.
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/251882/pope-francis-preaches-before-50000-at-largest-stadium-in-canada
Six years after Father Jacques Hamel was murdered by knife-wielding terrorists while celebrating Mass at his parish church in northern France, locals gathered to commemorate his life and to pray. Three nuns and several parishioners were present when the attack took place. One elderly parishioner was severely hurt when the attackers tried to take him hostage. The two attackers, both 19 years old, were killed by police as they exited the church. Hamel’s death shocked France and much of the world. Pope Francis offered a Mass for the priest shortly after the attack, calling Hamel a martyr. The latest commemorations come months after a French court convicted four people for crimes relating to the attack. The Rouen archdiocese began a preliminary inquiry into Hamel’s sainthood cause in 2016 after Pope Francis waived the traditional five-year waiting period. Lebrun announced the formal opening of the priest’s cause on April 13, 2017. During the diocesan phase of the investigation, archivists transcribed 600 homilies preached by Hamel.
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/251883/six-years-after-grisly-murder-france-remembers-father-jacques-hamel
Today, the Church celebrates Saint Panteleon, the patron saint of bachelors and physicians. He was the physician for emperor Maximinianus. At one point in his life he had abandoned his faith, but he eventually returned to the Church, and gave his fortune to the poor, providing them medical treatment without charge. Some of his cures were accomplished by prayer. He was later tortured and martyred for his faith.
https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint/st-panteleon-548