St. Anne’s of Penetanguishene

There never really has been a parish quite like St. Anne's in Penetanguishene, Ontario, Canada!

Inaugurated almost four hundred years ago with the bold of the North American Martyrs and giants in Canadian and ecclesiastical history, it was clear from the very beginning that her shores were special and sacred.

With the coming of white settlers and the transfer of a British Garrison, a second wave of missionaries arrived in 1825. St. Anne's was poised once again to be the centre of the Catholic faith in Huronia. She become that and more!

Her story is filled with famous names such as Etienne Brule, Samuel de Champlain, Peres Joseph LeCaron, Jean de Brebeuf, Antoine Daniel, and Athol Murray to name a few. But this is also the unforgettable story of her other priests and people whose home and parish became a sanctuary of hope, faith and love.

At the center of St. Anne's of Penetanguishene - Huronia's First Mission, David Dupuis chronicles the unbelievable odyssey of a parish constructing and finishing her “Canadian National Shrine”, begun in 1886 by Pere Theophile Francis Laboureau and competed in 1999 by Monsignor Leonard O'Malley, with some “anonymous” help of course! Also know as the “Jesuit Memorial Church”, “Cathedral of the North”, or simply “St. Anne's”, Pere Laboureau's dream and vision is now one of the most historic and beautiful churches in all of Canada.

This inspiring story is captured in words and beautiful, historic pictures of the first time. Enter, and feel the majesty, beauty and peace that is St. Anne's.