June 30
Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours,
Montréal, Québec, Canada
In
1672, Marguerite Bourgeoys, missionary to Canada and founder of the Congrégation
de Notre-Dame, made a trip back to France, where her friend Baron de
Fouencamp gave her one of the statuettes carved from the sacred oak of
Montaigu in Belgium (November 2; for story see Notre-Dame
de Gray, a similar image). St. Marguerite brought the precious image back to
Montréal and placed it in a reliquary in the stone chapel of
Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours, Our Lady of Good Help, dedicated June 30, 1675 as a
pilgrimage sanctuary outside the original settlement. The statuette was
saved from the burning building in 1754 and placed on a side altar of the
present chapel erected in 1771. Known as the "Sailors' Church,"
its ceiling is hung with model ships given by mariners in thanks for Our
Lady's help. In 2005, the remains of Marguerite Bourgeoys were interred
below the statue. The chapel celebrates the feast of Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours
on August 15.
Information from the Chapel's site, www.marguerite-bourgeoys.com, and the picture source, "Troyes, Centre Culturel Marguerite Bourgeoys 1675," Diocèse de Troyes, catholique-troyes.cef.fr.
Also commemorated this date:
 | Mother of God, Brest, Belarus. Icon in Catholic Church of the Exaltation of the Cross crowned, 1996. Feast last Sunday in June. |
| Unserer Lieben Frau, Augsburg, Bavaria, Germany. Mary Chapel consecrated, 1722. |
| Mater Dolorosa, Stadtlauringen, Lower Franconia, Bavaria, Germany. Chapel dedicated, 1901, & rededicated, 2001. |
| Immacolata Concezione, Carmagnola, Torino, Piedmont, Italy. Vow during plague, 1630; vow renewed, 2000. Festa December 8. |