by Lucie Roy
Thirty-degree temperatures did not stop a group of local pilgrims from walking from a church in Legal to St. Jean Baptiste.
“On Saturday a handful of us pilgrimages were on the road in the best at 30 degrees,” said organizer Pierre Rousseau, adding they left Legal at 8:15 and were welcomed along the way by Florence Quagebheur who offered the pilgrims a rest place and access to her house.
Rousseau said he and his family often walked a popular pilgrimage from Quebec City to Ste-Anne Basilica. “There is something very special about walking,” he said “It takes time and is an invitation to withdraw from the continuous distraction and solicitations of our daily lives.”
Rousseau also wants the pilgrimage to be linked to St. Jean Baptiste Day, a very popular French-Canadian Festival on June 24.
Rousseau and 14 pilgrimages did the first walk last year on 28 June and he hoped then this would be an annual event the first Saturday after Ste. Jean Baptiste Day.
The departure point could vary but the St.-Jean Baptiste Church would remain the final destination. Rousseau said the event is not a fundraiser, nor should it be as it is a personal journey. There is no cost to participate.
