The Shrine of the Canadian Martyrs Celebrates it's 100th Anniversary

June 28, 2026

Midland, ONTARIO - A special shrine exists here that is not only a place of worship but, also commemorates 6 martyrs who lost their lives here many years ago.  8 members of the mission of Saint Mary were tortured and then killed here by natives.  All those who died were Roman Catholic missionaries and the shrine is also a Roman Catholic shrine.  This all occurred in the middle of the seventeenth century but, exact dates are not known.  

  The martyrs were part of a large mission that was setup hundreds of years ago in North America.  The Europeons were new to America and wanted to teach the natives about Jesus.  Mostly, the natives were happy to hear about Jesus.  But, they were some that did not approve of these missionaries in their land.  The missionaries lived among tribes of indians who were friendly but, other unfriendly Indian would attack the villages where they lived and this is how some of them died.  

The shrine reminds us of the hard work that missionaries did to teach people in the new world about Jesus. They worked constantly to teach the native  people about the goodness and love of Jesus.  Today missionaries also work hard in places like Africa but, even today there are many dangers that missionaries have to face.  We should always remember the struggle that people went through to establish the Church of Jesus here in North America.