You are not alone on the landing beaches of Normandy.

There, the weight of history presses upon you, joined by the haunting presence of the brave Allied soldiers who launched Operation Overlord, the largest amphibious invasion in military history, on June 6, 1944 — D-Day.

For a group of Canadian Catholic pilgrims — mostly priests — participating in a familiarization (FAM) tour through the Normandy region of France, visiting Juno Beach and its namesake history museum on Feb. 8 made an indelible impression.

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Fr. Mark Gatto, the pastor of St. Catherine of Siena Parish in Hamilton, Ont., shared what was on his heart and mind after growing his knowledge about what 14,000 Canadian troops did on that historic day at Juno Beach and beyond in the weeks following alongside 76,000 fellow countrymen to liberate the city of Caen.

“I was surprised by how I got very emotional, even to the point of tears,” said Gatto. “I think it was maybe the connection to the youth, the ages, but also maybe just to our time today. We’re so faced with war in the news every day. The connection may have even deepened that for me.”

Liz Dachuk, the business development manager of Connassiance Travel and Tours, the Catholic pilgrimage agency that organized this sojourn, was reflecting on her mother’s cousin, Corporal Michael John Makichuk of the Royal Winnipeg Rifles, who sacrificed his life for his country and family on Juno Beach. She also thought about her father, Joseph Dachuk, who also served in the Second World War.

“My father had to leave his family and the farm where he was helping his parents to go fight in the war,” said Dachuk. “He was there and did what he had to do. He was conscripted — he didn’t do it voluntarily.

“I remember the stories he used to tell me. There were a lot of younger soldiers, really young, who found it difficult to carry their packs on their backs. My dad, rather than (allowing) them to suffer any kind of penalty from their commanding officers, would take their backpacks on his back. He would carry the extra load for the younger ones.”

Activities that followed on the day’s agenda underscored that the Canadians' heroic struggle to free the people of Caen lasted for several weeks, not just one immortalized day.

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The group headed to the Abbey of Our Lady of Ardenne (Abbaye Notre-Dame d’Ardenne) to begin a walking tour of the city led by Pierre Bonard. The local guide imparted the history of how 20 Canadian soldiers were massacred in the garden of the abbey by the Germans’ 12th SS Panzer Division Hitlerjugend (the Hitler Youth).

Eleven of the Canadians, after a long day of battle for the villages of Authie and Buron, were taken prisoner and executed immediately on the evening of June 7. Seven more were killed the next day following interrogation, either shot or bludgeoned to death. Two more Canadian soldiers were killed nearby on or around June 17.

Throughout the rest of the walking tour of Caen, the pilgrims beheld many memorials dedicated to the Canadian liberators of the city.

The walkthrough also showcased the rich religious heritage. There are 17 ancient Catholic churches in the city, and slightly more than half are still used for worship services, the others for exhibition or concert backdrops. Bonard took the group to a spot near the city centre where one could gaze upon seven historical houses of worship at once.  

Notably, the atmosphere throughout the stroll around Caen was serene as the vast majority of shops were closed in observance of the Sunday Sabbath.

A visit to the Petit Lourdes, a two-thirds-size replica of the Basilica of Lourdes, concluded the day. It was built in 1878 by Jules Duboscq of Rouen after his wife was miraculously healed in the Marian City of Lourdes. He wanted to offer an homage pilgrimage site for those who could not venture to the Pyrenees Mountains.

One full day of tour activities remains for the pilgrims, highlighted by a visit to the cherished Hermitage Sainte Thérèse in Lisieux.

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Along with the memorable visits to Mont-Saint-Michel and Juno Beach, the fellowship of the trip is particularly cherished by Gatto. He has known one of his fellow journeyers, Fr. David Wynen, the rector for the Cathedral of Christ the King in Hamilton, for 40 years, since their days at St. Peter’s Seminary in London, Ont., but many of the others he knew only a little or not at all.

“At the beginning, you don’t know them and what they’re like, but by now we’re all joking and making fun of each other. It does add a lot.”