Editor's note: As we approach the 82nd anniversary of the launch of D-Day on June 6, which set in motion the end of the Second World War, The Catholic Register's Quinton Amundson reflects on how Caen, near where Canadian soldiers landed, are still revered in this region shaped by faith.

Three soulful features immediately become evident when strolling through the picturesque streets of Caen on a Sunday afternoon.

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For one, the over 105,000 residents of the second-largest city in the Normandy region of France truly revere the Sabbath. Save for a few restaurants and cafes, all other establishments are closed entirely or restricted to the morning hours.

Secondly, the Catholic heritage is strong with 17 active parish communities. When standing in the plaza in front of the Hôtel de Ville (City Hall), you behold seven of those houses of worship in your field of vision. The churches and cathedrals in France are indeed a treat for the eyes, notably the Abbey of Saint-Étienne, the Benedictine monastery founded in 1063 by William the Conqueror.

A third poignant feature of Caen is the homage shown to Canadian and Allied soldiers of the Second World War. There are commemorative plaques, a memorial garden and the Juno Beach Centre history museum in tribute to the Canadian and British liberation of Caen.

The starting date of the mission has loomed large in the annals of history for 82 years: D-Day, June 6, 1944. Allied forces launched Operation Overlord, a combined naval, air and land invasion across five assault beaches — Utah, Omaha, Gold, Sword and Juno — which would launch an almost year-long drive to bring the war in Europe to an end.

Approximately 160,000 soldiers — including an estimated 14,000 Canadians — landed on the beaches that day by amphibious landing craft, seeking to establish a key foothold in Nazi-occupied Western Europe to ultimately liberate this region from fascist tyranny.

Profound bravery was required for soldiers to jump out of the vessel and take to the beach, especially if the men in front of them and beside them had already been killed by the maelstrom of machine-gun fire unleashed by German forces.

By the end of the day, the Allied forces had infiltrated and fractured the German defensive coastal positions that Nazi leadership assumed would be impenetrable. A confirmed 4,414 Allied soldiers died on that historic day, 340 of them Canadians.

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It is important to underscore that this immortalized day represented only the beginning. The Battle for Caen raged for two months until Aug. 6, 1944.

Canadian soldiers and their British allies were engaged in a brutal, bloody, close-quarter war of attrition for weeks with the Nazi SS divisions as they sought to make gains inland. Much of the port city had already been destroyed by the brutality of warfare, but on July 9, the Canadians, chiefly the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division, achieved a landmark victory by liberating the city centre and northern part of the city from the German forces. Several weeks of additional combat were required to secure the suburbs.

There were an estimated 50,000 military casualties for the Allies and between 50,000 and 60,000 for the Germans during the course of this military engagement.

A tragic chapter written during the Battle of Caen was the Ardenne Abbey (Abbaye d'Ardenne) Massacre. Eighteen Canadian prisoners of war were executed by the 12th SS Panzer Division — Hitler Youth — in the garden of this 12th-century medieval abbey from June 7-8. Soldiers of the Nova Scotia Highlanders and Sherbrooke Fusiliers were captured during the battles waged at Authie and Buron, two small villages located about six kilometres northwest of Caen. All were shot in the back of the head. On June 17, two more Canadian soldiers were killed at or around the abbey.

“The (Ardenne Abbey) was a high place of resistance,” explained longtime city historical tour guide Pierre Bonard to a Canadian Catholic tour group — accompanied by The Catholic Register — visiting this historic site this past February. “The mayor and priest of this village had participated in saving many people, Jewish and young people, who were refusing to work in Germany. The mayor fabricated fake documents in order to save them.”

Members of the French resistance lived at the abbey, and they would bravely relay useful intel to Allied soldiers.  

The Abbaye d'Ardenne was liberated on July 8, shortly before midnight, by the Regina Rifles.

A memorial garden established to honour the 20 executed Canadians has become a site of significant emotional resonance for visitors.

The 12 Canadians — including eight priests — who experienced the Ardenne Abbey, Caen, Juno Beach and many other spiritual and cultural landmarks across Normandy came away from their sojourn with an appreciation for how events and religious heritage of the past are still revered in France.

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“What you find is no matter how secular a place might get, the Church is essential to who they are today,” said Fr. Harrison Ayre, pastor of St. Peter’s Church in Nanaimo, B.C. “They understand that deeply as a country that even if we want to be secular, we can’t be who we are without the Church. There is something deeply interesting about that.”

Visit junobeach.org/ to learn more about the Canadian efforts in Caen and throughout the Second World War that raged in Europe from Sept. 1, 1939, to May 8, 1945, Victory in Europe (V-E) Day.