Advertisement
An outdoors shot of Martyrs’ Shrine in Midland, Ontario, the site of the Archdiocesan Pilgrimage. The shrine will celebrate 100 years of operation in 2026.
Aleli Paguio of Martyrs’ Shrine
June 13, 2026
Share this article:
The Daily TV Mass will be honouring the 100th anniversary of the Martyrs’ Shrine in its own special way, presenting a special four-part series dedicated to the Canadian Martyrs from June 24 to 27.
Produced in collaboration with the Jesuits, the broadcasts give the Daily TV Mass’s global community and faithful audience an accessible introduction to the Canadian Martyrs and the Shrine’s story.
“This is a time of unique celebration, and so the idea was that while not everybody can go up Midland, everyone will have a chance to be a part of that,” said Deacon Mike Walsh, the president and executive director of the National Catholic Broadcasting Council, which produces the Daily TV Mass. “We were very fortunate to have Fr. John O’Brien (director of the Shrine) come down and other fathers of course lived here at Manresa (where the Mass is filmed), and all were very positive about participating and helping us celebrate with Daily TV Mass.”
All told, the video series brings a host of Jesuit priests with deep ties to the Shrine and the Martyrs to the forefront of discussion. June 24 will see O’Brien introduce French Jesuit lay missionary St. René Goupil; Fr. Henk van Meijel as current director at Manresa will present St. Isaac Jogues on June 25; Fr. Michael Coutts, who served as rector of the Shrine for 10 seasons, will focus on the life of St. Jean de Brébeuf; and the series concludes on June 27 with O’Brien offering a reflection on the Shrine’s history.
“ These are great formats to serve as a true introduction, and if the faithful are interested in more, there's many ways in which they can find out more — it's such a big part of the Canadian Church's history, and we wanted to spend some time on it,” Walsh said.
“ We want everybody to have a little part in learning and sharing that great history.”
The program’s final day is in perfect alignment, according to Walsh, with O'Brien's final episode reflection coincided with the date of a special centennial Mass at the Shrine in Midland, Ont.
While the Mass will be a high-point, June 27 acts as the Shrine’s premier “Centennial Anniversary Day,” a time to honour this past century of faith, witness and pilgrimage. The day-long event will include a procession from the Shrine Church to the Polish Altar at Pilgrim Hill, a Centennial Mass with special guest presider Archbishop Donald Bolen of Regina, relic blessings, a centennial concert featuring Leahy and an evening Mass inside the Shrine Church.
The Catholic Register has also released its own special project, Missions and Martyrs: Canada’s Martyrs’ Shrine at 100, a 56-page, full-colour souvenir magazine tracing the Shrine’s origins to the mission and martyrdom of St. Jean de Brébeuf and his fellow Jesuit Martyrs.
To purchase Missions and Martyrs: Canada’s Martyrs’ Shrine at 100, see catholicregister.org/shop/item/mission-and-martyrs.
Share this article:
Join the conversation and have your say: submit a letter to the Editor. Letters should be brief and must include full name, address and phone number (street and phone number will not be published). Letters may be edited for length and clarity.
Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Toronto
