Canadian Martyrs’ feast marks 400 years of faith

The Feast of the Canadian Martyrs will be felt in a particularly special way Sept. 26 at the Martyrs’ Shrine in Midland, Ont. where celebrations will fete the 400th anniversary of Saint Jean de Brébeuf’s arrival in the region.

Pilgrims and local faithful alike will gather in the Shrine Church for  Holy Mass at noon — the shrine’s single liturgical observance of the feast, with the major relics of the eight Canadian martyrs providing a poignant backdrop.

Speaking to the Catholic Register, Fr. John O’Brien, the director of Martyrs’ Shrine, said he expects a full church, with visitors continuing to arrive throughout the afternoon and into the evening. He also shared that this year marks the first occasion the feast day will be commemorated on its calendar date of Sept. 26, rather than the Shrine’s historic practice of solemnizing on the nearest Saturday.

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“ We are very excited to be celebrating the feast on its actual day, giving people a chance to join in on a year already set apart by the two anniversaries,” he said, referring to this year’s centennial of the Martyrs Shrine itself, and the 400 years since Brébeuf’s arrival.

“We pull out all the stops on this day to honour our martyrs, and Holy Mass is where we really focus on the story of those eight great men,” the Jesuit priest added.

In the company of the major relics, O’Brien will recount the vast history of Saints Brébeuf, Noël Chabanel, Antoine Daniel, Charles Garnier, René Goupil, Isaac Jogues, Jean de Lalande and Gabriel Lalemant through the Liturgical Mass of Thanksgiving for “what they have done and brought to Canada so long ago, and for the legacy that continues today.” 

He anticipates the accompanying vocal performance from the Ecclesiastical Schola of Our Lady Seat of Wisdom College will enhance the celebration's sense of grandeur. 

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A short ceremony at the start of the Mass will also install the new honorees into the Order of Porters, an honorific society recognizing long-time significant supporters of the shrine’s continued mission. 

The shrine director promises that, whether before, during or after Holy Mass, the day will provide something spiritual for all in attendance.

“ This year, we are also having a special time of prayer of thanksgiving in the church from 2:30 to 4:30 with solemn exposition of the Blessed Sacraments, singing and silence to continue our act of gratitude and to invoke the martyrs and call for their intercession for our country and for our families,” he said. “We also will be presenting four new large icons of Saint Brébeuf and Saint Lalemant, Saint Joseph, and Saint Kateri Tekakwitha, and will bless them.” 

The shrine also plans to host its regular 7:30 pm. Mass.

As one of the last major liturgical celebrations of the season, Fr. O’Brien reflected upon on the Feast of the Canadian Martyrs’ continued importance. While the graces that the legacy of those eight men provides are available year-round at the site, the unique remembrance of centuries past is set to make celebrations in 2026 especially bountiful.

Four hundred years after Brébeuf first arrived in the region, Catholics now join together for Mass to celebrate him and his peers. As for why that legacy continues to matter to Canadian Catholics so greatly is simple to encapsulate, according to O’Brien. 

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“(It is) the significance of their sacrifice that places them very high in the order of the communion of saints; they remain the only canonized martyrs of North America, and they are a source of reconciliation and healing as demonstrated for the last hundred years of the shrine's existence,” he said. 

“People continue to come (celebrate them) because they know that this is a place where they can receive special graces of that kind. While we witness it every day, anniversary dates like these add an additional layer of significance and power.” 

A version of this article appeared in the September 20, 2026 issue of The Catholic Register with the headline "Brébeuf anniversary enriches feast"