Mi’kmaq celebrate patron saint
Outdoor mass on Sunday in Membertou will honour St. Anne
MEMBERTOU — St. Anne's Mission Church in Membertou First Nation is planning to honour the patron saint of the Mi'kmaq on Sunday during the annual St. Anne's Day celebrations.
COVID-19 protocols have already caused the cancellation of many events celebrating St. Anne, including the 277th mission trip to Chapel Island. But the Catholic Mi'kmaq are hoping to gather safely and celebrate this Sunday.
“I'm non-native, but it's just something to experience and see the gathering and the coming together and respect for one another,” said Edith Christmas, religious education co-ordinator with Membertou, who also works under the guidelines of the Diocese of Antigonish.
Christmas has witnessed the St. Anne celebrations for the last 20 years and says the gatherings have been a family event. People come from across the Maritimes and Maine to take part. This year most of the events have been cancelled, including the annual feast that follows the mass and mission trip.
Instead, individual communities across Unama'ki will be celebrating the day separately.
“Hopefully people will still get the peacefulness of this celebration," said Christmas.
She said people looked forward to the annual mission trip because it gave them a sense of the size of the collective community.
In years past they could expect up to 400 people from Membertou to attend the mass but are expecting lower numbers on Sunday. Nevertheless safety precautions will be taken. A safety committee will be hand to remind people about social distancing, people are encouraged to wear masks, staff will have extra masks for people who need one and hand sanitizer will also be in place.
“Normally there's a lot of touching and kissing of the statue, that will not be permitted this year due to COVID,” said Christmas.
The mass will also be held outdoors, while Saint Anne's statue will be inside the sanctuary and only one person at a time will be allowed inside to kneel and pray beside it. The presiding priest will also give safety instructions during the mass.
After the mass, the community is planning to hold a barbecue which will be monitored by the Membertou Men's Society while the Membertou Youth chief and council will help serve the elders of the community, to try and ensure minimal contact.
“I think people need to get back together and feel that connection,” said Christmas.
St. Anne is the grandmother of Jesus and in Mi'kmaq culture grandmothers hold a special place and because of that connection, Christmas believes she was naturally the patron saint of the nation. The mass is scheduled for 2 p.m. on Sunday.