Pope Francis Blesses Lake and Visits Site Known for Healing Waters

Pope Francis joined Indigenous pilgrims at a lake known for miraculous healings and encouraged them to lay their burdens on the shore.

Since the 1880s, the Cree and the Sioux, the Métis, the Blackfoot, the Dene and others from across Turtle Island -- North America -- have traveled to Lac Ste. Anne, about 45 miles west of Edmonton, for a pilgrimage around the July 26 feast of Sts. Joachim and Anne.