Father Gallant visits the Îlets, finds the site of the old chapel, and resumes pastoral ministry to the families.
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North Shore · Colombier · 1938–1951
Father Gallant and Îlets de Jérémie
Celebrating Good Saint Anne
In 1938, Father Arthur Gallant founded the settlement of Sainte-Thérèse-de-Colombier. Its parish priest from 1938 to 1951, he also served the families of Îlets de Jérémie and helped revive the pilgrimage to Sainte-Anne.
View the photographs ↓A missionary on the North Shore
From Acadian roots to Îlets de Jérémie
Father Gallant’s ministry connected the coast’s new communities with a long history of faith and missionary presence.
Arthur Gallant was born on August 9, 1896, in Saint-Augustin, in the parish of Rustico on Prince Edward Island. He joined the Eudists in 1922, briefly taught at Collège Sainte-Anne, then went to serve in the missions of the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
From 1928 to 1938, he served in Rivière-Saint-Jean, Longue-Pointe-de-Mingan, Magpie, and Jupitagon. In 1938, he founded the settlement of Sainte-Thérèse-de-Colombier, where he served as parish priest until 1951, also caring for nearby missions, including Îlets de Jérémie. He later continued his ministry in Baie-Comeau and Laval-des-Rapides. He died on March 20, 1976.
In August 1938, he travelled by canoe to the Îlets, visited the families, and found traces of an old chapel. Parts of the altar and devotional objects had been preserved there. Sainte-Anne Chapel was rebuilt in 1939, modelled on the small chapel in Tadoussac. The site once again became a place for gatherings and pilgrimage.
The feast of Saint Anne brings coastal families together around the chapel, its altar, and the celebrations.Historical timeline based on local and Eudist sources
Sainte-Anne Chapel
A memory renewed
The photographs document the chapel, the families who gather there, and the celebrations that have marked Îlets de Jérémie.
Sainte-Anne Chapel is rebuilt. The site and its preserved objects become the heart of a renewed devotion.
The annual feast grows. In 1941, Bishop Napoléon-Alexandre Labrie visits to bless the chapel and celebrate Mass with the pilgrims.
The novena and feast of Saint Anne, celebrated around July 26, continue to bring the coastal communities together.
Photographic archives
Îlets and Sainte-Anne Chapel
Views of the chapel, families, altar, and gatherings preserved in the photographic archives.
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Sources and archives
Historical information and photographs drawn from Eudist collections and local resources in Colombier.