Midland, Ont.'s Martyr’s Shrine is preparing for what could be its most eventful and spiritually vibrant year to date, with the historic site of worship and encounter hosting dual celebrations for its centennial and quadricentennial in 2026. 

Thanks to some strong providential alignment, the honorary home of the Canadian Martyrs is marking 100 years as a physical place of pilgrimage and prayer, while the Jesuit community is simultaneously celebrating 400 years since the arrival of Jean de Brébeuf and his mission in Huronia in central Ontario.

With various centennial events and commemorations in the works and expected to take place throughout the year, shrine director Fr. John O’Brien, S.J., has made sure to pause and reflect ahead of what promises to be a simultaneously hectic and fulfilling year. 

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“A centennial is a time to look back in order to look forward, to see where we've come in order to observe the horizon ahead,” he said. “This year is something of a combination of celebration of the past hundred years, but also a time to renew our mission and continue to become a place where people can come and be renewed for another hundred years or more.” 

Over 100,000 people are expected to visit the Shrine this summer, and that includes large pilgrimage groups, everyone from ethnic Catholic groups to schools and families.

Fresh off a successful tour of the major relics of the martyrs to parishes and cathedrals in Quebec and Atlantic Canada last November, O’Brien shared insights into what the thousands of pilgrims can look forward to during this special year of celebration. 

On June 3, Martyrs' Shrine will host a special Centennial Celebration in place of its traditional Spring Gala. More than a fundraiser, the celebration is planned to kick the summer off with meaningful moments of reflection and a shared responsibility to honour the Shrine's long-standing history. Taking place at Toronto’s Bellevue Manor, attendees will be treated to a night of fellowship as the Shrine enters its second century. 

“ The celebration gala is something we are very excited about, as it acts as almost a symphonic climax to all of the patience for this centennial year’s celebrations. I’ve invited the Apostolic Nuncio to Canada, Ivan Jurkovič, to be something of a representative as we also remember Pope John Paul II’s visit here in 1984, and for the fact that we're a Shrine, not just for Canada, but for the whole world and for the Universal Church,” O’Brien said. 

On June 26, Martyrs' Shrine will celebrate a special concert and book launch event, where a coffee-table photo book detailing the site’s history with rediscovered, digitized black-and-white archival images from the Shrine’s early days, as well as modern photos of the site's natural beauty, will be debuted. The book was written by Jesuit historian and former Shrine director Fr. Michael Knox. 

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The following day, the faithful are invited to attend a special centennial anniversary Mass in the Shrine church with Cardinal Frank Leo. Later this fall, on Oct. 9, the Shrine will host an academic colloquium at Regis College, featuring various scholars presenting on the Canadian Martyrs. 

O’Brien also shared news of a unique commemorative project currently in the works — the issuing of a special commemorative Martyrs' Shrine coin. Currently being minted, one side honours the Shrine's centennial and the other the 400th anniversary of the Jesuits' arrival in Canada.   

In preparation, ongoing infrastructure projects continue to work toward upgrading the site’s water and septic systems and, more visibly, the scenic lookout platform. 

While the Shrine officially opens for the season in early May, O'Brien shared his excitement for a growing Good Friday tradition that brings pilgrims to Midland even before normal summer operations commence.

“ On Good Friday, the Shrine opens just for the day and usually in the past, thousands of people have come just to do the Stations of the Cross both inside and outside, before we close at 1 p.m. to give people a chance to go back to their parishes and attend their Good Friday services. To me, that is a unique day that stands out throughout the year that connects the story of the martyrs to the passion of Jesus and to people's present-day lives,” he said. 

Until then, O’Brien will be embarking on another relic tour in northern Canada in parishes and spiritual centres in Sault Ste.-Marie, Timmins, Longlac, Moosonee, Aroland, Kapuskasing, North Bay and Sudbury from Jan. 15 to 25. 

Excitement for this year’s many centennial celebrations is palpable as years of extensive preparations come closer to paying off.  

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“There is lots in the works and lots to be excited about this year, that’s for sure.” 

Visit martyrs-shrine.com/centennial/.